The use of anti-immigrant hostility is not just a British or European theme.
Recently, the Iranian government, seeking to divert attention from its own failings, announced that it would deport two million Afghan migrants over the next six months.
There are thought to be four and a half million Afghan nationals currently living in Iran. They have fled the brutal decades-long wars in Afghanistan. As the linked DW article states, “For over 40 years, Afghans have fled to Iran to escape civil war, poverty, and, now, the Taliban.”
It’s a device used by every ruling class to blame the migrant, rather than those really responsible.
It is estimated by the United Nations that in in the 16 months to May 2024, 120 million people globally have been been forcibly displaced due to conflict and violence. This is not the fault of those displaced.
Common humanity should lead us all to side with the economic migrant and the refugee. But more than that, it’s in our class interest as workers to not allow our class to be divided along national, racial or religious lines.
Socialism can only be achieved and survive on an international scale, by the conscious act of the international working class, uniting and acting together to change things in its own interests. To achieve that, we need to bring workers and oppressed people of all countries, all colours and all religions to see their common interest.
Our common interest is to throw off the capitalist system which exploits us, and discards us at will, not caring whether we live or die.
Anything that sows distrust or disunity between the workers and oppressed people of different countries is contrary to our common interest.
Once we begin to look no further than our own false ‘national’ interests, where do we stop? We abandon the solidarity necessary to defeat the bosses and their representatives. The solidarity of workers standing shoulder to shoulder would be abandoned for narrow self-interest. The working class would be deprived of the very unique strength it has – unity in action by large numbers.
Internationally our class is massive. It is the vast majority in most countries. Once our class realises this on an international scale, we will be unvanquishable.
Therefore, it is in our interests to demonstrate to workers and oppressed people across the world that we will not blame them for the ills we face. We will not abandon them to the fate delivered to them by the capitalist thieves and mercenaries who would leave them to starve, drown or die in conflict of others’ making.
We in the UK must show that we have the interests of all workers and oppressed people in our political programme.
In the new world we will create, in which the resources of the world will be shared for the benefit of all, in which wars and oppression are consigned to history, everyone will be able to live where they want. The forced mass migrations that we see today will no longer be necessary.
Solidarity with economic migrants and refugees everywhere.
Socialists welcome you here. We will not abandon you.
Join the struggle for socialism.