A busy day in Dungeness
Yesterday we welcomed about 74 refugees who came ashore in two boats at Dungeness. Many of the people on the first boat were from Afghanistan, and several of those we spoke to on the second were from Eritrea and Syria. The second had a lot of families and very young children, and had been at sea for many hours; some of those aboard were freezing cold, and their hands were shaking so much they couldn’t even open packets of biscuits for themselves. It is hard to see people like this, and it’s a great help to them to offer …
Flight stopped. Deportees saved!
Last night, at the 11th hour, five men were stopped from boarding a flight to Rwanda. In the morning, seven had been expecting to be on the plane. Through the day, four of those seven made individual claims to the British courts to stop them being forcibly sent. Three more men had their deportations stopped by an intervention by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). This meant there was no deportation to Rwanda yesterday. The ECHR gave four main reasons for its decision: – The Evidence from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees that asylum seekers in Rwanda …
Seven refugees face traumatic deportation
We urgently need to stop this brutal policy that will harm many innocent people. To find out how you can help, go to care4calais.org/stop-rwanda/ At the time of writing, 10.15am on Tuesday morning, there are seven refugees booked on today’s flight to Rwanda. At least five of them have indicators of being trafficked and/or tortured. Yesterday in the Court of Appeal we heard that the United Nations High Commission for Refugees unequivocally believes the UK Government’s Rwanda policy to be unlawful. We also heard that they do not believe Rwanda has the capacity to give people a fair hearing …
Many deportees saved, some still threatened
Of the 113 people we are working with, ten still have documents saying they will be sent to Rwanda next Tuesday, 14 June. Thankfully a further 15 people who had these documents have had them cancelled thanks to the efforts of the amazing law firms we are working with. They will continue working on the other ten. Frighteningly it appears there are another seven people with removal documents whom we don’t know. Our great fear is that some of these people may not have lawyers to represent them. We were of course disappointed that our injunction application was denied by …
Most Rwandas deportees are NOT “single”
Tomorrow morning we will be in the High Court to stop the Government carrying out its barbaric Rwanda scheme. The Government says it’s sending only single men to Rwanda. This isn’t not true. We’re working with 100 people in detention with Rwanda notices, all men. Fifty five are married. And 17 have small children. So the majority aren’t single at all. They’re just separated from their families. Adam is typical. He had to leave his home, wife and children in Sudan when he fled because of the political situation. He just “wanted to arrive in the safest place”, but was …
How we’re challenging the Rwanda scheme
We have spoken to over 100 people in detention who’ve been told they will be forcibly sent to Rwanda. Almost all are overwhelmed by total shock and despair. Many came to the UK believing it to be a good place that would treat them more fairly than the places from which they escaped. We say that the Rwanda plan is unlawful. We hope the courts will agree with us. Together with the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), Detention Action, and four asylum seekers facing removal by plane to Rwanda on Tuesday 14 June, we have now issued judicial …
Rwanda deportees are increasingly desperate
Rwanda update 6 June 2022 We are now working with 80 out of the 100 people that the Government have sent ‘Notices of Intent‘ saying that they will be sent to Rwanda. 17 have received notices to say their deportation is imminent, ten of which mention 14 June. They are all in detention centres and they are all very scared. Priti Patel says the Rwanda plan will offer migrants “an opportunity to build prosperous lives in safety”. However every single one of the people we have spoken to is shocked and traumatised at the thought of being forcibly sent. We’ve …
Fear grips Rwanda deportees
We are working with 70 out of the 100 people that the Government have sent ‘Notices of Intent‘ saying that they will be sent to Rwanda. 13 have had notices to say their deportation is imminent, and nine specifically mention 14 June. They are all in detention centres and they are all very scared. Be in no doubt that being deported is traumatic. We have had a five day hunger strike and we’ve had numerous late night conversations with people who feel suicidal. One said “They can send my dead body to Rwanda, but I would rather die than go …
First Rwanda detainee released
Today we have some great news. The first of the people who were given Rwanda notices has been released from detention. We are so relieved for him and his family. But he should never have been put through this ordeal in the first place. The man – we’ll call him N – said he was so emotional on hearing the good news. He couldn’t believe it, he said, and even wanted to cry. When you hear this amazing man’s story you will understand that he is not one to shed tears easily. He asked me to pass on a …
Charlotte’s heartfelt plea
This week I sat holding the hand of a terrified young man. I’ve known him since he first arrived in the UK as an asylum seeker nearly two years ago. I’ve watched him gain confidence as his English improved and he made friends. And, although he’s been waiting in limbo for his application to progress, I’ve seen him slowly start to feel safe. He has learned to trust us, and is now a dedicated student at our weekly English class. This week, though, something was up. His usual keen laugh was replaced with a shrug. Those mischievous eyes looked …