Recently on BBC Talkback, hosted by the urbane sophisticate that is Dr William Crawley, I found myself defending some intemperate remarks by Vince Cable MP about hardline, reckless Brexiteers acting like jihadists.
I didn't agree with Cable's analogy but I certainly understood the frustration he feels about the dysfunctional nature of the British government in its negotiations with the EU. It's like being on board a runaway train.
My foil was a Brexit blogger from England, who rabbited on about the will of the British people and sovereignty. The odd thing about these English commentators is that few seem to realise that the outlandish claims used in Britain during the referendum were largely absent from both the Leave and Remain sides in Northern Ireland. Though the chairman of the Northern Ireland Leave campaign (who went silent after its launch), admitted after the referendum that he was motivated by the issue of immigration.
Unsurprisingly, I described the argument of my blogger adversary as rubbish as my patience on the subject is now wearing thin.
There is doubt that the Leave side sold a wagon load of nonsense during the campaign and worse still they had no post referendum plan.
The Brexit debate was too often framed by immigration fears both real and imagined. Most of it was baloney.
UKIP grew on the back of it and disintegrated since. It wasn't long before Talkback listeners started to harp on about sovereignty too - which is sometimes code for immigration controls.
One caller said we need to do something about the boat loads of refugees coming from Africa and the Middle East who are wrecking the country. When pointed out that this had nothing to do with the EU - she gave no quarter. That the French and other EU countries are responding in a humanitarian way to the thousands of refugees fleeing war torn countries devastated by reckless Western interventions and foreign policy, mainly driven by British and American governments, this lady caller was still unmoved. That there are no refugee boats landing on Irish shores wasn't regarded as a fact either.
This level of ignorance is simply staggering. But ignorance is not the same as being stupid. It's difficult for some people to filter fact from fiction when the British press is so dominated by the right wing. The spread of keyboard warriors on social media doesn't help understanding either.
But two stories about refugees deserve re-telling. One of them has no fairytale ending but both demonstrate the sense of desperation and desolation that refugees fleeing terror experience. Each is connected through a love of music.
On April 23 this year another refugee boat sank in the Aegean Sea. Everyone died except two women, one of whom was pregnant. Amongst those who died was a 22-year-old Kurdish man whose dream was to study music.
The heroic Kurds, despite being at the coal face of confronting IS, have been let down by Western governments. Baris Yazgi wanted to escape his war-torn country. He was worn down by the savagery of war. He fled with his only possession - a violin. On April 25, the Turkish coastguard found a body of a young male clutching a violin. When the relatives of Baris saw the photos, they heartbreakingly recognised him. His dream drowned.
Rami Basisah was just 21-years-old when he had to flee war torn Homs in Syria. He too was a classically trained violinist. He travelled from Syria to Istanbul alone and then at his fourth attempt got on board a refugee boat. The boat was for 20 people but it held 50. As his boat sank and with his violin wrapped in cling film he swam to shore. He wandered from one refugee camp to another travelling on foot, he crossed eight countries and some 2500 km. Twice playing his violin he was rescued from camps - once playing Ode to Joy by Beethoven. He was chased by police and practically interned. He was also robbed of his beloved violin. Finally, he made it to Germany where a Lutheran couple took him in and one of their neighbours, a composer, gave him another violin. Rami has now produced a CD for the Red Cross to help other refugees. Ironically the story of his journey is told on YouTube to the backdrop of Danny Boy played beautifully by Rami.
If only the irate lady on Talkback could hear Rami's violin - because it’s not just his voice but that of Baris too.
