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 …
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 …
We’re going to court to stop Rwanda
We’re going to court to #StopRwanda And we need your help. Yesterday morning we sent a legal letter to the Government challenging their reprehensible plan to send refugees to Rwanda. We are doing this with our friends from Detention Action, the PCS Union, whose members will be tasked to carry out the plan, and our fantastic lawyers, Duncan Lewis. The government’s plan is a threat to the lives of refugees, the international reputation of the United Kingdom and the finances of British people. From the suspiciously sparse detail presented so far, it is already clear the plan holds multiple …
Government backs down on pushbacks
We are proud and delighted that the Home Secretary has abandoned the controversial Pushbacks policy just over a week before our case was due to be heard in the High Court. Care4Calais joined forces with the Public and Commercial Services Union, Channel Rescue and Freedom from Torture to challenge the proposed Home Office policy to forcibly push back small refugee boats in the English Channel. The hearing was set for May 3rd. On Sunday night the Home Office wrote to confirm the policy has been withdrawn. Before today, Priti Patel had repeatedly insisted that the pushback policy would …