Small boats arriving off the coast of Kent have expressed fears that they will be removed from the UK and transferred to Rwanda after hearing a government announcement that asylum applications will be processed at sea.
“If they send me to Rwanda, I will not go. I will die here, I will take my own life, “said Jemal, a newcomer from Eritrea. Do you know how many thousands of miles I traveled to be here? How long have I been in [the] desert…? To get to this point, to be here, we all had to make so many sacrifices. A lot [people] lost their lives at sea. Now I have left my country – I cannot return to Africa. “
“No one knows Africa as well as we Africans,” said another Eritrean man. “Africa is Africa – there is no freedom there. Rwanda is like Eritrea, it does not protect human beings. Here in Europe, you are free. ”
From the group of 22 migrants, all said they would take their own lives instead of facing deportation from the United Kingdom to Rwanda.
“100% of people will lose their lives alone,” agreed a Sudanese man. “Some will go up the hills [the cliffs] here some will go to the train, to the sea, to any place. This is a human rights issue, not just in Rwanda.
“I don’t know where Rwanda is – I just know it’s dangerous there,” said a member of the Iraqi Kurdistan group, gathering around a map.
“I couldn’t sleep last night,” I thought, thinking all night about what would happen to me. We do not know the culture in Rwanda. It’s so different from what we know. “
Many of the group said they believed only newcomers from Africa would be transferred to Rwanda; those of other nationalities felt confident that they would not be sent there.
“I come from Iran – the government, they will not send us to Africa – only Africans,” said a man from Iranian Kurdistan. Eritreans and Sudanese said they also believed that only Africans would be transferred to Rwanda if the plans materialized.
The group had mixed views on whether the prospect of deportation from the United Kingdom would act as a deterrent to those trying to cross the English Channel.
“I think that will stop people from coming here,” said a man from Eritrea. “Maybe they will decide to stay in France, maybe they will go to Germany, to places like [that]”
“People will always want to leave, they will always have to live safely,” said another man.
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Many said they believed the Rwandan government had struck a deal with the United Kingdom for economic reasons.
“It’s about money. Rwanda is a small country. This is a poor country. They need British money. That’s all there is to it. “
While all newcomers said they hoped the government would abandon its plans, they thought it was likely to continue.
“Everything is easy for them. I think they will do it,” they agreed. “Money is not a problem here [in the UK]. This is a problem for Rwanda – that is why it is happening. But we hope, we hope, that they will repeal it. “
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