Dear UK,
just a quick note about something that has been bothering me.
Back in 2003 you asked us to go to war in the Middle East with a strange American fellow and yourself. We couldn’t see any reason why we should be doing such a foolish thing at all. We declined and kindly asked you to reconsider.
I’ll spare you the told-you-sos. The destruction of the entire Middle Eastern region, the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives, the dead children washed up on European beaches every week all speak for themselves.
You’ve always been the odd one out amongst us Europeans, and now you’re contemplating to leave our Union altogether. Until recently, most of us would have been sad to see you go. You used to have the best ideas for Europe: free trade, liberal values and straight talk. Also, for decades you’ve been a place for Europeans to escape to when times were dark on the continent, including the thousands of Jews during the Holocaust.
But now that the victims of your war arrive on the European doorsteps in the hundreds of thousands, you’re sending the police to Calais to keep them away. 350,000 people have fled to Europe this year alone. Only 5,000 refugees have found asylum in Great Britain since 2011. Now you’re talking about accepting more, but fewer than tens of thousands of people.
Whether that’s a disgrace or not I’ll leave for you to decide. I just think it’s a tad unfair for the rest of us Europeans to pay for taking in millions of refugees in the coming years, whereas you do nothing.
So here’s my question: Where may we send the bill?
Cordially,
the continent
Hier die deutsche Übersetzung.