Two attempts to stop the Rwandan flight through the courts failed last night. Both charities and the PCS union, which represents many customs officers, tried to block the flight in a last-minute attempt.
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Less than ten
The question is whether that was necessary. Due to a series of individual lawsuits against asylum seekers, the number of them flying today has fallen drastically. Fewer than 10 people are getting on board today, government sources tell the British newspaper The Guardian† The other asylum seekers successfully challenged their deportation on the basis of modern slavery law and human rights law.
The Johnson administration announced in April that it had struck a deal to send asylum seekers to the East African country. Those granted asylum may remain in Rwanda, which itself has been widely criticized for violating human rights. As a thank you, Rwanda receives from the British converted 140 million euros in aid money.
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‘downright shocking’
“It is a startling move by the British government,” said London correspondent Anne Saenen. “The UK is the first European country to operate in this way.” The criticism came quickly and was loud: charities, religious leaders, politicians and human rights organisations, including the UN refugee agency UNHCR, spoke out about it.
“Hearing the stories of the people who will be sent to Rwanda is enough to give you nightmares. They have escaped wars, been tortured and mistreated and people have tried to kill them,” writes the humanitarian organization Care4Calais. “It is utterly shocking that the UK is potentially inflicting further trauma on these victims, and very heartless that people who have been tortured are being deported. This is the end result of a policy that for years has portrayed refugees as less than human beings.”
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Zambia next country?
Johnson responded to all the criticism by saying that Rwanda is “one of the safest countries in the world.” Deporting them via special flights, he said, would “save countless lives” and act as a deterrent. Besides Rwanda, Zambia would be the next country to accept British asylum seekers in exchange for money.
The deportation flight is an ultimate attempt by Johnson’s Home Secretary, Priti Patel, to stem the seemingly never-ending flow of refugees into the UK. In 2021, more than 28,500 people made the life-threatening crossing with often rickety boats across the Channel – a new record† By way of comparison: in 2020 there were still 8400.
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This year the counter stands at 4850, reports the British broadcaster BBC. A number that can rise according to British customs up to almost 60,000† Many of them come from countries such as Iraq, Eritrea, Syria and Iran. Last year, three quarters of the cases involved men between the ages of 18 and 39. 12 percent were still children.
National discussion
The plan has sparked national debate in the UK, correspondent Saenen said. “People are diametrically opposed to each other. One camp says: this is degrading, you are not going to send vulnerable people to such an unstable country. But there is also a part that says: we literally see people running onto the beach, we have to do something anyway.”
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