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

Rather than waste money on a proposal which is likely to be thrown out by the Courts, a better use of the money would be ensuring safe routes to the uk.
If the government weren’t so slow at assessing claims when people arrive in the uk, money wouldn’t be spent on inhumane hostels and these people could get on with their lives, as anyone has the right to

The weather might have been a factor.

Why aren't the French treating the asylum seekers better in the first place

Why don’t they stay in France? It sounds great! /s

“Nineteen, including two of the children, said police had abused them at least once, including beatings. Eight had visible broken limbs or other injuries, which they alleged were caused by police in Calais and surrounding areas. Twenty one, including two children, said police had sprayed them with pepper spray.”

https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/01/20/france-migrants-asylum-seekers-abused-and-destitute

From the same article:

“France faces a crisis of inadequate accommodation for asylum seekers. Currently only a third of those who seek asylum across France are provided with accommodation in reception centers for asylum seekers. As of December 2013, 15,000 asylum seekers were on a waiting list for a place in a reception center and fewer than a third of asylum seekers entitled to accommodation were housed in such centers.”

And:

“Whether it’s the Ile-de-France region around Paris, the French-British coastline or the French-Italian border, the same kind of brutality and attacks on the fundamental rights of individuals are being observed everywhere,” the NGOs stressed in their joint statement, calling on the French government to “break with the vicious cycle of evacuations and rebuilding of camps that has now been going on for five years.”

https://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/28777/france-police-violence-against-migrants-has-become-the-norm

Just off to get the popcorn for when the nimbys on this thread suggest increasing police beatings here as a deterrent. ;)

It’s shocking isn’t it @woodhill

I guess because they think they can get away with it? They can push migrants back or away over borders with relative ease, which we can’t do in the UK, especially now post Brexit.

A telling quote from the article I just posted:

“(Authorities) constantly try to push migrants out of our cities, out of our borders, out of our fields of vision, with the obvious aim of making them invisible to the rest of us,” says Gémenne.”

Out of sight, out of mind, somebody else’s problem etc. It’s certainly not how one of the richest countries in the EU should be acting.

France can’t cope with the numbers - the camps are the size of villages.

Has the weather been bad?

I remember feeling terribly for RNLI and people in boats mid winter

It has been very windy.

I don't know the reasons for the non crossings, maybe Xenia can back up her claims that it is because of the Rwanda fears.

The migrants won’t pay the channel smugglers if they think they will be shipped off to Rwanda .

sympathise with conditions in camps but may make them apply to France rather than risking life and limb to come here .

Perhaps they don’t want to live in France - they may have friends and family in the uk?
Why should France take so many and not the Uk?

We're much smaller and have taken in loads of people over the years anyway

Percentage wise many countries have taken more than the uk - including France, Germany, Turkey, Jordan.

Do you not think the UK should do more not less to help?

Uk has 2.50 sq k and France has 5.5 sq k

Uk population 65.8 million France 67 million

That doesn’t appear to be the case. From Care4Calais:

“There are bogus stories doing the rounds suggesting that the government announcement about sending refugees to Rwanda has reduced the number of refugees crossing the Channel. In fact in the first 7 days after Rwanda was announced, crossings continued at normal levels.”

“For the next 8 days waves heights were over 1.5 meters every day so they couldn’t cross. It’s not true that the Rwanda announcement reduced crossings. Not news.”

https://mobile.twitter.com/Care4Calais/status/1520377382976241664