I am horrified and saddened at the moment, by the tragic news that 31 men, women and children who, through no fault of their own, who were simply safety in the UK with hopes and dreams for the future have perished in the cold, unforgiving seas of
the Channel, one of the busiest shipping lane in the world. They had packed
themselves into a flimsy unseaworthy dinghy on the French cost on the
final leg of what they hoped would be a journey to a new life where they
could do what we all take for granted – work, make friends, have fun
and be safe from any harm.
Sparking outpourings of grief and renewed demands that both the U.K.
government and leaders across Europe end their woeful immigration
policies that force desperate individuals and families to risk ever more
dangerous and deadly journeys to attain refuge, asylum, or a better
life.
All this happened at a time when we had the Tories and the right
wing media ratcheting up racist scapegoating of refugees and migrants,
trying to whip a frenzy about scores of people crossing the Channel and
coming to Britain. We should all reflect on the fact that many of these people left their homes because of reasons outside their
control, whether that was conflict, poverty, economic injustice or
climate change. The UN’s Refugee Agency estimates that 20 people are
forced to flee their homes every second. With global inequality at unprecedented levels, modern borders have
become a form of global apartheid: segregating who can and can’t access
resources and opportunity, in Britain there is even an explicit policy aiming to create a ‘hostile
environment’ for migrants – launched by
Theresa May, when she was Home Secretary.
This Hostile Environment has since sadly killed many and destroyed the lives of thousands. Boris Johnson has said ‘appalled and deeply saddened’ but the rationale is that the more hostile and the
tougher the policy the less likely men, women and children are to risk
their lives at the hands of people traffickers Instead of taking a compassionate and realistic approach, his
government is ensuring that the Channel becomes increasingly more
dangerous and deadly. Instead of ensuring that people can get to the
U.K. safely, the government pursues ever-higher fences and illegal
'pushbacks' at sea."
No one should ever have to risk their life to find safety. But hostile
policies mean most refugees have no choice but to take dangerous
journeys to find safety in the UK.
The UK has such a proud history of welcoming refugees and asylum , of showing compassion and kindness to people fleeing danger and violence, people who just want a safe place to call home.But that history has almost been forgotten in the last few months with increasing polarising language, and the dehumanisation of people in desperate circumstances,
The government needs to accept that if there were
more safe and regular routes in the first place for people – such as a
wide-ranging resettlement programme, humanitarian visas and reformed
family reunion rules – fewer people would feel the need to make such
dangerous journeys in the first place. Both Labour and Conservative
governments have actually curtailed safe routes in recent decades
through more draconian asylum and immigration laws forcing people to
take dangerous journeys instead.
Displaced people have a right to seek safety in Britain , the government
must urgently rethink its punitive policy and find some genuine compassion.The long standing demands of campaigners to ensure safe passage and treat migrants and refugees in a fair and humane manner must now be considered as a matter of urgency.
My thoughts now with the the latest victims of the "hostile environment" people forced to turn to traffickers to escape poverty and war. This latest tragedy must allow us to to show that refugees and migrants are welcome and that the racist hostile environment must end. No one is illegal, no borders are necessary only compassion, Please sign the following petition.
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