Last month London elected its first Muslim Mayor, Sadiq Kahn. Not long after, the Hollywood elites descended on Cannes, France reveling in each other and patting themselves on the back for their humanitarian virtues.
Notwithstanding extensive media coverage, these open border advocates were silent about nearly a decade of political paralysis under Barack Obama and our European partners in re-settling over 5 million destitute people from throughout the Middle East and Africa. Nope, they’d rather just spout off insults at America’s presumptive Republican nominee for president, Donald J. Trump.
European and Hollywood elites engaged in a contest to determine whose character and work could be most vilified with half-truths and innuendo, Donald Trump or Woody Allen.
Khan condemned Trump as “ignorant.” He said Trump’s exercise of free speech to suggest we re-think the U.S. Visa program and call for a temporary ban from the Muslim world rendered the U.S. and Britain “less safe.”
Preposterously, Khan ignored the Paris terror attacks by radical Islam-inspired terrorists shouting “Allah hu Akbar.” You know, the ones that pre-dated Mr. Trump’s remarks on visa reform. And the near beheading of British soldier Lee Rigby on a London street in broad daylight. And the execution of a Muslim merchant in Glasgow by a fellow Muslim upset that he dared to wish the country a Happy Easter. And the London Underground bombing. Crickets. Not a word.
Next, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo arrived at London’s St. Pancras train station to congratulate Kahn. There, Hidalgo engaged in allegedly highbrow discussions repeatedly referring to Trump as “stupid.” And Kahn claimed “this is the best of humanity and the best of the West.”
Of course, “the best of the West” photo-op occurred at a London train station — not the Port of Calais across the English Channel in France.
You see in Calais, Europe’s blatant hypocrisy on illegal immigration is actually on full display.
It’s where the rubber hits the road, and humanitarian hypocrites are exposed. That’s right, the Emperor has no clothes.
As a result of Britain’s anti-illegal immigration policies, Calais’ migrant camps known as “The Jungle” have existed since before 2009. Back then, about 800 migrants lived there.
Today, 6,000 inhabit those camps. That’s because they are barred from entering the U.K. unless they can prove refugee status. In Calais, economic hardship is insufficient. Thus, the British do not need to build a wall – they just pay France and use the English Channel to ban unwanted immigrants.
Khan has done nothing to end the human suffering at Calais. Though he was mighty quick to represent Louis Farrakhan in his visa bid to travel to London. And even quicker to insult Mr. Trump for daring to suggest there’s a problem within Islam that must be addressed for our own safety.
Meanwhile, Hidalgo was elected Mayor of Paris in April 2014. In January 2015, 12 were killed in a terrorist attack on Charlie Hebdo in Paris. Hidalgo was so “smart” that she failed to stop another jihadist massacre that year in which 130 mostly young people were murdered. Another 368 were injured. And just recently 66 were killed when Egypt Air Flight 804 from Paris to Cairo plunged into the Mediterranean Sea. With “smart” people like that, I’d prefer folks with even a little common sense.
A leading British newspaper, the Independent reported that in the past six months, aid workers at the Jungle have treated seven boys between the ages between 14 and 16 for rape. Volunteers at the Jungle told the Independent that, “the French government’s refusal to classify the camp as a humanitarian crisis is causing major child protection issues.”
And then George Clooney and “human rights” lawyer Amal marched right in. The glamour couple capped off the week of humanitarian hypocrisy from Cannes.
Instead of using media to condemn Europe and Obama/Clinton for their delays and indecision, Clooney vilified Trump, his supporters and the media. He referred to the migrants as “the greatest humanitarian crisis”, but only to segue into a critique of the media for covering Trump. Of course, Clooney is raising millions for Hillary Clinton who helped create “the greatest humanitarian crisis” through her Iraq War votes, her mishandling of the Arab Spring and her abandonment of Syria and Libya.
And lastly, Angelina Jolie commented that Trump’s words were “hard to hear.” Jolie should have used the media frenzy in Trump’s words as a platform to condemn the humanitarian hypocrites like Clooney, Khan, Hidalgo, and Clinton. They use Trump to direct the world away from the violence they allow and are anti-immigrant in protecting their borders. The cries of the women and children kept in these conditions these past few years are far more “hard to hear” than Mr. Trump’s words.
Joanne A. Zervos is an attorney based in New York City.