Asylum seekers to the UK sent to Rwanda

[Dodie66]

What do you think about the governments plan to send all asylum seekers that come to the UK to Rwanda to be processed. I think this is inhumane. A lot of them have come from places like Syria, Iran etc and travelled across the channel with all the associated risks only to be sent 6000 mile to be processed. What about the cost to do this? I think it’s a big mistake

It will probably cost far less to send them there than house them etc here.
May convince more of them to claim asylum in the first safe country they come to.

It would be against international law.

agree with @Doodardoodar

I think it a great idea. Whether it will actually happen is another matter

It won't discourage anyone. A very high proportion of asylum applications are granted, contrary to belief. Reaching the UK will still be the trigger and the fact of overseas processing doesn't change that. Once it is granted, we will have to ship them all back (and be responsible for their passage in both directions, together with the effects and consequences of ill-treatment, or lack of care, during those journeys).

And the other reason people come here from other countries and don't stop in the "first safe country" is that they speak English and have family here. Why would someone claim asylum in France if they speak English, maybe have GCSEs or uk-recognised education standards, and have cousins in Leicester who want to host them, but don't speak French and know nobody in France?

If it stops people being trafficked across the Channel in unseaworthy dingies, it’s a good thing.
At a centre in Rwanda asylum seekers will be safe and looked after whilst their applications are processed.

'safe and looked after' ? You sure about that ?

It’s a very strange idea. It sounds like an April fool joke in very bad taste.

I don’t know what the answer is. Obviously it is a huge problem if 1000 illegal immigrants are landing on Kent beaches every day. We can’t build infinite processing centres. The local councils have no idea what to do.

But… Rwanda? The one with the genocide?Surely there is some space on some uninhabited Scottish isle somewhere?

Cost less to send asylum seekers to Rwanda? You think? This from today's Mirror: 'MPs previously heard Australia’s offshore processing system cost $1bn a year for just 300 people - or £1.9m per refugee per year. Tory ex-minister Andrew Mitchell warned last month: “It would be much cheaper to put each one in the Ritz and send all the under-18s to Eton.” And where is this eye-watering amount of money per person in going?

I agree; it's inhumane. The complacency of this country astonishes me. I hope citizens of this country never need to seek asylum anywhere else in the world because why, given our government's lack of empathy (and people's willingness to vote them in), anyone would want to help us should we need it I don't know.

Plus Paul Kagame is v dodgy and I wouldn't trust his government to care for such vulnerable people.

Also how long will it take to process them?Given the way the government has treated Ukraine refugees with processing it doesn’t bode well

@Neverreturntoathread

It’s a very strange idea. It sounds like an April fool joke in very bad taste.

I don’t know what the answer is. Obviously it is a huge problem if 1000 illegal immigrants are landing on Kent beaches every day. We can’t build infinite processing centres. The local councils have no idea what to do.

But… Rwanda? The one with the genocide?Surely there is some space on some uninhabited Scottish isle somewhere?

Refugees are welcome in Scotland and don't need to be imprisoned on an island:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-57100259.amp

I actually think bording school for the u.18s would be a really good idea. Most unaccompanied asylum seekers don't have the same traumatic background as children in care and care leavers and have a different mindset because of this when it comes to education and work. Their biggest hurdles are doing ESOL courses before progressing to different college courses. If they went to school as standard it would save so much money and so much hassle. You can't register for college without paperwork, they don't have paperwork, they're u.18 so have to be in education. It's a pickle for LAs.

Refugee Council estimates cost will be £1.4 billion.

But I can see the idea will appeal to certain voters.

I won't get too exercised about it as I don't think it will ever happen. It's a policy brought out to try and gain headlines (and attention off fixed penalty notices and green cards).

It's both horrible and bonkers. This government disgusts me.

I could not detest this government more.

I think it will deter others from coming. We can't take everybody. If you rocked up on a boat into Australia or NZ you would be sent packing.

David Davies, November last year: 'Directly applying the cost of the Australian offshoring system to the 23,500 migrants who have crossed the Channel this year alone would leave the British taxpayer with an estimated £32.4 billion bill. That is 23 times higher than our current system'.
Have a little read if this too, perhaps, those who think this is a good idea: www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/aug/10/the-nauru-files-2000-leaked-reports-reveal-scale-of-abuse-of-children-in-australian-offshore-detention

Oh, hello @Viviennemary, we' have, to coin phrase, been expecting you.

Idk what to say about this government anymore. They just sink lower and lower

I think it's a good idea. These people infuriate me. Most of them are not genuine refugees, they are economic migrants. Believe me, I have family who live on the Kent coast and this is right on their doorstep. Asylum should not be granted to anyone who crosses the channel illegally.

@midsomermurderess

Cost less to send asylum seekers to Rwanda? You think? This from today's Mirror: 'MPs previously heard Australia’s offshore processing system cost $1bn a year for just 300 people - or £1.9m per refugee per year. Tory ex-minister Andrew Mitchell warned last month: “It would be much cheaper to put each one in the Ritz and send all the under-18s to Eton.” And where is this eye-watering amount of money per person in going?

It's typical headline cost reducing bollocks. Like outsourcing PIP. Saves a lot on assessments. A huge amount of which are overturned at a MR or appeal. It would be cheaper to deal with the issue at first presentation. Paying for layers of bureaucracy to overturn a poor decision costs far more.

Seems completely impractical and unethical. Awful idea all round.

@DragonOverTheMoon

I actually think bording school for the u.18s would be a really good idea. Most unaccompanied asylum seekers don't have the same traumatic background as children in care and care leavers and have a different mindset because of this when it comes to education and work. Their biggest hurdles are doing ESOL courses before progressing to different college courses. If they went to school as standard it would save so much money and so much hassle. You can't register for college without paperwork, they don't have paperwork, they're u.18 so have to be in education. It's a pickle for LAs.

Are you kidding?

I used to work with unaccompanied asylum seeking children, and it's absolute bullshit to say that they haven't experienced the kind of trauma that kids in care have. Yes, there are additional barriers such as language etc that they have to navigate, but the impact of trauma, ptsd, mental health problems etc was way beyond anything like that. Sending them off to boarding school absolutely would not meet their needs in the vast majority of cases.

Many of the kids I worked with had witnessed or experienced atrocities in their home countries before fleeing. All of them had been separated from their families, and many had seen family members killed or tortured. Some had seen people drown in the Mediterranean. Many had also been abused and exploited on their journeys to the UK. Most had experienced hunger and lack of shelter.

Yes, there were a handful who seemed relatively well adjusted, and who adapted quickly to UK life, but they were a tiny minority. Most needed intensive mental health support in order to function at a very basic level.

Asylum seekers? As in people running away from war/abuse/hostile environment etc?

Does that include Ukraine?