Europe’s bout of sympathy

Rebekah Brooks is back in the Murdoch fold, as chief executive officer of News UK, (formerly News International). This has to be the greatest story of survival within a highly competitive media, and is a loud anti-establishment gesture of defiance from Rupert Murdoch, who obviously values her work and loyalty, more than the toe curling allegations that followed the phone hacking scandal. Because, thanks to the detailed public inquiry, the closure of the tabloid, News Of The World, and the dreadful allegations about cash-for-stories, there is little we do not know about the red-tressed editor.

We learnt about her private life, about her “lol” exchanges with Mr Cameron, about her closeness to Rupert Murdoch. We had guessed she had loads of chutzpah, because she faced all the embarrassment stoically. But that she would quietly head back to the Murdoch empire so soon was not known. Actually she has been cleared of both the charges — of phone hacking and for paying cash for stories. Not so lucky was her colleague, and her alleged one time lover, Andy Coulson, who went onto become Mr Cameron’s media adviser.

Found guilty during the inquiry, he spent five months in prison out of a total term of 18. Given her past record, it will be only a matter of time before Ms Brooks pushes this unpleasant period behind her, with much more to prove. Will she try to settle scores with those who belittled her? Only time will tell! Behind those unruly red locks is a lot of determination. Perhaps that’s what her boss admires about her — an ability to survive scandals! He has, after all, a similar track record.

The sight of a very young Syrian refugee, Aylan Kurdi, on a beach, has shaken British hearts. Till yesterday, those who were closed to the idea of immigrants coming into the country, are now rapidly changing their minds. Led by an emotional Prime Minister David Cameron, who said that the UK would be willing to take in thousands more refugees from Syria, ordinary British folk are now even ready to open up their homes to these strangers who are fleeing their own. They have offered to keep many of these refugees with them. It is this spontaneous outpouring of sympathy that makes UK unique. People might appear tough, but melt completely if they are needed to be charitable. And it is the same story in much of Europe.

The terrible images emanating from Hungary, for example, where the right-wing government refused entry to those escaping the ghastly situation in Syria, are now being replaced by images from a more welcoming German nation. In fact, almost all the refugees who continue to land in Hungary had nowhere to go, and so the German decision to help them comes as a huge relief. Respect for German Chancellor Angela Merkel has also leapt up, many times. But the question remains whether this sympathy will last, because the flood of refugees appears never-ending.

And now calling all Asians in the UK (because I know they love reading this paper) — especially those who left India just before or after Partition — to participate in The Partition Museum, which will be brought up in Punjab, in a physical space, by November 2016? It will contain memories, oral histories, documents, and so on, from just before and after the Partition. Do get in touch, with your family’s personal experiences and participate/donate/volunteer in any way that you think possible! The details are on the website: www.thepartitionmuseumproject.com. The idea is to have all memories of people, from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh together, in one physical space.

— Kishwar Desai is an award-winning author