London’s diverse family has home truths for Trump
Now The Donald has got Cara on his case
WHEN we heard that Donald Trump had signed a ban on citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen travelling to the US, The Londoner thought how dull London would be without such people and got out the Smythson to ring a few old friends.
First up, the fiery Somalia-born Nimco Ali, writer and campaigner. “Unlike Mo Farah, the Queen has not honoured me with a knighthood,” says Nimco cheekily. “But she and her government gave us safety and a home.” Ali arrived in the UK as a child refugee. “Today my birth city is the capital of the self-declared independent State of Somaliland, linked to Somalia historically and therefore on the banned list. I am sure there will be some kind of attempt to exempt some of us because we hold a British passport, but as long as those who look like me are not welcomed I stand with them.”
Actor Andy Serkis, right — also known as Gollum and King Kong — is the world’s greatest motion-capture specialist and, a p t l y, great at capturing the emotion. His father was Iraqi. “We find ourselves instead with a childish bully at the helm who has put catastrophic, heinous and brutal executive orders into place, one presumes to show off how powerful he is,” he says. “Many of my own relatives sought refuge abroad. Thank God the world is finally voicing its rage at the election of this hyper-egotistical narcissist.”
Comedian Omid Djalili, whose parents are from Iran, tweeted: “Can’t wait to congratulate the [La La Land] film-makers in the States when I see them. Oh, hang on...”
Editor supreme Tina Brown, whose mother was part-Iraqi, added: “Cruelty and chaos are a deadly combination. The shame of treatment of refugees will take decades to expunge”.
We shall overcomb.