The UK government’s tactics for dealing with refugees was clearly outlined in 2012 by the Home Secretary Theresa May, stating the strategy was to create “a hostile environment for illegal immigration”.
A look at the government’s policies generally confirms this.
The UK has repeatedly spoken against search and rescue missions in the Mediterranean, claiming that this creates a “pull” factor which brings more people across. However, a look at the evidence quickly reveals this claim to be worthless.
After the Italian Navy’s extremely successful Mare Nostrum search and rescue programme was scaled back at the end of 2014 – due to lack of EU support – the number of people crossing the Mediterranean didn’t decrease, it rose – and continues to do so.
In May, the European Commission proposed a quota system which would fairly distribute around 20,000 refugees throughout member states over two years. This would have massively helped countries such as Greece and Italy which are taking in the overwhelming majority of people.
Despite the fact that the UK would only have had to take in 2,309 refugees over two years, it dismissed the proposal immediately. By comparison, Germany so far has resettled over 30,000 Syrians alone – and is anticipating 800,000 asylum applications this year.
This is not to say Britain is doing nothing. Shortly after rejecting the quota system, British diplomats drafted a resolution at the UN Security Council proposing to bomb boats off the Libyan coast. No boats, no refugees.
Unsurprisingly, this proposal was condemned by human rights organisations immediately as unworkable. Not only is there no way to distinguish between a refugee carrier and fishing boat, but the majority of refugees are stuffed below deck – and the risk of killing them is far too high.
And now we come to the crisis at Calais. So far the UK has beefed up security; higher fences, more dogs, more guards. The Home Secretary is also backing plans for a French centre to house asylum applicants away from Calais; out of sight, out of mind.
It should be noted that whist we increase our cooperation with the French security forces at Calais, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has been documenting evidence pointing to the abuse of refugees there by those very same security forces. One HRW reporter stated:
“People with broken limbs and wounds also told me they had been beaten up by the French police, and dozens said they had been sprayed with pepper spray” (amongst those interviewed were several children).
Our immigration Minister James Brokenshire recently intervened in Calais, announcing – to people who have escaped some of the most repressive regimes and regions on the face of the earth – that “the streets of the UK are not paved with gold… it’s not a land of milk and honey.”
If Brokenshire’s message wasn’t enough, he has also been working to “render the UK a less attractive place for illegal immigrants (refugees), including through limiting access to housing and health services.”
We should call these policies what they are. Disgusting.
Whilst some may point and scream at the latest figures showing migration at an all-time high of 300,000 in this country, it should be noted that the Mediterranean refugee crisis is not driving the surge – which analysis has shown.
As Human Rights Watch has stated before, this “swarm” of refugees come here for their very survival. We should have a policy which reflects that, and start accepting more people into this country.
Featured image via Josh Zakary on Flickr.
