CEOs, MBEs, top chefs: the former refugees Patel would have had deported
As part of an overhaul of the immigration system, Priti Patel unveiled plans last month that will see refugees who arrive in Britain via unauthorised routes denied an automatic right to asylum.
Instead, they will be regularly reassessed for removal from the country, as well as having their family reunion rights and access to benefits limited.
The proposals have been touted as “firm but fair” by ministers – but lawyers and charities say they risk
“tearing up refugee law” and will have the “cruel” effect of leaving traumatised people in a prolonged state of uncertainty.
The majority of people granted refugee status in the UK arrive via unauthorised routes. In 2019, only around one in five grants of protection arrived through the government’s designated resettlement schemes.
Many refugees who are settled in the UK and who are contributing to British society today would have been either deported or stuck in a perpetual state of limbo under the new plans. The Independent asked some of them what they think about Ms Patel’s asylum overhaul, and their comments follow.
A Home Office spokesperson said, in response, that its new immigration plans will mean the asylum system would “welcome those who come to the UK via safe and legal routes while cracking down on peoplesmuggling gangs”.
“We make no apology for seeking to fix a system which is being exploited by human traffickers who encourage to people to risk their lives crossings the Channel. Close work with law enforcement colleagues in France is stopping migrants from leaving French beaches,” they added.
I arrived on a ferry in 2005. I had to leave my country very suddenly with just the clothes on my back. The journey took six or seven months. It was traumatic, but I knew the risk I was fleeing was greater than the risk in front of me.
There’s no legal and safe route I could have taken. The resettlement scheme is only for people already in a refugee camp, places managed by the UNHCR. In my case, when I was fleeing imminent danger, what was I supposed to do? I just had to go and try to save my life.
I didn’t have a choice as to where I was going. If I’d had a chance to pick, I wouldn’t have picked the UK. I wasn’t an English speaker. But my only choice was to pay someone to get me to safety, and they got me to the UK.
Priti Patel does not know the reality of the matter. Does she really think someone fleeing danger can get a visa? It’s not as simple as she is pretending it is. Her plans will just push people to take even more dangerous routes. You’re not going to stop people from fleeing.
I was given a chance to build my life, to contribute to the community. And this was recognised by the Queen – I got an MBE last year. If I hadn’t been given that opportunity, if that bill had been passed when I came, that would never have happened. I wouldn’t be talking to you now.
London-based Haoussou fled persecution in central Africa and experienced immigration detention and homelessness upon arrival in the UK. He is now co-founder of torture survivor-led activist network Survivors Speak OUT and was appointed an MBE in the 2020 New Year Honours
I was kidnapped for 94 days in Syria. I left alone in 2015, very suddenly. I risked my life in the back of a lorry for 49 hours. They make it sound like we have a choice – no one chooses to travel in a lorry. If there had been a way to apply from my home country, I would never have risked my life.
My family followed in 2016 through family reunification. I have my wife, three daughters and my elderly father with me in the UK.
I came to the UK because of the language. I’m too old to learn a new language. I wouldn’t have been able to do what I’ve done in a county where I don’t speak the language.
They talk about us like we’re a major problem, but we are just normal people. In 2009 I owned multiple restaurants, bars and cafes in Damascus. I had more than 120 employees in my company. We were doing great. It was my worst nightmare that I would lose all of that.
I don’t know what is the matter with Priti Patel, but she’s trying to blame asylum seekers and refugees for the bad economy. In my restaurant I have around 18 employees – at least six are British. Refugees can do good here.
A Syrian chef and entrepreneur, Alarnab ran two successful restaurants, a cafe and a chain of juice bars in Damascus before his businesses imploded after the outbreak of war. He is now settled in the UK with his family and is preparing to open a restaurant in central London