Kenan Malik - Are only certain kinds of people deemed worthy of our compassion?

By Dilip -
NB: A question that should be asked of the entire spectrum of Indian political opinion. DS

When is a Good Samaritan not a Good Samaritan? When he or she helps someone undeserving of our humanity. In Arizona on 11 June, a jury was unable to reach a verdict on Scott Daniel Warren, a college lecturer accused of conspiracy to transport and harbour migrants after providing them with food and shelter. He faced up to 20 years in jail. He may still do if there’s a retrial.

Meanwhile, in Sicily, Pia Klemp, the German captain of the boat Sea-Watch 3, was charged with assisting in illegal immigration after rescuing migrants in distress in the Mediterranean. She, too, faces up to 20 years in prison. Warren and Klemp are the latest victims of a disturbing trend that has gone almost unnoticed: the threat by the authorities on both sides of the Atlantic to put on trial anyone who provides rescue or humanitarian help for migrants.

An investigation by the website openDemocracy suggests that over the past five years at least 250 people in 14 European countries have been arrested or charged for providing food, shelter, transport or other support to migrants without legal papers. Cases include Martine Landry, a 73-year-old Frenchwoman who helped two 15-year-old Guinean asylum seekers, taking them to a police station to register. She was charged with “having aided the entry of two foreign minors in an irregular situation”, but was eventually acquitted.

Then there’s Dragan Umičević, a retired Croatian army officer and a volunteer with the organisation AYS, which provides help for refugees. In March last year, AYS was contacted by a group of Afghan refugees who had entered Croatia from Serbia. He, in turn, contacted the police and accompanied the refugees to the police station to help them with their asylum claims. Umičević was charged with aiding migrants by helping them across the border. The case fell apart when GPS data showed that he had always been on Croatian territory. Nevertheless, Umičević was found guilty of “unwitting negligence” and fined 60,000 kunas (around £7,000).


Lise Ramslog, a 70-year-old Danish woman, was charged with people smuggling after giving a lift to the Swedish border to two young immigrant couples, with a small child and a newborn baby. She was fined 25,000 Danish krone (£3,000)... read more:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jun/15/are-only-kinds-of-people-deemed-worthy-of-our-compassion

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