2023-10-19 17:29:37
Nearly About thirty asylum seekers in the United Kingdom returned this Thursday to the barge ‘Bibby Stockholm’, described as a “floating prison” by human rights organizations, after the elimination of legionella bacteria which forced the vessel to be evacuated in mid-August. “All necessary tests, including health, fire and water checks, have been completed and are all satisfactory,” a Home Office spokesperson said in a statement.
The first asylum seekers have been received at the port of Portland, in the south of the country, by several dozen protesters, who demand that the Government stop its plans and guarantee that los refugees they receive decent treatment. Despite the protests, the Executive plans to continue with the transfers until the barge’s maximum capacity of 512 people is reached. “The number of people on board will gradually increase with more arrivals in the coming days and months, as part of a carefully structured and phased approach“, explained the ministry. Another 45 people are expected to arrive in the coming days, according to the British press.
Cost reduction
The installation of the barge is part of the Government’s plan to reduce expenses of housing asylum seekers in hotels and hostels, exceeding seven million euros per day. The Executive has insisted that the refugees “they have no choice“and that those who refuse to move to the boat run the risk of losing the financial support they receive. Many of those affected claim to be afraid of living on a boat due to the psychological consequences of their trip to the United Kingdom and others have expressed concern that some catastrophe could occur in a facility whose initial capacity has been doubled to accommodate the maximum number of people possible.
The Government’s plans have been rejected by human rights organizations and local administrations, who maintain that it will have a negative impact on both asylum seekers and the local community. Portland Mayor Carralyn Parkes filed a High Court lawsuit to stop the process, alleging that the barge failed to comply with planning regulations and had not complied with the environmental impact assessment. A lawsuit that judges have dismissed, although some of the affected asylum seekers have started their own legal battles individually.
Basic services
The Executive maintains that the use of barges to house immigrants complies with respect for current laws and insists that all of them will have guaranteed basic services, including health care on the boat, as well as internet access, spaces for doing sports and English classes. The Government will also make available to asylum seekers a bus service so they can travel to nearby towns and will deliver 3,500 pounds (about 4,000 euros) to the city council for each person accommodated on the barge.
Even so, refugee defense organizations criticize the small space in which they will have to live when the boat is at full capacity, with rooms shared with up to three or four people. “The idea is to be as cruel as possible to discourage people from seeking asylum,” said Mayor Parkes. The objective of the Ministry of the Interior, led by the controversial Minister Suella Braverman, is to reduce as soon as possible the expenses associated with the accommodation of refugees and stop the arrival of boats across the English Channel.
Controversial policies
Braverman, daughter of African immigrants of Indian origin, has radicalized her anti-immigration speech in recent months in an attempt to establish her own profile for a future leadership of the Conservative Party. “The wind of change that swept my parents across the world in the 20th century was nothing more than a mere breeze compared to the approaching hurricane,” the minister said at the conservatives’ annual convention, held at the beginning of the month. . In addition to reducing costs in the accommodation of asylum seekers, the minister plans activate deportations as soon as possible Rwandaparalyzed at this moment by justice and on which the Supreme Court must rule in the coming weeks.
#Asylum #seekers #return #floating #prison #legionella #evacuation