Skip to content

Ask an Academic

  • Home
  • Ask a Question
  • Contact Us
Art gallery

Was Lilly Allen right to apologise to migrant children at Calais

September 25, 2019 by AskanAcademic.com

On the 12th October the popular singer received a great deal of criticism for apologising ‘on behalf of my country’ to a refugee at the ‘jungle’ camp in Calais.

Question

Was Lilly Allen right to apologise to migrant children at the Calais refugee camp on behalf of the UK?

Answer

On the 12th October the popular singer received a great deal of criticism for apologising ‘on behalf of my country’ to a refugee at the ‘jungle’ camp in Calais. Mainly criticism was based around her legitimacy to speak on behalf of the country (Horton, 2016).

While it is clear she is not an official representative of the UK, it can be argued that she did not act as if she were. As it is, she commented acting in a personal capacity, but due to her status this expanded to receive widespread public attention.

Another controversial aspect is whether anyone from the UK ought to be apologising to people at the Calais camps. Lily Allen appeared to base her statement on emotional grounds (being visibly upset at the time) and also stating that the UK has contributed to the migrant/refugee crisis (Nye and baker, 2016).

The UK played a role in the coalition of countries which destabilised the Middle East through invasion of Iraq, and supporting rebel groups in Libya and Syria. This contributed to the conflict across the region and the displacement of refugees and migrants. These countries were ostensibly aiming to combat dictatorships out of sympathy for local populations, but instead allowed extremist groups to thrive.

It is relevant to note that the people present in the camps are a mixture of asylum seekers and migrants. It can be argued that neither should be attempting to gain access to the UK by creating camps on the borders. The migrants should use official channels to gain permission to enter, while refugees should claim asylum in the first peaceful country that they enter.

However, as a wealthy country, some retort that the UK should offer to take in some of the migrants/refugees based on its ability to support them. Some other European counties, notably Germany and Sweden, have taken in much larger numbers of migrants/refugees.

References

Horton, H. 2016, Lily Allen apologises on behalf of England while visiting Calais refugee camp (online), The telegraph, available: [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/10/12/lily-allen-apologises-on-behalf-of-england-while-visiting-calais/], accessed: 14/10/16

Nye, C. and Baker, J. 2016, The Calais conversation that left Lily Allen in tears (online), BBC, available: [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-37607774], accessed: 14/10/16

Post navigation

Previous Post:

Psychological Effects of Dementia

Next Post:

How does agricultural biotechnology out way the use of convectional agriculture?

Search Q&As

Categories

  • Art Media and Literature (74)
  • Business and Management (256)
  • Computing and ICT (14)
  • Construction and Engineering (35)
  • Education (90)
  • Environmental Sciences (2)
  • Finance and Economics (91)
  • Health (64)
  • Languages (12)
  • Law (88)
  • Mathematics and Statistics (2)
  • Medical Sciences (19)
  • Politics and International Relations (83)
  • Research Methodology (1)
  • Science (49)
  • Social Sciences (101)

Archives

Who We Are

Askanacademic.com is owned and operated by All Answers Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales. Company Registration No: 4964706. VAT Registration No: 842417633. Data Controller No: Z1821391.

Registered office:
Venture House
Cross Street
Arnold
Nottingham
NG5 7PJ

Main Navigation

  • Home
  • Ask a Question
  • Contact Us

Legals

  • Cookie Policy
  • Privacy Policy

Popular Categories

  • Business and Management
  • Law
  • Finance and Economics
  • Health
An an Academic Logo
© 2023 Ask an Academic | WordPress Theme by Superb Themes
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept Reject
Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT