Singer Dua Lipa is known for pop hits such as 'Levitating' and 'IDGAF', but it turns out the English-Albanian musician does ‘GAF’ about the UK government’s rhetoric around immigrants – including around Albanians.
Speaking to The Sunday Times, the 27-year-old, whose parents are Kosovo Albanians, said “of course it hurt” when Home Secretary Suella Braverman spoke of an “invasion” of immigrants and “Albanian criminals” in the Commons back in November.
The artist said: “All those words thrown around about immigrants? I always felt London was an amalgamation of cultures. It is integral to the city.
“So when you hear the government talk about Albanians, for example, it hurts. It’s short-sighted and small-minded, but it’s the way a lot of people think.
“No matter how we try and change the rhetoric, there will always be those who think, ‘immigrants are coming into the country and taking jobs!’
“However, immigrants who have come here have earned their keep by working incredibly hard. There needs to be empathy, because people don’t leave their country unless they have to out of necessity, out of fear for their family.”
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Last year, Braverman told MPs: “[2022] has seen a surge in the number of Albanian arrivals – many of them, I am afraid to say, abusing our modern slavery laws.
“Albania is not a war-torn country, and it is very difficult to see how claims for asylum really can be legitimate claims for asylum. I would also note that we see a large number of Albanian migrants arriving here and claiming to be victims of modern slavery.
“Again, I really am circumspect about those claims, because Albania is, of course, a signatory to the European convention against trafficking - the original convention that underlies our modern slavery laws - and if those people are genuinely victims of modern slavery, they should be claiming that protection in Albania.”
At the time when Braverman made the remarks, the prime minister of Albania, Edi Rama, slammed the comments for “fuelling xenophobia”.
While Lipa said she likes “being vocal about politics all over the world”, she added she would “stay away from politicians”.
Nevertheless, the 'Physical' singer has been praised online for her intervention:
And it’s not the first time Braverman has been called out for her choice of language around immigrants, as at the start of the year she was confronted on her use of terms such as “invasion” by a child survivor of the Holocaust.
After the woman – 83-year-old Joan Salter – asked Braverman why she feels the need “to use that kind of language”, the home secretary replied to say she “won’t apologise for the language that I’ve used” to “demonstrate the scale of the problem” around immigration.
“We mustn’t shy away from saying there’s a problem. I will not shy away from saying we have a problem with people exploiting our generosity, breaking our laws and undermining our system,” she said.
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