Letters - 24 October 2025

From tone to witness for peace

by The Friend 24th October 2025

Reaching safety

I am shocked and saddened by Clive Ashwin’s letter (10 October), especially as it comes from a supposedly Quaker source. 

Let me express my opinion by asking him if he would have opposed the Underground Railroad, which helped 100,000 escaping slaves reach safety. It was illegal. Helpers (‘conductors’) could well have been labelled people smugglers or ‘criminal gangs’. Or would Clive have supported Canadians who objected to the non-legal ‘invasion’ of these uneducated, black, indigent immigrants? 

In my opinion the present opposition to the boat people is little other than racism.

Stephen Petter