Why we must not forget the Rwanda plan
One year ago today, five refugees sat in an airfield waiting to be forcibly deported to Rwanda. The government wanted them to be a kind of showpiece, the first refugees sent to Rwanda under the new scheme which had been announced that April. Under the brutal plan, any refugee who came to the UK but was deemed “inadmissible” by the government could be deported to Rwanda with no chance of ever returning to the UK. Since May 9 that year, we had been aware of 130 shocked and traumatised people being taken into detention. Our team worked closely with many …
Kamal’s Story
Today we had some truly brilliant news. Kamal, a 22-year-old Sudanese refugee whose been in detention for two months under threat of being sent to Rwanda, has finally been freed. For two months Kamal has lived in constant fear and anxiety as he worried about was going to happen to him. He knows of atrocities committed by the regime in Rwanda, and even now he’s been released, the thought of being sent there makes him physically shake. It will probably give him nightmares for months. “I spent 18 months travelling through Africa trying to find a way out. In every …
Rwanda Update
In just two weeks we will be back in court to challenge the lawfulness of the Government’s cruel Rwanda policy. To have any chance of stopping this, the time to act is now. We’ve recently learned that the Foreign Office warned Priti Patel that refugees should not be sent to Rwanda due to human rights concerns, including that they could be forced to join the country’s army and sent to fight in neighbouring states. Following this disclosure, the Government has been ordered by the court to deliver more documents next week that had previously been redacted. What else could they …
Armin’s story
I was out on my morning bike ride when they came to my house. I had left as usual about 6.30 to have a bike ride before I left for my work as a teacher. As I approached the house when I came back, I could see three cars outside, and seven or eight people around the door. I hung back, and then my wife text me not to come home. I didn’t know it then, but when I had left home that morning, it was the last time I would see my children. My name is Armn, and I’m …
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 …
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 …