Author Archives: Adam Hanrahan

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Doing more for refugees

By Adam Hanrahan | Thu 31st March 2016 - 11:58 am

Last week, I was in Lesvos for a fieldclass. The module was ostensibly meant to focus on island economies, what issues does Lesvos’ economy face by virtue of being an island. On the second day of the class, it became clear that the real focus had to be about refugees not as statistics on a page. But as people.

We arrived in Lesvos on 19th March, the day the EU-Turkey deal came into effect. The next day, we went on a walk around Mitilini (the capital of Lesvos) when I took this photograph. It was meant to be a picture of the Greek Statue of Liberty, which celebrates their liberation from the Ottoman Empire. But in the bottom right hand corner of the picture, you will see a large ship, full of people waiting to leave.

Posted in Op-eds | Tagged refugee crisis | 5 Comments

Making the boat go faster

By Adam Hanrahan | Fri 5th February 2016 - 8:51 am

I have been a party member for two years now. One of the first things I learnt was that the online Lib Dem forums on Facebook were an odd mix of conversations. Some of which were useful and constructive, but then there were those posts which, when I read them, made me think of a saying we have here in Sheffield’s local party, ‘How is this making the boat go faster?’. I’ve recently seen another spate of these and it is that which prompts me to write this.

Often these conversations are vitriolic (in my opinion) and only seem interested in attacking Nick Clegg and his supporters as some kind of Tory cabal. A sleeper cell planted years ago designed to destroy this party. The one we have all chosen.