Do we get the journalism we deserve?
“The day the immigrants left” (BBC1, Feb 24th 2010, 9:00 p.m.) is fascinating on several levels, but so excruciating that I could not watch it to the end. Where does the concept for a documentary like this come from and why do so many people want to watch it?
Let me take you back to the first production meeting. “What we need must appeal to all political strains: the right wing middle class need to see the workshy British reveal the attitudes that ensure they never hold down a job; right wing workers can relate to the BNP arguments voiced by the workshy; the socialists can grieve over the dilemma that the influx of immigrant workers creates and the would-be TV stars can relate to the workshy no-bodies getting their break on national TV.”
‘So what is the concept?’
‘We go to a town in the UK where there are lots of low wage jobs, a high immigrant population and high unemployment. Then we persuade some of the local employers to lay off some of their immigrant workers for a few days; put in some of the indigenous unemployed in their place; let the cameras role.’
‘But how are we going to recruit the workshy British to be on the program? What do we do when they realise we are humiliating them and they don’t turn up on set?’
‘That’s easy; we’ll just pretend that they didn’t turn up for the jobs. They probably don’t turn up for new jobs anyway, most of the time.’
I’m sorry, but there are both workshy and diligent people the world over. So of course pitting the most determined workers from Eastern Europe against the most pitiable you might hope to find amongst the UKs indigenous population never was a fair competition. Actually, it’s a blood sport. Not like cock fighting, where both sides are equal; more like fox hunting. And how we love a good blood sport!
Let’s just remember that the migrant workers in Wisbech are people who have had the foresight and determination to make a new life for themselves in a wealthier economy than theirs. They are also most probably the most skilled and conscientious at what they do from their background. They have crossed Germany and France to be here, countries incidentally that deny the people from the EU’s new Accession states the right to work. If everyone in their own countries were like them, their economy would be stronger and they would not need to move.
Getting the many without jobs in the UK back into work is obviously a major problem. These days we shy away from concepts like “work ethic.” Many would say that the benefit system is less a safety net and more the cause of unemployment. But does journalism of this nature do anything to promote a UK work ethic, to help those struggling back into work? Does it help promote pride in being British, whatever your ethnic origins. No, its just cruel exploitation of gullible unemployed for our entertainment. Shame on you BBC!
Wisbech people AREN’T WORK SHY, IN FACT THEY ARE HARDWORKING IN THE MAJORITY.
The BBC program was biased, a breach of bropadcasting standards as well, shame on you BBC. I did strawberry picking, what ever it took to get my qualifications when I was younger. At present I am a long term unemployed IT manager in Wisbech, I get up at 5.30am every morning, log onto the internet, trawl the area’s jobs at the job centre, register with agencies, visit companies to see if they have work going, apply for what few jobs there actually are, write letters, fill in boring 12 page plus application forms that take all day to fill in. Wisbech people lazy, I don’t think so!
I was recently offered training for my dream job but carn’t take it up as there is no funding for travel or all the health and safety equipment the EU beauroprats insist on me having to do the training. It could lead to a fabulous dream job outside of the grotty Wisbech area, perhaps that would mean one less capitve worker? If I want to do the trianing I have to fund all the costs out of my £60 a week jobseekers allowance, trying living on £60 a week nowadays and funding your trianing and see how you manage.
There are very few jobs for the locals, not all of us are lazy but employers choose the migrants over local people every time.
Wisbech town is very run down away from the historic bits it’s a grotty scruffy little town and living on it’s past Georgian glories, it had two railway stations once but has been cut off from the outside world since the railways left in 1969, the big cities like Cambridge are nightmare toi get to so local people are trapped and are cheap labour for the local employers. The town has hire and fire employers who think nothing of giving someone the boot if there is a financial advantage in it for them. 3 month job contracts are the norm locally.
I applied to one of the employers featured in the program, he did not even reply as seems to be the norm today, good manners and a quick polite email back seem to be a thing of the past. He later on put an article in the local rag stating Wisbech and English people did not apply that was why he employed the migrants.
Sadly the program hand picked people who weren’t keen on doing a SEASONAL job. The jobs were WRONGLY represented as permanent jobs whereas they were seasonal work. The BBC should be shot for it’s program.
There are plenty of people in Wisbech that want to work and local people do work hard, they don’t need the migrants, the area managed before they came perfectly well.