Drop this obsolete term

From Bridget Murphy.

IN the approach to the 65th anniversary of our liberation from Nazi occupation, it would seem some of your correspondents still rant on about democracy, and foreigners occupying top positions in the Island, and that Jersey should be running its own affairs.

Firstly, democracy is about people, not their nationalities, not their backgrounds. As far as jobs are concerned, it is experience, merit, and suitability that should decide selection. Some of those people who hitherto held, and now hold, such positions, are mainly from the British Isles, of which Jersey is a part. Indeed, it was Hitler’s proud boast that he occupied a part of Britain.

It should be remembered, too, that many people who now call themselves Jersey are of ethnic origins, so it is no longer appropriate to refer to them as foreigners.

I believe Jersey is to be admired, mainly for its evolving good management, as a whole. All human society makes mistakes from time to time. And Jersey is to be envied in the way it strove and got back on its feet after five long, dark years of Occupation.

Now in the 21st century, we should be delighted and welcoming those who wish to live and work in Jersey. And, the description of ‘foreigner’ should be an obsolete reference to any person.