Rob Rinder warns history is ‘repeating itself’ in report from Polish border
TV judge compares scenes at Przemysl railway station to his Jewish grandparents’ experience of fleeing to the UK during the Second World War.
TV judge Rob Rinder has warned that history is “repeating itself” as he reported from Poland’s border with Ukraine
The barrister had travelled to the town of Przemysl in a bid to help the grandparents of Oksana Platero, his former professional partner on Strictly Come Dancing, cross the border safely.
He compared scenes at the railway station to his Jewish grandparents’ experience of fleeing to the UK during the Second World War.
“People should know what happened in the past or we’re doomed to repeat it,” he warned, as he spoke to viewers of ITV’s Good Morning Britain show on Tuesday.
.@RobbieRinder reacts to @JamesCleverly's response to the red tape that is currently slowing down the process of getting Ukraine refugees to the UK.
He states that British people are willing and able to help and want to 'deliver on the promises they've made.' pic.twitter.com/phjELWVu3R
— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) March 15, 2022
” I can tell GMB viewers and you that it is repeating itself.
“It’s hard to believe, Susanna (Reid) and Richard (Madeley), that this is 2022.
“The trains arrive infrequently. When they do it is women, it is children, it is babies in mothers’ arms.
“They arrive in wagons cheek to jowl, a sea of humanity with just very often one suitcase or the clothes on their back.”
He continued: “Once those trains arrive, in the rare moments they do. Just a few weeks ago, a calm, modern journey, much like going from London to Paris, it is a sea not just of devastation, but scenes… only our parents and grandparents really lived through.”
The 43-year-old also challenged the speed at which the UK government processing applicants fleeing Ukraine.
Rinder called for the government to “get on with it” and help people over complicated online application forms for refugees.
He revealed Strictly star Platero’s family members have been able to safely leave Ukraine and were now in Poland.
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