Man Dumps Mistress: A Story About a Story

 

Back in May - the 22nd, to be exact - I wrote about an item which I thought did not merit being covered by the national press, but it was. It featured the couple in the photo above, by name Tony Garnett, a 29-year-old man who had left his unmarried partner of 10 years, and their two children, for the young lady with him in the picture: 22-year-old Sofiya Karkadym. As was pointed out at the time, there is nothing new about a man leaving his wife for another woman. Marriage breakup is only too common. Still, this particular sad occurrence was deemed suitable for inclusion in the lead articles of our tabloid press at the time.

Four months later, Tony and Sofiya are in the news again. The Sun trumpeted on Monday: 

 "A MAN who left his wife for a Ukrainian refugee says he has now DUMPED her - claiming he couldn’t put up with her any more."

Mr Garnett - the man in the quote - made a number of allegations against his Ukrainian lover, claiming that she had exhibited unreasonable behaviour and so he had thrown her out of the new home they shared together. Another tabloid (The Daily Mail) reported: 

"In an exclusive interview with MailOnline, he revealed today: 'I am 100 per cent through with her. We are finished as a couple.''

People who seek happy endings and hope that Tony Garnett will return to the bosom of his previously abandoned lover and family are likely to be disappointed. His former partner, Lorna Garnett, was quoted in the Mail yesterday:   

"Lorna reacted to news of her former partner splitting up from his Ukrainian girlfriend by reportedly telling friends: 'I wouldn't have him back in a million years.''

Anyone needing further details can read the tabloids referred to above. The story is a sad, but slightly sordid one, and I see no reason to dwell on the unpleasant details. To an extent, I feel sorry for all the protagonists in this affair. Even without the glare of publicity, these events would be traumatic enough. Seeing your private life scrutinised in the tabloids must make things far, far worse, especially for the two Garnett children.

All of which begs the question: why is such a common event as a marriage breakdown being reported in the tabloid press?

The answer, as was agreed in the discussion on this blog on May22, is very simple: Sofiya Karkadym is a Ukrainian refugee. She was welcomed into the Garnetts' home after she arrived in this country, then ran off with Tony 10 days later. That marked her down as a person of interest to our execrable tabloids. Had she been a British girl, this story would not have made the back pages of a local newspaper. The fact that Sofiya was a foreigner who had seemingly abused her hosts' hospitality led to her being portrayed as a wicked temptress. This would undoubtedly have stimulated the xenophobia of the average tabloid reader and led to ignorant criticism of all Ukrainians: "Bloody Ukrainians, comin' over 'ere, breakin' up marriages...etc...etc...". It's only too predictable. Tony Garnett received no criticism for deserting his family; all the opprobrium fell upon Sofiya. 

There's been no change. All the reporting about the present break-up has been from Tony Garnett's side; Sofiya has not been interviewed by any of the tabloids. She has not been able to react to the allegations made against her. In fact, the Mail has made a special point of reporting Garnett's apparent wish for Sofiya to leave the UK altogether: 

"Tony told MailOnline: ' it is the perfect storm. Her visa runs out and she's got nothing here in this country. She's not with me anymore and she's got no reason to stay...She is from Lviv which hasn't really been affected as much as other parts of Ukraine. So hopefully she'll be safe back with her family."

Well, now that's interesting. They have only just split up and already there is talk of the girl having to leave the UK! Sofiya herself has not been consulted on this matter. Every right-wing bigot in the country must have been delighted to read those words. The tabloids reinforce that wish, and the allegations of violent behaviour against Sofiya by publicising, in vivid detail (see links above) an incident where Sofiya reportedly turned up at Tony's door asking to speak to him. For Mail-averse readers, this is a grainy image of the incident, when police were called.

There was no violence, no-one was hurt, but wasn't she a villain, eh? Her side of the story, perhaps inevitably, has not been reported by the tabloids.

So, what can we take from this? The obvious point, of course, is that the tabloids are biased against Sofiya, but we knew that. Less obvious is the fact that the tabloids are using the incident as a means to smear all Ukrainians. What puzzles me is why they are doing this. After all, we are allies of Ukraine against Putin's invasion. It could be a simple desire to exploit xenophobia to sell papers, but they do that already with other groups: Muslims, EU nationals and refugees spring to mind. Or could it be something else? Could it be that they sense - or think they sense - a growth of intolerance towards all migrants, asylum seekers and refugees, and seek to exploit it? It might be all these things, or something I haven't thought of yet.

Whatever, we who despise the tabloids must be vigilant for their xenophobic hate-mongering and perhaps be more vocal in opposing them. As they grow more strident, so must we. At the very least, we can point out to Daily Mail readers that one marriage breakup does not justify smearing a whole people - people who have come to us for security and protection. Developing a resentment towards all Ukrainians is grossly unfair and can only please xenophobic bigots, White Van Man and Vladimir Putin.

Or is that the idea?