Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/06/20/never-trust-a-nation.html
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What the shit?! No good deed ever goes unpunished.
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It’s a tough topic, and I’m not clear on which nation I should not trust. (Which nation, as a whole, should I trust anyway?) There has been coverage about a individual members of the White Helmets doing dirty deeds, such as aiding one side or another to cover up burial sites. Canada has probably been the most open so far in accepting Syrian refugees. It’s a fog of war, and it’s very difficult to sift through that fog. That said, it’s frustrating to be kept waiting in limbo.
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This is maybe one of the weirdest things I’ve seen this week. “Oh, you’ve spent your career getting paid peanuts to rescue people? FLEE FOR YOUR LIFE, ENEMY, YOU HAVE NO COUNTRY.”
I mean, fucking hell fuck.
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Yes, we should all trust organizations led by British Mercenaries, funded by Western NGOs.
Remember when the US, Saudi, and Israeli started a Civil War in a country that does not belong to them, killing 500,000? Oh no? Guess it’s not intervention when a democrat president does it HAHAHAHAHAHAAH.
Now we are supposed to be sad for 300 unfortunate souls who BELIEVED western imperialism.
Go get those people yourself, warmonger. The rest of us turn our backs on you.
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The West is unprepared to deal with this growing challenge (and this is before we take into account the greater number of people fleeing the effects of climate change in the future, who aren’t technically considered refugees under current treaties). This just came over the wire:
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I’ve never been in one, but a warzone or combat zone, for those trying to survive or help, means multi-lateral relationships and diplomacy. Syria, the winds shifting all the time, it’s not a straightforward thing helping civilians.
If they’re validated white helmets, surely you assume that going into harm’s way again and again kind of indicates this.
If nations didn’t take people with pictures of people holding guns, can you imagine how empty the USA would be if you proactively removed them?
And more - surely nations are crumbling in control and influence in the digital world. Just a thought. Who are digital citizens actually loyal to?
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Digital platforms only provide a powerful means of connection/communication/recruitment for the real alternative to allegiance to nation-states: ideological and other affinity groups that existed already.
What we’re observing now is those platforms making citizenry in those groups often more important than citizenry in a nation-state, for better or for worse. Sometimes that “divided” citizenry can exist in peace (e.g. cat fanciers are in no inherent conflict with liberal democractic institutions) and sometimes it can’t (e.g. members of the Know-Nothing 27% are actively hostile to liberal democratic institutions).
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This is prime time for a degree in Politics Philosophy and Economics.
And fuck me, Joris Bronson is about to be crowned Prime Minister of England.
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History is always useful, too.
Let him end up another Tory shipwreck on the rocks of Brexit alongside May and Cameron.
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I think that the diplomatic concern about “affiliations with the myriad groups that have fought in the civil war” is probably about a little more than “photos of some dudes with guns or know someone tied to paramilitary groups.”
When the rebel forces are dominated by the likes of AL-Nusra (formerly al-Qaeda in Syria), Ahrar al-Sham and Jaysh al-Islam, people’s earlier affiliation with or action in these groups may be a considerably less pleasant than the PR image that the white helmets have. All of which probably leads to the dilemma that the Canadians now find themselves in, having made promise and only later finding out what these promises mean.
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The most well-intentioned governments just aren’t prepared to tease out the complexities of those fleeing a clan- and religion-infused clusterf*ck like Syria. Although it’s hard to believe that all 10 of the White Helmets in this case (or members of their respective families) were directly associated at one point or another with the violent Islamist groups you mentioned.
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Ah, big deal, in London UK here we find retired war chieftans driving Ubers. It’s not that scary.
Edit:
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That’s only because Uber allows you to tip the warlord after you’re out of his “technical”.
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Maybe the promise of a nation, no matter its history, can no longer be trusted.
Brother you ain’t kidding…
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I find it really weird to be rooting for the Etonian Bully-boy; but Hunt is worse. Talk about the less great of two evils.
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I still would change the headline if I was @SeamusBellamy.
A text titled “Canada fails to give promised asylum to civil war heroes” can end in the same conclusion, but is more spot-on and would probably get more people to notice the story.
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Oh dear.
We are at the mercy of a useless political party that has a useless set of choices for leadership.
May as well get a boater and pretend to be one of them!!
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Well he’s not making it easy for himself - last night he had a huge banging tiff with his girlfriend
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Good God. The level of tankie or troll or whatever in this comment.
They. Were. Not. Soldiers.
They. Were. Not. Fighting.
They were relief and rescue workers saving lives where nobody else could or would.
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