Imagine being left with no choice but to leave your home. Imagine saying goodbye to all your friends and family, not knowing when you’re going to see them again. Now imagine arriving in a place that you had risked your life to come to, only to be met with
discrimination. This is the sad reality of the refugees that arrive in the UK. False and negative prejudices have led to damaging and distressing effects on those who have already experienced extreme hardships.
The House of Commons passed their politically controversial Rwanda Bill earlier this year despite the UK Supreme Court ruling it unlawful. This bill will see asylum seekers who have already made long, life threatening journeys to the UK be deported to Rwanda , it will be illegal to return. The Supreme Court said the scheme breaches the European Convention on Human Rights which prohibits torture and inhumane treatment.
A trainee human rights solicitor and volunteer with Care for Calais who has asked to remain anonymous responded to the current situation regarding the bill, “It's one of the scariest pieces of legislation I’ve seen. Many asylum seekers are deeply traumatised and such a scheme would have an extreme impact on them… in December last year an asylum seeker tragically took his own life on board the Bibby Stockholm barge, so I cannot imagine the impact that deportation to Rwanda would have”.
With the imminent threat of deportation that refugees now have to face, hostility from residents in the UK shouldn’t be another thing they have to worry about. A lack of education can lead to negative stereotypes. A common misconception is that refugees ‘take all our money’. According to the GOV.UK website, refugees who are receiving meals from their accommodation will receive just £8.86 a week. The majority of people seeking asylum are living in poverty and can’t afford even the basics.
A new report by the IPPR has revealed that it will cost the Government four times as much to send them to Rwanda than it would to process their claim in the UK (https://www.ippr.org/articles/costing-the-rwanda-plan). People who believe that we need to ‘get rid’ of refugees due to them costing too much money are therefore contradicting themselves as the Government's main tactic in handling the crisis is appearing to be more expensive. The study shows that not only is the Rwanda Bill unsafe, it is also not cost effective.
The language used to talk about the refugee crisis must be changed, putting emotion and humanity at the forefront. Milly Whitely, a volunteer with Cheltenham Welcomes Refugees has said, “Everyday people are bombarded with the idea that refugees are ‘bad’, are wrecking the economy or are dangerous…we need some education about what’s going on around the world, it’s hard to have empathy when you don’t understand the reality of where people are fleeing from”.
Russia invading Ukraine in February 2022 created another major refugee crisis, with millions of Ukranians being displaced. A study conducted by YouGov showed that the British public’s attitudes towards Ukrainian refugees were warmer than those fleeing war zones in Afghanistan, Syria and Somalia. (https://yougov.co.uk/politics/articles/43122-are-attitudes-ukrainian-refugees-unique.) The study found that 71% of Britons would support a scheme to help resettle Ukrainian refugees compared to 50% saying they’d support a scheme to resettle Afghan refugees, 48% to help Syrians and just 40% for Somalian refugees. This suggests that people are more likely to empathise with people who look like them. It poses the question whether hostility shown towards certain refugees is rooted in racism and xenophobia. Volunteer Milly Whitely said, “people were quick to open their doors and homes to Ukrainian refugees so we do have it in us to be kind and empathetic”.
Rather than becoming misconstrued with false narratives, people need to do their research so they can understand how terrible and serious the situations are that refugees are fleeing from. People often think that refugees have a choice, that they are only coming to the UK for economical purposes. This idea proves what a lack of awareness there is surrounding the issue as the definition of a refugee is someone who has been forced to leave their home due to persecution, war or violence. Many refugees don’t want to be uprooted, leave their family and make life threatening journeys, but they are left with no choice. It is only through putting ourselves in the shoes of others and understanding that the only reason we’re not in their situation is through luck that we can emphasise with these people. Those who have already been through the hardest of struggles should not be met with hostility, but welcomed with open arms.
Daisy Bodkin