Social media adverts to deter migrants ‘naive’
Home Office condemned for ‘wasting money’ on Facebook messages to prevent perilous crossings
THE Home Office has spent £23,000 on Facebook advertisements warning Calais migrants “we will return you”, as ministers have been branded “naive” for thinking social media posts will deter channel crossings.
The campaign, which ran from December, also warned migrants to “not put your child’s life in danger” by attempting to make their way across the Channel in dinghies and rafts.
The ads come as a record number of migrants have attempted the crossing so far this year, with more than 3,000 trying to make the journey in July alone.
The campaign was condemned by charities working in Calais, who accused the Home Office of “wasting money” on ads unlikely to have any effect on “desperate people”.
Clare Moseley, founder of Care4calais, said: “Refugees risk their lives to escape from some of the world’s most dangerous countries, fully aware that this could be the last journey they make.
“It’s extremely naive of this Government to think that social media ads will deter them. This isn’t a choice.” A Freedom of Information request by the PA news agency found the Government has been paying to promote the ads in languages such as Kurdish, Arabic, Persian and Pashto.
One of the adverts depicts life jacketclad refugees in a dinghy and warned: “Overcrowded boats are extremely dangerous. Even more so for children.”
Another showed sniffer dogs checking lorries with the caption: “There is no hiding place.”
More than 9,250 migrants have crossed the channel this year, surpassing last year’s record total of 8,410.
Migrants in France who had seen the Home Office ads online said they would make little difference. One 16-year-old boy from Afghanistan said: “I need to go to the UK. I am ready for anything to try and get there. I will try until I die.”
Another Sudanese man who saw the pictures on Facebook said: “We know that crossing and taking a boat is really dangerous, but we don’t have the choice. The UK is our only chance and better than Calais.”
Dan O’mahoney, Clandestine Channel Threat Commander for the Home Office, said: “We are seeing an unacceptable rise in dangerous and unnecessary small boat crossings. The adverts are aimed at dissuading migrants in France and Belgium from making dangerous attempts to enter the UK.”