The instant survey of more than 60 asylum seekers in Calais and Dunkirk was conducted by the charity Care4Calais, which provides practical support to asylum seekers in both northern France and the United Kingdom. When the UK government announced plans to relocate some asylum seekers to Rwanda on April 14, ministers stressed that the controversial plan would work as a deterrent to asylum seekers planning to cross the Channel in small boats. Asylum seekers who spoke to Care4Calais said they are still ready to take their chances. “I’m willing to risk it,” said one. “Everyone in the camp is scared, but I do not think it will affect them [the decision to cross the Channel]. » Many of the respondents fled Sudan or South Sudan and were intimidated by the prospect of being transported back to a country not far from the starting point of their journey, especially after enduring the hardships of crossing Libya, where many had to face traffickers. and making the dangerous passage from the Mediterranean to Italy. “Rwanda is not good. “It’s for the animals, we take the risk to have a safe life,” said another asylum seeker who took part in the investigation. On Sunday, more than 200 people crossed the Channel in small boats after an 11-day hiatus due to bad weather, although the government said the absence of these crossings was proof that its plan for Rwanda was already having a deterrent effect. The most recent crossings, before the resumption of small boat activity on Sunday in the English Channel, was on April 19, when 263 people crossed in seven boats. Separation plans are subject to a number of legal challenges, including one of Care4Calais, PCS and Detention Action. They question the failure to publish details of the policy and government decision to punish asylum seekers on the basis of illegal entry into the United Kingdom. Care4Calais has launched a crowdfunder for legal action and has condemned the impact of the projects on asylum seekers on both sides of the Channel. The charity is one of many who have been sounding the alarm that since the government announced plans to relocate people to Rwanda, dozens of asylum seekers have reportedly disappeared from hotels across the UK where they are hosted by the Home Office. , because they are afraid to gather and board a plane for Rwanda. Sam Jonkers, a volunteer at Care4Calais, is aware of some refugees who have disappeared from hotels and says she is overwhelmed by text messages from asylum seekers who fear they will be taken to the high seas. “Rwanda’s plans are disastrous for people who have left such dangerous countries and had such difficult journeys to reach the United Kingdom,” he said. “I have received hundreds of text messages from terrified asylum seekers. they can not sleep at night because they are so anxious “. A message states: “I could not sleep. “We are so scared of what we expect to happen in the coming days with the Rwandan decision.” Another said: “Now I do not think there is such a thing as human rights anywhere in the world, not even in Iran, in the United Kingdom or anywhere.” While about a quarter of those surveyed by Care4Calais in northern France said the announcement of the acquisition of Rwanda would make them consider staying in France and seeking asylum there, many said they would continue their plans to reach the United States. Kingdom. Subscribe to the First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7 p.m. BST Enver Solomon, chief executive of the Refugee Council, condemned the impact on asylum seekers in the United Kingdom of the Rwandan communiqué, saying: threatened with deportation to Rwanda. “ He said the government was simply treating asylum seekers who hoped to be removed as a “human burden”. Mandy Harris, of the Human Rights Network, also knows that some asylum seekers have disappeared from hotels following the announcement of the departure. He warned that many asylum seekers in the UK could go underground to avoid evacuation. “This is a policy that exchanges human life for money,” he said. “It forces people out of the asylum system into misery for fear of deportation, drastically increasing the risk of exploitation.” A Home Office spokesman said: “This world-leading partnership on immigration and economic development will review our dilapidated asylum system, which currently costs UK taxpayers 1,5 1.5 billion a year – the highest amount in recent years. two decades. There is nothing in the UN Convention on Refugees that prevents them from being evacuated to a safe country. “Under this agreement, Rwanda will process its claims in accordance with national and international human rights law.”
