John Oliver tops his lecture to Europe (and Fox News) on how to treat migrants with a brilliant surprise ending
Hundreds of thousands of migrants and refugees are streaming into Europe, and "the scale of this story can be hard to wrap your head around," John Oliver said on Last Week Tonight. Sometimes people fumble when trying to find the right way to describe the mass migration from Syria and other war-torn areas, like David Cameron, who used the scary word "swarm," Oliver said — illustrating his point with a hypothetical "swarm" of kittens.
Fox News dug lower, opting for the less civil phrase "terrorists." Oliver dissected one segment in which Fox News used a 2010 clip of chanting Muslims riding a train to suggest terrorists are infiltrating Europe today, then recast the newscast with a scene from the movie True Lies showing (fictional) Muslim terrorists shooting guns in the air. "That's only about 10 percent more racist than what you did," he told Fox.
The bulk of Oliver's argument was aimed at Europe, which — aside from Germany, he said, surprised — has generally insulted and shunned the migrants, pleading with them to stay away or threatening to kick them out, or describing them as lazy freeloading garbage. "You really want to talk about lazy migrants? I'm a lazy migrant!" Oliver said, noting that, unlike the Syrians fleeing in risky life rafts, he emigrated in a plane, fleeing only fog and public indifference.
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He explained why it is in Europe's self-interest to take in these refugees, focusing on one, a 16-year-old Syrian named Nageen Mustafa, who fled Kobani in her wheelchair. So far this is all pretty typical Oliver, a mix of serious advocacy and dashes of humor. Even the celebrity-filled surprise ending is pretty common fare for Last Week Tonight. But this one, aimed squarely at Mustafa, will at least make you appreciate soap operas — if it doesn't make you tear up:
And here's the real surprise ending: On Monday, ABC News found Nageen at a refugee camp in Essen, Germany, and showed her the clip. "They are back together!" she said of her Days of Our Lives "friends" Sami and EJ, fighting back tears of joy (as ABC News reports). "I don't even care that [EJ] mentioned my name. I just care that they are back together!... It's the best evening of my life! I have nothing to complain about." And that's something to think about.
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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
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