For immediate release
Friday 29 October 2021
DETAILS: https://fb.me/e/UIxYl2qY
Tomorrow, Saturday 30 October, 1pm at Buchannan Street steps outside the Royal Concert Hall, Stand Up To Racism Glasgow has called a protest to tell Johnson, Patel, and world leaders when they come to Glasgow for Cop26, that anti racists “say NO to the racist Nationalities and Borders Bill and that Glasgow welcomes refugees”.
The widely reported mass community response on Kenmure Street, Pollokshields, in May that stopped a Home Office dawn raid removing two neighbours has been described by anti racists as “an inspiring action that reflected a widespread feeling of solidarity with refugees and migrants, and opposition to government’s hostile environment”. Stand Up To Racism has called its protest as part of a wider campaign to “keep the fight on the streets and defeat Patel’s racist, inhuman attack on refugees”.
For the first time, entering Britain ‘illegally’ could negatively impact the progress of an asylum claim. Patel’s policy outlines that only those who arrive via a ‘legal’ route to be helped. Yet less than 1% of the world’s refugees follow ‘legal’ migration routes, such as resettlement schemes. Read more at care4calais.org/far-from-fair
Refugee organisations have repeatedly pointed out that the vast majority of asylum claims come from countries listed by the Global Peace Index as the most dangerous in the world, and that because there is no safe legal route to enter Britain for most refugees, the majority have no choice but to seek unsafe routes. Refusing to bring those arriving by boat to shore will only lead to futher deaths.
Patel has also boasted of having deported nearly 8,500 “foreign national offenders,” claiming to have done so to protect victims. However passenger lists of deportation flights have shown deportees have overwhelmingly been convicted of minor offences and have already served their sentence.
Sabir Zazai, chief executive Scottish Refugee Council, said
“We needed the UK Government to offer a fairer and more humane asylum system. Instead, their anti-refugee bill will impose a regime of punishment and cruelty. These are not the actions of a truly global Britain, and they do not reflect the values of fairness, dignity and humanity that are associated with Britain.
“This bill threatens to create a two-tier system of refugee, based on how a person travelled to the UK and not on their fear of persecution. It could house people seeking asylum in so called reception centres, outside of the communities which would otherwise offer them a warm welcome. It could even criminalise people who seek to help those seeking asylum. Frankly, it presents the biggest threat to refugee rights we’ve seen in the UK for decades.
“It’s not too late for the government to do the right thing and scrap this cruel bill.”
Pinar Aksu, human rights campaigner, Maryhill Integration Network and Stand Up To Racism activist said
“Seeking asylum is a fundamental human right. The proposed anti-refugee bill is flawed in many aspects. Including, legally, ethically, and on operational grounds. It creates inadmissibility, detention, criminalisation of people seeking asylum, offshore processing centres for people, inhumane use of age determination for young people and many others.
“We need a system which does the complete opposite of the proposed one – a system based on human rights and in line with international protection and laws. A system which does not criminalise people for seeking asylum and refuge.”
Robina Qureshi, Positive Action in Housing, said
“With the “Nationality and Borders Bill” the UK is torching its international human rights obligations under the 1951 refugee convention. 9,000 people who would be accepted as refugees under current rules – those confirmed to have fled war or persecution by official checks – may no longer be given safety in the UK due to their method of arrival.
The Bill calls for removal of asylum seekers to offshore asylum processing centres in the Ascension islands, disused ferries and abandoned oil rigs where men, women, and children will be chucked away in limbo for years. Human rights abuses committed against them will be shielded from public scrutiny and more will self-harm or attempt suicide as they are detained long term. Many more will drown on British shores trying to get here. By compartmentalizing the lives of asylum seekers, we are complicit in crimes against humanity.
“The number of refugees coming in each year are one third of the numbers in 2003, and falling – not rising. Majority of the “migrants” who “knowingly” arrive in the UK “without permission” are genuine refugees according to the Home Office’s own statistics. This is far from a refugee “problem”.
“Our broken asylum system is a direct consequence of years of neglect by Ministers of Home Office systems and processes which have resulted in years long delays for those desperately seeking asylum from high risk countries like Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Iran. The human smugglers only “flourish” because Europe is blocking centuries old migration routes and making crossings ever more dangerous. Harsher sentences will not stop human smuggling, the provision of safe routes will. In essence the new Borders Bill is an anti refugee bill that will cause misery to thousands of people and pointless billions to administer.
“As Home Office contractors bidding to run these offshore processing centres will be rubbing their hands in glee at the billions coming their way, Patel renders refugees a mere scapegoat of her political ambitions, in a shameful attempt to look “tough” on “migrants”. A child of immigrants herself, Patel continues her toxic legacy as Home Secretary stoking the flames of hostility, xenophobia, and racism in an increasingly polarised British society.”
Sabby Dhalu, Stand Up To Racism co convenor, said
“Priti Patel’s speech to Tory Conference bizarrely complained of the “damage to our labour market” from immigration, while the country sinks deeper into a crisis caused by a shortage of workers. We need immigration for our economy and public services to function, but this Government is putting racism ahead of ensuring a functioning society.
“Patel’s claim that just because an asylum seeker has moved through a safe country they should not be given asylum is contradicted by logic, morality and the UN Convention on refugees. The UK takes far fewer asylum applications than other countries in Europe, but for some refugees rebuilding their life in Britain is more viable due to family ties and speaking English.
“It is morally reprehensible to turn back boats, risking the lives of those who have already fled war and persecution, while also refusing to provide safe and legal routes to claim asylum. Patel’s speech must be condemned, and MPs must vote against the Nationality and Borders Bill.
Weyman Bennett, Stand Up To Racism co convenor, said:
“Britain already takes a much smaller proportion of refugees than other European countries, and this Government’s vicious “hostile environment” policy ruined thousands of lives. It’s vital all who value the contribution of migrants and want to welcome refugees work together to defeat the Nationality and Borders Bill.”
For more information, interviews and further quotes:
sutrscot@gmail.org.uk