Support the RNLI : Oppose the Racist Nationality and Borders Bill

 

The British charity Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) received a backlash recently following a news report which described the entry of their vessel into French waters to search for a boat in distress with 20 migrants on board.

RNLI said it received a huge volume of comments on social media after a British tabloid published the article on July 2. Former UKIP and Brexit party leader, and seven-time failed parliamentary candidate, Ngel Farage    said at the time the RNLI had become "a taxi service for illegal immigration".

On July 5  the day before the publication of the highly contentious Nationality and Borders Bill  (July 6), which seeks to further restrict the asylum application process and to clamp down on clandestine Channel crossings by people seeking refuge in the UK, the RNLI responded with a statement clarifying that its mission is to "save lives at sea . . . without judgment of how they came to be in the water." The charity added, "we want to be absolutely clear that we are incredibly proud of the humanitarian work our volunteer lifeboat crews do to rescue vulnerable people in distress."

The RNLI is a voluntary  body that;s sole purpose of existence is to save lives,  they don’t care about the immigration status of the people they pick up.

Furthermore, the service will keep rescuing people under those conditions, no matter what Patel says, because they have a Royal Charter – the Queen supports what they do.

Sadly, the publicity given to our brave lifeboat people has attracted the attention of the nastier elements of society , emboldened from the rhetoric from such as Nigel Farage and Home Secretary Priti Patel we’re starting to see incidents like the following .

On Friday (23 July) evening, some members of the RNLI Tower lifeboat crew were verbally abused while reporting for duty. A volunteer with the Royal National Lifeboat Institution has reported being ‘verbally assaulted’ by members of the public whereas on responsibility. The Tower RNLI station stated on a twitter post :https://twitter.com/TowerRNLI/status/1418703723631624199
"We are shocked and saddened to report some of our volunteer crew were verbally assaulted due to their role when reporting for duty tonight. This behaviour will not be tolerated. Thank you @metpoliceuk for your support."

RNLI Tower reported that the reason for the verbal assault was 'due to their role'.in rescuing people from drowning in UK waters,

Tower lifeboat station operates from lifeboat pier on the River Thames in central London and provides a 24 hour search and rescue service, 7 days a week.

The service covers 16 miles of the Thames, between Barking Creek and Battersea from its station under Waterloo Bridge.

Alongside search and rescue, RNLI Tower conducts patrols on the river at busy times, are on hand to provide first aid treatment for passengers and crew on other boats and assist the recovery of bodies from the river.

It is the RNLI's busiest station, and as with all RNLI crews, is served by volunteers who work long shift patterns to cover the 24/7 service.

 The unit said on a twitter post :https://twitter.com/TowerRNLI/status/1418703723631624199

It's  really hard to comprehend how twisted someones views would have to be to to verbally abuse them.The RNLI represent  the best of us: courageous, selfless, non-judgemental men and women who, seeking no reward, go into danger to save us regardless of the colour of our skin. Hardly any wonder then that such heroes shame the cowards by their actions.

Home secretary Priti Patel’s immigration bill, which will criminalise rescuing drowning migrants at sea, looks to punish asylum seekers attempting to flee to Britain,  I really think it is not not just a material attempt to kill migrants but also to attempt to demonise the very concept of compassion and feed the minds of racist bigots..

Despite this over 250 organizations – including the Refugee Council, the British Red Cross, Freedom from Torture, Refugee Action and Asylum Matters – have formed a coalition called Together with Refugees to call for a more humane approach to people seeking asylum in the UK.

And in response  to the Home Office’s Borders Bill introduced to parliament on 6 July, Steve Valdez-Symonds, Refugee and Migrants Rights Programme Director at Amnesty International UK, said: 

“This shockingly-bad bill will fatally undermine the right to asylum - both in the UK and elsewhere. 

“Instead of introducing this piece of utter legislative vandalism, what the Home Office should be doing is establishing safe routes for the relatively few people escaping persecution who wish to seek asylum here. 

“This reckless and deeply-unjust bill is set to bring shame on Britain’s international reputation. It will open the door to other countries also seeking to dismantle a global refugee system which has saved countless lives. 

“This is a shameful dereliction of duty from the Home Secretary. If the bill goes through, the UK will have reneged on key international commitments - including the Refugee Convention, put in place after the horrors of World War Two.”

 Britain's immigration system, the so called 'hostile environment' is already inhumane and inherently racist.The racist Nationality and Borders Bill  which received its second studying in parliament on Monday, contains provisions for individuals who have fled hazard to search asylum in Britain to be arrested at sea and prosecuted below a new offence for arriving with out a legitimate entry clearance, will only add to this misery. It must be opposed.

As it stands it undermines everyone’s right to claim asylum, protection and safety. It introduces a two-tier system so that regardless of what horrors people are fleeing from they will be first of all judged on the way they arrived in the UK. Anyone arriving by a so-called illegal route would be penalized.  People fleeing for their lives to escape war, rape and other violence, starvation and environmental devastation can’t wait to be invited to travel via a “legal” route – and it is a fallacy as there are virtually no legal routes into the UK, which results in thousands risking their lives crossing the channel in trucks or flimsy dingies.

People could be turned back by border force officials while out at sea – it is estimated that 1,500 people drowned in the Mediterranean in 2020 – how many bodies will wash up on English beaches if this “push back” policy is implemented. People could be put in detention immediately on arrival and their claim fast tracked leaving little time to get legal representation, gather evidence and get a fair hearing.  If they manage to claim asylum they could be at risk of being removed at any time while their claim is being decided and get only “temporary protection status” if it succeeds. It will be harder to appeal a refusal of an asylum claim which means that even rape survivors will be expected to speak about all that has happened to them immediately on arrival.  People will be forced to live in designated accommodation like Napier and Penally barracks, which were exposed as being unfit for human habitation,

Also by removing helping an asylum seeker for 'gain' under the current legislation the Home Secretary would not only be able to  prosecute a charity like the RNLI, but also anybody rescuing drowning asylum seekers at sea, in clear contravention if international law and basic humanity.

We should not forget Britain has a long tradition of giving a warm welcome to a range of different groups seeking sanctuary and protection  maybe it's time in the midst of ongoing crisis to once agin opn its borders to the world;s displaced people. 

In the meantime for all those sickened by the abuse members of the RNLI  recently received ( the last thing the charity’s crews should have to put up with is racists angry that they did their job),  please consider making a small donation to the RNLI  and give them the support they truly deserve and help them keep saving lives. You can donate here :-,https://rnli.org/support-us/give-money/donate