In 2021, a group of people slowly froze to death in icy waters, and despite knowing about them, no-one came to help. 27 bodies later were found (4 are still missing – the deceased included a pregnant woman and three children). Yet both British and French authorities knew of the boat, with transcripts proving that one passenger had begged for help, with retorts back that they were in ‘the wrong waters’. When the boat overturned at 3am, it was only a French fisherman who raised the alarm.
British Red Cross has a good article on the stories behind the tabloid headlines (most of which aren’t true). Obviously this is a serious issue, but publishing misleading articles in newspapers is not the way to solve things. The big argument often used by many right-wing journalists is why (when France can keep refugees safe too) do refugees always come to England? The answer is obvious: because often they have family here, nobody is going to risk life and limb going on a boat, if they have the chance to stay in France, which is a nice country to live in.
It’s because often after years of separation due to becoming refugees, they wish to be reunited with their loved ones, just as you would:
If you think about where you might go if your home was being bombed or your life was at risk because of persecution, it would probably be somewhere where you know someone. We would all want to be able to hug and hold our family again, after experiencing such horrors. British Red Cross
Other reasons include language (it’s more common for refugees to know English so there is more chance of finding work and accommodation). And the little-known fact that the media often leave out is that it’s not the decision of the refugees where they go. They are often leaving in fear and secrecy, and are at the mercy of smugglers who decide where they are going. The lack of an official legal route for asylum seekers to the UK (which is what campaigners want) means they are left in limbo, rather than coming legally to fight their case (they would then be deported if there was no case, but could come here safely without drowning off boats if they had a case).
The other reason that migrants often travel to England is one that many MPs would not like to talk about: the fact that employment is tightly regulated in France, so it’s more difficult to find work as unlike England, it’s not easy to find work as a poorly-paid and badly-treated employee of some shady outfit. Migrants are often desperate to work and will ‘do the jobs that nobody else will here’ like working in abattoirs (that would give most people constant nightmares’).
It’s interesting that despite all the anti-migrant rhetoric, during the pandemic when we had no immigrants to pick our food, the government was encouraging people to get involved on farms. They didn’t realise that picking crops for farms is actually a skilled job, and most of us are not able to do it. MPs were looking at empty plates, and wondering why!
why the Rwandan Bill is dangerous
If people risk their lives to travel on small boats to reach safety (often after awful times), then telling them they will end up in Rwanda is not going to deter. In fact, many have fled regimes with poor human rights abuses, and many commercial airlines don’t want to get involved in sending chained screaming refugees back to near where they escaped, meaning the planes will be military. Experts have warned that airlines that do comply could become complicit in violating human rights and court orders.
MPs say that Rwanda is a safe country, despite previous records of human rights abuses. The Global Peace Index (which unsurprisingly has Switzerland has top) lists Rwanda as no.88 (it’s genocide only ended in 1994, which also killed the country’s lions).
Although not illegal, this very religious country does not let any mention of people being gay in the media, with some people reporting being blackmailed or harrassed. And Human Rights Watch still has grave concerns over the treatment of homeless people, beggars, street children, street vendors and sex workers (prostitutes). So what on earth will life be like for a homeless gay refugee who arrives here?
