Katie Hopkins Refugee Lies BUSTED

Having returned from Sicily, definitely not having joined the ship of far-right fools looking for migrants in the Mediterranean Sea, and kicking her heels before jetting off to Los Angeles to increase the public presence of Herself Personally Now, pro-am motormouth Katie Hopkins has appeared on Fox News Channel (fair and balanced my arse) to make a number of totally untrue statements about refugees.

Viewers may want to look away now

Appearing on Varney & Co., another of those FNC shows in the “Opinion” strand of the channel’s programming, Hatey Katie warmed to her task, warbling “One of the questions that I’ve been asking, in my column and on the radio [until LBC kicked her out] is ‘If Islam’s so fantastic, why is it that Muslims always seem to want to come and flee to Christian countries?’” And, as is her wont, there was more.

“It’s a question that doesn’t get asked a lot, but it’s one that’s an interesting question to answer” she continued. What was not told is that one reason it doesn’t get asked a lot, and which makes it interesting to answer, is that it’s a pack of lies. Muslim refugees from recent conflicts across the Middle East tend, by a vast majority, to flee to other countries where the majority of the population is Muslim. Let us consider three examples.

First off, as the displacement started earliest, is Afghanistan, where there has been upheaval since the then Soviet Union decided to effectively annex the country in 1979. Of the estimated 2.6 million Afghan refugees, 95% have settled in Iran and Pakistan. Around half of the remainder have gone to the UAE. “Always seem to want to come and flee to Christian countries”? Once again, my arse.

Perhaps the Iraqi conflicts over the years have a different story to tell? Well, no: that 95% figure seems to hold among them, too. The Wiki entry, which has reliable citations to back it up, tells “Iraqi refugees have mainly fled into urban centers across region, rather than in refugee camps … There are roughly 2 million Iraqi refugees living in countries neighboring Iraq … and 95% of them still live in the Middle East - although other nations in Europe have begun to accept Iraqi refugees”. 95% still in the Middle East.

So that’ll be 95% still in Muslim majority countries, then. And so we come to Syria, where those trying to get to Europe have generated such publicity - and controversy. But again, most refugees have not gone to Christian countries. Turkey has taken around 3 million, Lebanon more than 2 million, and Jordan well over a million. Only then do you see Germany with around 600,000 - and then come several more majority Muslim countries, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iraq, Kuwait, and Egypt. Then Sweden.

And the likes of Ms Hopkins want to tell us that they’re all coming here. We’ve taken around 56,000 Afghans, and less than 10,000 Syrians, over the years. The overwhelming majority of Muslim refugees are still in Muslim countries. Yet on FNC, the host of Varney & Co happily tells Katie Hopkins how right she is. She isn’t. She’s yet another uninformed, bigoted liar who can’t be arsed doing a few minutes’ research.

So perhaps when she flies off to LA later this week, Fox News could offer her something, you know, over there. You want her, you’re welcome to her. Problem solved.