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Is this a case of one judgement for the educated and another for the rest?. Too often, we either pretend that refugees do not exist, or we treat them badly; at such a sensitive time, political leaders should be addressing prejudices rather than reinforcing them. Today The Independent on Sunday reveals that the Government plans to fly plane-loads of Afghan refugees back to their country. It is the latest response from ministers to the increasingly hysterical debate in Britain about how to deal with asylum seekers.
In the aftermath of 11 September, a softer line was taken on Afghan refugees. But a few months later, the Government has no room for a softer line.

Over the past two weeks, it has proposed, in a combination of leaked memos and formal announcements, that asylum seekers should be isolated from other communities in newly built institutions, that naval ships should intercept boats carrying those attempting to get into the country and that the RAF should take plane-loads of them home. Not to be outdone, Iain Duncan Smith has declared that no asylum seeker from the Sangatte camp in Calais should be allowed into Britain. Placed together, these assorted pronouncements convey overwhelming hostility.While the details are more nuanced and sophisticated, the symbolism is crude and potentially destabilising. If senior ministers believe that the best location for asylum seekers is one that is tucked away from the rest of the community, in rural isolation, why should we bother to be tolerant to those that are in our towns? If the Government is sending out warships to stop them coming in, why should we treat with respect those that have managed to get here already? If Mr Duncan Smith argues for all those in the Sangatte camp to be kept out, why should we put up with those that have been allowed in?Now that the Taliban has fallen in Afghanistan, there may well be a case for sending some refugees back to a more stable environment.

More broadly, the Government seeks to integrate genuine asylum seekers into the community even if it sets them apart at first. Even Mr Duncan Smith qualifies his tough stance by arguing that resources should be focused on existing asylum seekers.Other more positive arguments also occasionally surface in a whisper. The NHS is crying out for staff at every level, from low-paid cleaners to doctors and surgeons. Recruiting people who have the right skills and badly want to live here is one solution.