The number of migrants who have died crossing the English Channel this year has exceeded the number of British service personnel killed during Operation TELIC, the Second Gulf War, prompting veterans to draw comparisons with wartime losses.
The death toll of more than 180 in the Channel is now higher than the 179 British service personnel who lost their lives during the Iraq campaign between 2003 and 2009, according to figures cited by veterans.
Veteran draws parallels with Iraq conflict
Paul ‘Rebel’ Rees, 54, a veteran of Operation TELIC who served with 1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards near Basra, said the scale of loss was comparable to conflict. Now an Evangelical Christian reverend, he also worked in security in Libya, where he witnessed migrants departing for Europe by boat.
“For one life to be lost crossing the sea just to want a better life is sad… any life lost that way is tragic,” he said. “You get some people who might not care, but I say to them what if it was one of your family? We’ve lost our way with compassion and empathy in this country. The same number that were killed in Iraq is now the same number that have died crossing in the boats, will it make people think?”
Reaction to public criticism
Rees, who runs the podcast Rebel Reverend, said discussing the migrant issue could provoke strong reactions. After a podcast sermon, he said he told listeners that migrants are “still God’s children”.
“I had such an abusive message sent to me from someone who appeared on their profile to be a Christian,” he added. “I wouldn’t usually do it, but I messaged back and told them they were an absolute hypocrite claiming to be a Christian but sending messages like this. I said they needed to go back and read the Bible and understand what it truly means.”
Rees said that during his time in Libya he saw men, women and children “literally washing up on the beach”.
Call for action from second veteran
Scott ‘Mitch’ Mitchell, 44, who served in TELIC in 2004 and 2005 with the Army Air Corps, now works at Lost Shore Surf Resort in Edinburgh and with the British Army surfing team. He said he believed many deaths go unrecorded.
“I think there will be a lot more deaths which go unrecorded, I know how treacherous the sea is, I’ve spent my life in it surfing,” he said. “I think there is a lot of talk (from governments in France and Britain) and seemingly not a lot of action. We need a stop and reset to address this problem objectively as adults.”
Mitchell noted that during TELIC, press pressure and letters from the public led to improved kit for soldiers, and he suggested the same dynamic could apply to Channel crossings. He recalled being issued new equipment and realising it was not for him or his colleagues, but because of “the many letters written from mums and dads worried about the kit their sons had”. He added: “I think that ties in with the issue of the crossings.”
