By Latheef Farook –
Latheef Farook
Settler colonial state of Israeli presence in Sri Lanka threatens communal harmony and national security besides insults the island which was in the forefront in the regional and international forums defending the legitimate rights of Palestinians.
Most Sri Lankans are not familiar with the blood soaked history of Israel as mainstream local media, perhaps under US- Israeli influence, refuses to highlight Israeli crimes. Shameful state of affairs is such that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was declared by International Criminal Court as a war criminal who has taken the whole world to
ransom.
There was no Israel before 1948. It was Palestine which was part of vast Turkey’s Ottoman Empire- spanned from around 1299 to 1922. During World War I Turkey was defeated and the victorious Britain and France brought the entire Arab world under their control.
They divided the Arab world into states and installed their secular stooges, often hostile to Islam, in power whose descendants still remain in power serving their western masters as shown in their treacherous support to on going Israeli genocide.
Palestine was brought under British Imperial power. The Jewish population in 1910 in Palestine was only 4 percent. The British imperial power and Zionist Jews conspired to drive out Palestinians from their lands to settle Jewish migrants who have not even seen Palestine to create a violent racist Zionist Jewish state of Israel in violation of all established laws, human decency and moral principals.
With the blessings and support of ruling British authority Jews brought from Europe and Russia were trained and equipped by Jewish terror gangs such as Hagan, Stern, Irgun and Zvai Leumi. They, led by Menachem Begin, Yitzhak Shamir and Ariel Sharon, godfathers of terrorism, started killing Palestinians village after village. This very same Begin was later elected Israeli Prime Minister and was awarded coveted Nobel Prize.
The helpless Palestinians rose up in protest and the British authority cruelly crushed the uprising.
Once sufficient Jews were settled in Palestinian lands, the US President Harry Truman took up the issue of partitioning Palestine in the United Nations to create the state of Israel. Most senior officials in the US administration fiercely opposed the move claiming it was illegal to give Palestinian lands to alien Jewish migrants. Six countries opposed the partition. They were blackmailed and bribed to vote in favor of partition. Frightened Palestinians ended up in refugee camps in neighboring countries where they still languish in appalling conditions. In the midst of Zionist carnage the state of Israel was proclaimed on 14 May 1948, over a much larger part of the country than that was allotted to the Zionists by the UN Partition Resolution. In the new Jewish state too the Arabs had a majority as, of the total population of 1,008,900 the Arab-Jew ratio was 509,780 to 499,020.
Since its inception Israel was used by US and Europe to wage their wars in the Middle East. Zionist Jews committed more than thirty genocides of Palestinians. The latest being the ongoing genocide in Gaza supported by US.UK. Europe and Arab dictators.
In 1967 Israel backed by US, UK and France invaded and captured Egypt’s Gaza and Sinai, Syria’s Golan Heights, East Jerusalem from Jordan and South Lebanon.
In the mid 1970s Zionism was declared by the UN as a form of racism. Almost four decades of systematic Israeli oppression and repeated border closures have driven Palestinian in Gaza’s to poverty and inevitably around 80 percent of the population depend on food aid for day-to-day subsistence. Without such aid they would die in a matter of days.
Unable to bear the endless Israeli barbarity Hamas, representing Palestinians elected in a fair and free election supervised by late US President Jimmy Carter, attacked Israel on 7 June 2023. Israel, backed by US-UK,Europe and Arab dictators began bombing and killing Palestinians and destroying the entire infrastructure in Gaza.
This carnage continues to date indiscriminately slaughtering men, women, children and the aged turning Gaza into a graveyard. Since October 2023 Palestinians were deprived of water, food, medicine while almost all buildings including hospitals, schools universities and residential areas were destroyed in Gaza.
US alone paid 22 billion dollar of American tax payers’ money to ethnic cleanse Palestinians, annex Gaza with Israel to create greater Israel to further destabilize the Middle East.
In the case Sri Lanka’s ties since 1948 Israel has been trying to enter Sri Lanka only to get expelled. However in today’s situation it appears US exploited Sri Lanka’s economic bankruptcy which forced the country to turn to International Momentary Fund, for Israelis to enter Sri Lanka during the unelected pro American president Ranil Wickremesinghe’s period.
Earlier despite Muslim opposition late president Jayewardene turned to Israel to fight LTTE terrorism only to realise that Israel has trained both Si Lankan government forces and LTTE in the same area, on the same day and at the same time.
Justifying Israeli presence Sri Lankan government states that Israelis come as tourists and bring foreign exchange besides providing employment to Sri Lankans, which in turn facilitate Israel’s genocide on Palestinians.
People all over the world, sick and tired of medieval Israeli barbarity, demand Israel stop its slaughter of Palestinians. Some even call for dismantling this fascist state. In the midst come reports of Sri Lankan journalists visiting Israel which continue to bomb Gaza city and slaughter its starving people.
Israelis care a damn for anyone. They are only three to five percent of American population. Yet they make and unmake presidents and politicians in the US. The question is what is the guarantee that Sri Lankan, with an extremely corrupted political system, would not face such a fate. Judging from the local media already they are a pampered lot.
Do we really need such people in the island known for its centuries of religious culture, peace and harmony?
Ashan / September 11, 2025
This is not in anyway a sincere kind gesture by this nation accused of genocide. This is a deliberate plan to pick the most anti Muslim Sinhala journalists, the ones infamous for spreading anti Muslim stories to rile up the majority, and make them turn against the Muslims, ending up with attacks on their businesses and their Mosques, to send them on a hasbara tour, to instruct them on spreading the propaganda using the hasbara talking points. IF these so called journalists were in turn seriously wanting to be credible journalists they would insist on going to Gaza to see for themselves and learn the horrors of what is happening over there. They should also ask their zionist buddies why International Journalists have been banned from going in to Gaza to report from there..
These journalists will be once again start their anti Muslim propaganda, and will keep giving glowing reports on nation whose prime Minister has an Arrest Warrant out for him, and a brutal military that ALL Human Rights agencies have stated they have evidence of war crimes being committed. The hasbara has been busy in western nations trying to convince people that all Palestinians are terrorists, that they are the victims, and that they are the only democracy in the Middle East.
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SJ / September 11, 2025
Dear Author
What is the use of all your history and accusations against Israel ans its main supporter if you do not have the honesty in you to identify their key partners in the 77 years of crimes against the Palestinians.
When will you dare to denounce the Sunni Arab rulers who have also betrayed the more secular Arab rulers of Iraq, Libya and Syria?
*
In the name of Allah (PBUH) when will you have the courage to denounce thes ectarian Sunnis who are busy dividing the Muslims based on differences among Sunnni, Shia etc?
While the world talks of greater understanding among religions, these criminals are busy splitting the Muslims.
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Leonard Jayawardena / September 11, 2025
Author: “There was no Israel before 1948. It was Palestine which was part of vast Turkey’s Ottoman Empire- spanned from around 1299 to 1922.”
Firstly, to get a nitpicking point out of the way, Ottoman rule over Palestine was ended following the defeat of its forces at the Battle of Megiddo in September 1918. The League of Nations’ Mandate to the United Kingdom granting civil administration in Palestine was approved in July 1922 and came into effect in September 1923.
The modern state of Israel came into existence in 1948 but historically there an ancient Israelite kingdom as attested by historical and archaeological evidence. On the other hand, there has never been a Palestinian state. The Jews are the most ancient known indigenous people of that land.
If, as likely, this author is saying, that the Jews have never existed as a nation in the holy land, a position not uncommonly held by Palestinians, then he has lost all credibility. Even the Quran, which I assume the author believes in, has several passages that attest to the historical existence of the people of Israel as a nation in Palestine.
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Leonard Jayawardena / September 11, 2025
Author: “The British imperial power and Zionist Jews conspired to drive out Palestinians from their lands to settle Jewish migrants who have not even seen Palestine to create a violent racist Zionist Jewish state of Israel in violation of all established laws, human decency and moral principals.”
As far as I know, all acquisition of Arab land in Palestine by Jews before 1948 was done legally by payment of money. The attack by several Arab countries against Israel in 1948 changed that with some Arabs in Palestine being forced out of their land, others fleeing the violence on their own and yet others abandoning their homes at the request of the invading Arab armies, who assured them that they would be able to return to their properties after Israel had been defeated (and, of course, annihilated). They and their descendents are now known as “refugees.”
Also, the first perpetrators of violence in the Israeli-Arab conflict in Palestine historically were the Arabs, who later came to call themselves “Palestinians.”
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Leonard Jayawardena / September 13, 2025
Sorry, I should have said, “The Jewish Arab conflict,” for Israel as a state did not exist before 1948.
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LankaScot / September 13, 2025
Hello Leonard,
The first Palestinians were called Philistines (Peleset to the Egyptians, Pilistu to the Assyrians). Ask DTG he hates them, asserting that they were Giants from Cyprus, that included Goliath.
The West Bank and East Jerusalem are recognised as Illegally Occupied territories by the UN.
What do you think the “Irgun”were when they blew up the King David Hotel in 1946 killing 91 people and injuring many more; were they Arabs? And by the way it was called Mandatory Palestine at that time.
Best regards
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Leonard Jayawardena / September 13, 2025
LS: “The first Palestinians were called Philistines….”
Is it your contention that the modern day “Palestinians” are the descendants of the Biblical Philistines?
My point is that the Arabs of Palestine never had a state called “Palestine.”
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LankaScot / September 13, 2025
Hello Leonard,
You said “My point is that the Arabs of Palestine never had a state called “Palestine.”
And then in the next Comment you said –
” I was referring to the FIRST acts of violence committed in the Jewish-Arab conflict in Palestine, which goes back to the 19th century”.
Make your mind up. Apart from that it doesn’t matter what the Land was called it was their Home and the Zionists stole it.
Your asinine attempt at Humour/Sarcasm fails just like Jesus fulfilling Messianic Prophecies failed.
It seems like there is a new Holy Trinity – Leonard, DTG and Lester “In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti”. DTG – the Father, Leonard – the Son and Lester the Mystic – the Holy Ghost
Best regards
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Leonard Jayawardena / September 14, 2025
LS:
“Make your mind up. Apart from that it doesn’t matter what the Land was called it was their Home and the Zionists stole it.”
I point is that the Arabs of Palestine did not have a state. This was originally stated by me in the context of my responding to the author’s assertion “There was no Israel before 1948.” I pointed out that there was an ancient kingdom of Israel in that land. As to why the land of Israel came to be called “Palestine,” just do a search on the internet and you’ll understand why. I won’t spoon feed you.
What is your evidence for your assertion that “the Zionists stole” Arabs’ “home”?
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LankaScot / September 14, 2025
Hello Leonard,
You are either blind to the evidence or disingenuous.
“What is your evidence for your assertion that “the Zionists stole” Arabs’ “home”?
Here is a personal one. This Zionist Settler says to this homeowner “If I don’t steal your home, someone else will steal it”.
– https://www.instagram.com/reel/COf1oqjB0TI/
Read the Wikipedia Article “Land expropriation in the West Bank” – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_expropriation_in_the_West_Bank
Of course you will nitpick and assert that “expropriation” is not stealing. Remember “If it quacks like a duck ….”
Finally ” in 930 BC the kingdom had been divided between the Northern Kingdom of Israel (capital: Samaria) and the Southern Kingdom of Judah (capital: Jerusalem)”. King Zedekiah was the last king of Judah (Southern Kingdom) 586 BCE. King Hoshea was the last king of Israel (Northern Kingdom) in 722 BCE.
In Roman occupied Palestine (39 BCE) Herod was unexpectedly appointed King of the Jews by the Roman Senate; Herod’s ethnic background was Arab on both sides of his family. So the last King of the Jews was an Arab
Best regards
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Leonard Jayawardena / September 14, 2025
LS:
“Here is a personal one. This Zionist Settler says to this homeowner ‘If I don’t steal your home, someone else will steal it.'”
Glad to see that your account has not yet been hacked. What is the context of my statement?
Author: “The British imperial power and Zionist Jews conspired to drive out Palestinians from their lands to settle Jewish migrants who have not even seen Palestine to create a violent racist Zionist Jewish state of Israel….”
It’s in that context I stated, “[A]ll acquisition of Arab land in Palestine by Jews before 1948 was done legally by payment of money.”
Which you have totally ignored. The Jews didn’t “steal” any one’s land before 1948. The 1948 war, which was started by the Arabs, saw many Arabs being driven out of their homes and the 1967 war saw the Jews occupying the West Bank, to which you are referring, after the Jordanians, who possessed it, had attacked Israel in support of the Egyptians.
Continued.
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Lester / September 14, 2025
“Here is a personal one. This Zionist Settler says to this homeowner ‘If I don’t steal your home, someone else will steal it.’”
LS is a master of obfuscation, using red herrings and irrelevant data points to reach erroneous conclusions. Had the Arabs won the Six-Day War, they would have kicked all of the Jews out of Israel/Palestine. Israel won the war and let the Arabs (Palestinians) stay. Because of the various “intifidas”, in which Palestinians carried out multiple suicide attacks against Israeli civilian targets, Israel had to implement stricter security measures. This brings us to the present-day. Even after Sharon gave Gaza back to the Palestinians, it was not accepted as an olive branch. Hamas used the opportunity to build a tunnel network to hide missiles, in anticipation of a 7th Oct type attack.
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LankaScot / September 15, 2025
Hello Lester,
What is obfuscatory about ‘If I don’t steal your home, someone else will steal it.’ Did the event happen or not.
By the way you know full well that Willie McRae was a friend of my Father. I wrote about it before; it was an Extra Judicial Killing. An Autopsy was performed in Aberdeen Royal Infirmary that found 2 Bullets in his Brain..
My Father thought that it was for his Anti Nuclear Investigations. I think now that it was for his Royal Paedophile Investigations.
Best regards
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Lester / September 15, 2025
Very simple, Scott. If Israel didn’t have a capable airforce and/or nuclear weapons, it would not exist today. Erdogan, Head Chopper, Egypt, etc. would march on it from all sides. Israel is not trying to steal land or houses, it is fighting for its very survival . The fundamental problem here is not Israel, but the hostile attitude of the Quran towards Judaism. As I said before, Islam is regressive . While other major religions generally look toward the future and embrace modern values . Islam is in dire need of a Reformation-style movement . The foundations have to be shaken, the followers have to embrace reform .
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Leonard Jayawardena / September 15, 2025
Chester: “Had the Arabs won the Six-Day War, they would have kicked all of the Jews out of Israel/Palestine.”
In a comment, I stated the same in regard to the 1948 war, which was started by the Arabs. People like LS, who constantly criticise, moan and lament about alleged Israeli violations of human rights, wilfully ignore this plain truth.
If the Arabs had been more powerful than Israel, LS and his ilk would know what true genocide is.
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Lester / September 15, 2025
Leonard,
There are roughly 1 billion Muslims and 15.8M Jews (as of 2025), yet the former cannot decisively defeat the latter. With the exception of the Palestinians, the priority of the Arabs has been the defeat of Persian Iran and the dominance of Sunni Islam. Using their oil wealth they have poured hundreds of billions into this endeavor over many decades. Most Muslims live outside the Middle East; they have also contributed to jihad (the holy war) in one form or another as part of the religious duty called “zakat.” They have had one major success so far, and that has been the utter debasement and destruction of Syria. But they failed miserably in Yemen, even with the assistance of the US and UK.
If the Sunnis organized properly and mounted a proper front, Israel would be in serious trouble. The Arab countries comprising OPEC want to hang on to their oil wealth, as it subsidizes the lavish lifestyles of their upper class. The Palestinian cause is simply a tool for rich Arab leaders to keep their low-IQ populations placated. The Palestinians should relieve themselves of this bunch, and negotiate directly with Israel.
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Leonard Jayawardena / September 14, 2025
LS: “Herod’s ethnic background was Arab on both sides of his family. So the last King of the Jews was an Arab.”
I will give you 1/2 mark for knowledge of history. Herod’s father was Antipater, an Edomite, and his mother was Cypros, a Nabatean Arab princess from Petra. Edomites descended from Esau, Jacob’s brother (both Isaac’s sons), and the putative ancestor of the Arabs is Ishmael, the half-brother of Isaac. Therefore, Edomites not being Arabs, Herod was only a half-Arab.
Anyway, what’s your point in saying that the “last king of the Jews was an Arab”? The last kings of the Kandyan kingdom, which ended in 1815, were all Tamils (100%) from South India.
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Lester / September 14, 2025
The last kings of the Kandyan kingdom, which ended in 1815, were all Tamils (100%) from South India.
This is just LTTE propaganda. South Indian does not necessarily equate to Tamil. There are many North Indians living in South India. Historically, the upper-caste Brahmins who immigrated to South India came from North India. That’s why you see such a variation in skin color.
Do you think this lady is “pure Dravidian?” https://www.colombotelegraph.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Usha-S-Sri-Skanda-Rajah-150×150.jpg
The last kings of the Kandyan Kingdom were Telugu-speaking Nayakas, not Tamil.
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LankaScot / September 14, 2025
Hello Leonard,
The Jury is still out on Herod’s Arabic Descent; “Strabo, a contemporary of Herod, held that the Idumaeans, whom he identified as of Nabataean origin, constituted the majority of the population of western Judea, where they commingled with the Judaeans and adopted their customs. This is a view shared also by some modern scholarly works which consider Idumaeans to be either Arab or Nabataean in origin”. The Nabateans were an Arabic People – https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nabataean-people
Also many of the Edomites converted to Judaism. See “Juan Manuel Tebes” for an objective view of the Edomite History and relationship to Judaism.
As for my “King of the Jews” sentence, Pontius Pilate put the sign “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews” on the cross” in mockery of his claim.
Best regards
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Leonard Jayawardena / September 15, 2025
LS: “As for my ‘King of the Jews’ sentence, Pontius Pilate put the sign ‘Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews’ on the cross in mockery of his claim.”
This is a nonsensical explanation for your original statement “[T]he last king of the Jews was an Arab.” This explanation indicates either that you suffer from some kind of dementia or your intellectual dishonesty. I am inclined to the latter. Unless I am much mistaken, I think by that statement you meant to bolster the Palestinian Arabs claim to the land but that argument was forestalled by my mentioning that the last kings of the Kandyan Kingdom were all Tamils from South India.
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LankaScot / September 16, 2025
Hello Leonard,
Just like DTG, you don’t understand Sarcasm or Irony. Jesus was supposed to have fulfilled the Prophecy. ““Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.” (Jeremiah 23:5).
Joseph was not the Father of Jesus and Mary’s Genealogy is unknown. As the Catholic Church says of Mary’s Parents “We have no historical evidence, however, of any elements of their lives, including their names. Any stories about Mary’s father and mother come to us through legend and tradition.”
I am also being Sarcastic about his claim just like Pilate, or is that not “Kosher”?
Best regards
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Leonard Jayawardena / September 16, 2025
LS:
I am replying here to your last comment as it has no “Reply” button.
You: “I am also being Sarcastic about [Jesus’] claim just like Pilate, or is that not “Kosher”?
Nothing’s kosher with me. If this was your real intent in making the “the last king of the Jews” statement, then this is taking your malle pol to an unprecedented level and DTG, whom you mock, would make a perfect partner for you, both being total nutjobs.
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Leonard Jayawardena / September 13, 2025
LS: “The West Bank and East Jerusalem are recognised as Illegally Occupied territories by the UN.”
Your customary malle pol?
You: “What do you think the “Irgun”were when they blew up the King David Hotel in 1946 killing 91 people and injuring many more; were they Arabs?”
More malle pol. I was referring to the FIRST acts of violence committed in the Jewish-Arab conflict in Palestine, which goes back to the 19th century.
You might find this article instructive:
https://www.fondapol.org/en/study/pogroms-in-palestine-before-the-creation-of-the-state-of-israel-1830-1948/
BTW, I have discovered a way to determine if your account has been hacked: If comments under your user name do not contain any malle pol stuff, then there’s a strong likelihood it has been hacked and an impostor is posting under your user name.
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The Truth / September 13, 2025
So many issues here. Israel is committing genocide targeting a whole people ( among whom there are enemy fighters )
They are giving some journalists an opportunity to visit the scene .Both parties do this. Many Muslim countries spend money to covert others.
If Israel is not armed and strong will it not be destroyed by her hostile neighbors, yes I know as to whom the land belongs is a complex argument.
Which country in that part is most liberal and enlightened ? Cairo, Baghdad ,Amman or Tel Aviv ?
Ask this question from our workers who have seen things from the bottom of the rung .
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Lester / September 15, 2025
” Israel is committing genocide”
The real reason for the high body count in Gaza is the population density. You have families of 10 or 12 people living together. All of these people should be offered asylum in third countries, similar to Ukraine, but no country has made such an offer thus far. These countries are doing the opposite now. They are rolling back immigration, due to the failure of Arab & North African migrants to assimilate.
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RBH59 / September 14, 2025
Which city in this part of the world is the most liberal and enlightened — Cairo, Baghdad, Amman, or Tel Aviv?
The majority in this region is not just a matter of numbers — it’s the result of the enlightenment brought by religion.
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SJ / September 14, 2025
Check the red-light districts
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The Truth / September 15, 2025
SJ you mean the ‘harems”?
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Mallaiyuran / September 15, 2025
Ask him “Map Please!”!
Those are technical terms used in illuminating Karl “Marxism”. Some are leftovers by Rapist Military for Paramilitaries.
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Ajith / September 15, 2025
“Most Sri Lankans are not familiar with the blood soaked history of Israel as mainstream local media, perhaps under US- Israeli influence, refuses to highlight Israeli crimes.”
What did Sri Lankan Muslim political and religious leaders do until now who were part of the Sri Lankan governments? Didn’t they support Gota, Mahinda or Ranil as ministers? Didn’t they support all amendments for dictatorship of these leaders? Why most of the Muslims run away from muslim countries to countries like USA, UK, Europe as refugees?
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