20th February 2019 • opinion
By taking away Begum's passport, the UK government is making all minorities second-class citizens
Image: The Times
Imagine if a terror-supporter came to Britain, but we couldn't deport them because they had nowhere to go. They've become our problem even if we didn't want them or invite them. Would you think that is wrong?
This is exactly what Britain is doing with Shamima Begum. We are leaving her in Syria as THEIR problem when they hate ISIS even more than us.
Shamima Begum is our problem. She was born, raised and radicalised in East London whether we like it or not. By saying we can wash our hands off her is to say she was never one of us in the first place.
I vociferously hate ISIS and everything they stand for. I'm not defending her, I'm defending the rule of law. And I'm appalled at the dangerous precedent that Home Secretary Sajid Javid has set.
Britain never did this to Irish people who joined the IRA. It never did that to Brits who went to fight for the Nazis. Instead it tried them in a British court.
Shamima Begum wasn't a dual national.. She is only a British citizen. The Home Office says because she is eligible for Bangladeshi citizenship, they can deal with her.
By taking away her British citizenship, Sajid Javid is saying that if you have parents from another country, we can remove your citizenship and abandon you in a country you have no direct relation to.
It makes us second class-citizens. And in the future it could be used against anyone.
I have no problems with Britain prosecuting / convicting / monitoring / limiting Shamima Begum's activities. She joined a terror group so she must live with the consequences.
But if other countries abandoned their criminals in Britain, wouldn't the Daily Mail be angry about it? So why is it OK for us to do this?
And what does it say to non-white Brits, who could have their citizenship stripped at anytime even if they were born and brought up here? It says they are second-class citizens.
This is exactly what Britain is doing with Shamima Begum. We are leaving her in Syria as THEIR problem when they hate ISIS even more than us.
Shamima Begum is our problem. She was born, raised and radicalised in East London whether we like it or not. By saying we can wash our hands off her is to say she was never one of us in the first place.
I vociferously hate ISIS and everything they stand for. I'm not defending her, I'm defending the rule of law. And I'm appalled at the dangerous precedent that Home Secretary Sajid Javid has set.
Britain never did this to Irish people who joined the IRA. It never did that to Brits who went to fight for the Nazis. Instead it tried them in a British court.
Shamima Begum wasn't a dual national.. She is only a British citizen. The Home Office says because she is eligible for Bangladeshi citizenship, they can deal with her.
By taking away her British citizenship, Sajid Javid is saying that if you have parents from another country, we can remove your citizenship and abandon you in a country you have no direct relation to.
It makes us second class-citizens. And in the future it could be used against anyone.
I have no problems with Britain prosecuting / convicting / monitoring / limiting Shamima Begum's activities. She joined a terror group so she must live with the consequences.
But if other countries abandoned their criminals in Britain, wouldn't the Daily Mail be angry about it? So why is it OK for us to do this?
And what does it say to non-white Brits, who could have their citizenship stripped at anytime even if they were born and brought up here? It says they are second-class citizens.
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Barfi Culture is a news-magazine on people of South Asian heritage living in Europe and North America. We don't cover South Asia directly.
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