It would appear most had come from countries where persecution and injustice are all too common and were clearly in need of asylum. Undoubtedly there are also some economic migrants amongst their number. As I have listened to local commentators, I struggle to see how such words could be uttered from the same place that I had found so welcoming. However, one cannot help but feel that racial prejudice lies behind some of what is being said. We too have our own version of the cargo ship and it is called the Channel Tunnel.
Thousands risk their lives every month trying to gain entry to have their asylum claim considered.
Whilst recognising there are no easy answers for such issues, for people of faith there are some absolutes that must be considered. Desmond Tutu, in his powerful book No Future Without Forgiveness, records for us how important Christian theology became in the process of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission. They, like we, are constrained by the imperative of a Gospel that includes and not excludes the outcast, the alien, the oppressed, the widow and the orphan. Let us ensure that despite its obvious difficulties and challenges, it is this Gospel that shapes our attitudes rather than what appears to be an increasingly vocal xenophobism around the world.