Priti Patel Lacks "Competence and Humanity" - WW2 Refugee who Became a Lord, Alf Dubs | March 2022

Mar 15, 2022 | As the government scrabbles its policy together for Ukrainian war refugees fleeing the country from Vladimir Putin's invasion, the Labour peer and refugee campaigner Alf Dubs tells Anoosh Chakelian that the response has been a "disgrace".

On The New Statesman Podcast Alf Dubs and Anoosh Chakelian discuss how the government finds itself on the wrong side of public opinion on the issue of Ukraine war refugees, why Priti Patel is the worst Home Secretary he's worked with, and why he'd like to see a "more robust" approach to welcoming refugees from the Labour leadership.

Michael Lambert: Failing Home Secretary Demonises Migrants

Sep 30, 2023 | Suella Braverman as Home Secretary presides over a Home Office which is in disarray. 1000 Met police officers are under investigation, only 5% of crime is solved and the borders are in chaos.

Immigration is a constant problem which Rishi Sunak has pledged to solve. Given the weakness of Rishi Sunak, she is the most powerful woman in the country. Braverman invokes memories of Germany in the 1930's! In recent years the rights of UK citizens have been much reduced, whereby the UK is now a police state. It is even an offence punishable by imprisonment to hold a sign which may offend the authorities.

Last week Braverman went to Washington to deliver a speech to the right-wing think tank American Enterprise Institute. It was a speech just a few days before the Tory party conference designed to boost her claim to be the successor to Sunak.

The speech and subsequent interviews were racist and dishonest. She presented dogwhistle arguments about the threat of migration and how it is the biggest threat that the world currently faces.

Her Rwanda policy involves swapping asylum seekers in the UK for 'vulnerable' deportees from Rwanda, another terrible deal which has cost the British taxpayer £140 million.

Braverman, by removing and restricting rights and by imposing restrictions, is turning the UK into a fascist state.

UK: Braverman Wants to Change the Definition of ‘Refugee’ to Keep Refugees Out | Vantage with Palki Sharma

Sep 28, 2023

Refugees: UK Home Secretary Braverman Questions Asylum for 'Simply Being Gay or a Woman' - BBC News

Sep 27, 2023 | Fearing discrimination for being gay or a woman should not be enough to qualify for international refugee protection, the UK home secretary has said.

Addressing a US think tank on Tuesday, Suella Braverman questioned whether the application of the UN's 1951 Refugee Convention is "fit for our modern age". Laws have morphed from helping those fleeing persecution to those fearing bias, she argued.

Labour accused her of having "given up on fixing" the asylum system.


Related video and comments by me here.

AUF DEUTSCH:

London will UN-Flüchtlingskonvention einschränken: Verfolgung müsse wieder gut begründet werden, sagt die britische Innenministerin Suella Braverman. Ihr Vorstoß ist auch eine Reaktion auf Entscheidungen britischer Gerichte. »

Migration ‘Existential Challenge’ Says Home Secretary Braverman

Sep 26, 2023 | It's not enough to fear discrimination 'simply for being gay or a woman' to qualify for asylum - according to Suella Braverman - who's been setting out her case against the global system for accepting refugees.

Related here, including my own comment.

Here follows my new comment on Braverman’s utterances:

What is there about these immigrants like Braverman that make them want to deny to others the very privileges that they themselves have been afforded? Where would she be today had Britain viewed in such a cruel way her family’s application for immigration status to this country?

In many ways, she is right in saying that multiculturalism has been a failure. That, I would not deny. But where she is making a grave mistake is in conflating the two things: granting people who might be persecuted for something, perhaps for being gay, and bringing into the country ‘wholesale’ people of other religious backgrounds, ethnic backgrounds, with totally different outlooks on life — something which successive governments have done with no consideration of its impact on the country’s rich Christian heritage — is something quite, quite different.

The people were not asked if they wanted their own way of life and customs swamped by alien religions, ways of life, or customs. Governments just opened the floodgates to let them all in, because they needed the workforce for business and commerce. Perahps they would have been better off encouraging young women to stay at home and give birth! Hasn't a lack of procreation been our Achilles heel? Doesn't feminism, perhaps, have much to answer for?

Ask yourselves which given name is the most used for new born babies in modern Britain. The answers to these questions might alarm you! Then, ask yourselves what this means for Britain’s future.

But please, let us not allow Suella Braverman try and re-write the 1951 Geneva Convention. It doesn’t need re-writing. What needs to be done is for it to be respected; and, furthermore, for governments to behave responsibly.

One of the greatest failures of multiculturalism has been the attempt to mix other faiths with our own (however nominal it is), and especially trying to mix Islam with it. This is where multiculturalism has failed as an experiment. It hasn’t failed because we have given sanctuary to people in fear of persecution.

By the way, the problems of trying to mix Islam with Christianity are many and varied. Over the lifetime of this blog — it has been up and running for nearly 22 years! — I have pointed out the pitfalls countless times. But seemingly nobody wanted to listen. More especially politicians. Nothing would come in the way of the execution of their grand multicultural experiment!

In very simple terms, the greatest problem of trying to mix Islam with Christianity stems from the FACT that Islam is one organic whole. It does not respect or differentiate between the temporal and the spiritual. That means to say, it respects no separation of mosque and state, no separation of Church and state, no separation of the religious from the political. Whereas Christianity, by contrast does. Not only does it, it is its sine qua non! “…Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's.” [KJB: Matthew 22:21]

Only in the past few days, in a trial in France, a Muslim on trial for terrorism, stated this in a French court! He said that Islam is not compatible with democracy! [« L’islam n’est pas compatible avec la démocratie » (Source)]

Suella Braverman needs to rethink her strategy on asylum seekers, especially on asylum seekers in grave danger of persecution, among whom are very many gays. They need this country’s help and protection. – © Mark Alexander

Italian PM ‘Astonished’ at Germany Paying Charities for Refugee Rescues

GUARDIAN EUROPE: In stern letter to Olaf Scholz, Giorgia Meloni criticises support provided for saving people in the Mediterranean

Italy’s far-right prime minister, Giorgia Meloni. Photograph: Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Italy’s far-right prime minster, Giorgia Meloni, has written a stern letter to the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, telling him she was “astonished” to learn that Berlin was paying charities to rescue people in the Mediterranean.

The row between Italy and German broke out after the Catholic charity Sant’Egidio said it had signed a fresh deal with Berlin to fund activities assisting refugees in Italy.

A spokesperson for the German foreign ministry said his government had implemented a “financial support programme” worth €790,000 (£685,000) to support the German NGO SOS Humanity in carrying out search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean. Saving people at sea was a “legal, humanitarian and moral duty”, the spokesperson added. » | Angela Giuffrida in Rome | Monday, September 25, 2023

Refugees in Search of a Safe Haven

Jun 17, 2022 • Fleeing terror at home, searching for safety and shelter. During the Holocaust, European Jews cried out to the world for help, desperate to escape Nazi persecution. Without legal protection, their lives hung in the balance. Some were granted refuge in foreign countries with an unfamiliar language, new customs, and limited opportunities. Most found nowhere to turn.

Today, war, genocide, and mass atrocities are forcing millions of people around the world from their homes. Often separated from their loved ones, they face an uncertain future. In observance of World Refugee Day, learn more from Museum experts about the plight of refugees during the Holocaust and today.

Guest
Ron Coleman, Chief, Library, The David M. Rubenstein National Institute for Holocaust Documentation, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Host
Dr. Edna Friedberg, Historian, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum

Rwanda: Asylum Seeker Deportation Flight to Go Ahead

Jun 13, 2022 • Downing Street insists the flight taking asylum seekers to Rwanda will go ahead as planned tomorrow, after the Court of Appeal rejected a legal challenge.

The prime minister said it was necessary to stop illegal people smuggling rackets both in the UK and France.

The SNP compared it to state-sponsored people trafficking. Labour said it was "completely unworkable, deeply unethical and extortionately expensive".

"Nobody Is Sleeping Here"

Jun 10, 2022 • Johnson & Patel want to deport refugees to Rwanda before even hearing their stories. Many have fled repression & war We spoke to a Syrian held at a UK detention centre & recorded the call Fearing retribution, his words are translated and spoken by an actor This is his story

If this is the way that Britain treats refugees, it makes me ashamed to be British! Shame on BoJo! Shame on Priti Patel! Shame on the Conservative government! Shame on us all for tolerating this treatment of these poor refugees! And we have the nerve to call ourselves Christians and this a Christian country! Unbelievable! – © Mark Alexander

Rwanda Asylum Seeker Policy: Ex-PM Theresa May Criticises Government Plan

Theresa May was Boris Johnson's direct predecessor as prime minister
BBC: Former prime minister Theresa May has criticised the government's plan to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda.

Mrs May told the Commons she did not support the policy due to her concerns over whether it met standards on "legality, practicality and efficacy".

Home Secretary Priti Patel said the scheme would be "a major blow to people smugglers" and would stop people dying on dangerous routes to the UK.

The policy has been criticised by charities and opposition parties.

Mrs May, who also served as home secretary overseeing the UK's immigration policy between 2010 and 2016, asked if the trial scheme would lead to an increase in trafficking of women and children - after reports that only single men making illegal crossings to the UK would be sent to Rwanda.

Under the scheme - announced last week - people deemed to have entered the UK unlawfully will be flown to the African country, where they would be processed, and if successful, would have long-term accommodation in the African country.

Responding to a statement on migration by Ms Patel, Mrs May said: "From what I have heard and seen so far of this policy, I do not support the removal to Rwanda policy on the grounds of legality, practicality and efficacy.

"If it is the case that families will not be broken up, does she not believe and where is her evidence that this will not simply lead to an increase in the trafficking of women and children?" » | BBC | Tuesday, April 19, 2022

One word sums up Priti Patel nicely: Nasty! – © Mark

Rwandan LGBTIQ People Warn: It’s Unsafe to Send Queer Asylum Seekers Here

OPEN DEMOCRACY: The UK intends to send asylum seekers to the east African country. Rights groups say LGBTIQ people will be particularly at risk

Gerald* and his boyfriend fled Rwanda in February this year to escape persecution from their families and church. “They beat us, starved us and refused to give us shelter,” he told openDemocracy from neighbouring Uganda.

His testimony comes after the UK government announced new proposals to resettle asylum seekers in Rwanda.

The £120m scheme, paid for by the British taxpayer, will mostly target single men arriving on boats or lorries. Prime minister Boris Johnson called the plan “humane and compassionate” and said it would put an end to the businesses of “vile people smugglers”. But rights groups say it will be particularly harmful to LGBTIQ people given Rwanda’s track record on LGBTIQ rights.

“It’s appalling for everyone. But for LGBTIQ people in particular, it’s substantially worse,” says Sonia Lenegan, legal and policy director at the NGO Rainbow Migration.

“The government must abandon this problematic agreement. There will be legal challenges to this.” » | Khatondi Soita Wepukhulu and Nandini Archer | Saturday, April 16, 2022

Michael Lambert: Johnson's Law-breaking and Rwandan 'Dead Cat'

Apr 16, 2022 • Last week Boris Johnson, his wife and the Chancellor Rishi Sunak were all fined for attending a birthday party for Johnson during the lockdown.

Later in the week, it was announced that the government intends to send asylum seekers arriving in the UK by crossing the Channel to Rwanda with no possibility of return.

Both Johnson and Sunak have told Parliament that they did not attend any parties during lockdown and yet both have been fined for doing so. It is expected that further fines will be issued in respect of Johnson. Both Johnson and Sunak have declared that they will not resign.

The plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda seems rushed, ill-thought-out and unworkable. It will also be very expensive. However, it does serve to distract from Johnson's main problems which are further fines and the May local elections.

UK Plan to Send Refugees to Rwanda Is “Cruel” and “Immoral” Say Critics - BBC News

The Guardian view on Britain’s Rwanda deal: a cruel, cynical pretence: Sending asylum seekers on a one-way journey does nothing to address the global refugee crisis »

Michael Lambert: Patel Lets Desperate Ukrainians Know They Are Not Welcome in the UK

Mar 5, 2022 • Whilst the whole world looks on in horror at the terrible events happening in Ukraine, the UK Home Secretary, Priti Patel, the daughter of immigrants, does everything possible to make it difficult for desperate refugees to come to the UK. Her first reaction was to make it clear that any refugees wanting to come to the UK would have to subject themselves to our new points-based immigration system involving lengthy bureaucracy including testing for English proficiency and general knowledge about the UK.

Whilst other countries all over Europe were abandoning all controls for these desperate people, Patel went to the Commons and announced that certain people might be permitted to come to the UK, but only if they could prove they had very close relatives in the UK. In the meantime, one of her ministers, Kevin Foster, announced that the refugees could apply to come to the UK to pick fruit!

Under Pate,l the government's immigration is in chaos. Following Brexit, whole families are coming to the UK from the Third World to replace individual former EU nurses, and others. Furthermore, money launderers operate with impunity and many others are able to employ workers for cash-in-hand and make no payments to the Pat-As-You-Earn scheme( PAYE) or make any National Insurance contributions (NIC.)

Applicants for asylum or British nationality are kept waiting for up to ten years or more whilst being told they are not permitted to work.


You can view Michael Lambert's earlier video on Priti Patel here.

First Group of LGBT+ Afghans Fleeing Taliban Arrive in the UK

THE GUARDIAN: Students and activists in group that British foreign ministry hopes will be ‘the first of many’ in coming months

Activists around the world have been campaigning to raise awareness of LGBT Afghans and women’s dire situation under the Taliban's rule. Photograph: Alain Pitton/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock
A group of LGBT+ Afghans has arrived in Britain, the first since the Taliban’s return to power in August caused panic among gay and transgender Afghans, who feared persecution and even death under the Islamists’ rule.

The evacuation of the 29 Afghans is “hoped to be the first of many” in the coming months, Britain’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday, hours after a Taliban spokesman said LGBT+ rights would not be respected.

Thousands of Afghans including LGBT+ people, women and officials linked to the previous administration rushed to flee the country after the Taliban’s swift return to power on 15 August, but many were unable to board foreign evacuation flights.

“We played a key role getting these people out and will continue to do all we can to help at-risk Afghans leave the country,” British foreign secretary Liz Truss said in a statement, adding Britain would continue to defend “the right of all people to be themselves and love who they want”.

Among the group are students and activists who had repeatedly stood up for equality for the LGBT community in Afghanistan, the Foreign, Common and Development Office (FCDO) said. » | Agencies | Saturday, October 30, 2021

Machtwechsel in Afghanistan: Grossbritannien nimmt LGBTQ-Personen auf, US-Aussenministerium und Pentagon halten angeblich Informationen zurück: In Afghanistan haben die Taliban die Macht übernommen. Viele Staaten haben ihre Landsleute und lokalen Mitarbeiter unter teilweise dramatischen Umständen evakuiert. Die Lage im Land ist unübersichtlich. »

Taliban Gains Trigger Exodus from Afghanistan | DW News

Aug 6, 2021 • In Afghanistan Taliban fighters are making gains across the country, forcing many Afghans to flee. Most are headed west, crossing over the border to Iran. Many will continue on from there into Turkey, where the media are reporting increasing numbers of migrants arriving every day. With refugee facilities in Turkey already overcrowded, most Afghans hope to continue on to Europe. Observers worry that this latest exodus from Afghanistan is just the start and could escalate in the coming months.

Erdoğan Threatens to Send 3.6m Refugees to Europe

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan warns he will ‘open the gates’ if Syria assault is called an ‘occupation’ »

Italy's Salvini Calls for European Anti-refugee Alliance

Italy's far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has called for the formation of a Europe-wide anti-refugee alliance. Addressing the annual gathering of his League Party, Salvini said he is thinking of a European alliance which unites all the free movements that want to defend their borders.

Who Wants Migrants Rescued from the Mediterranean Sea? | Inside Story

The arguments over who should take responsibility for refugees arriving in Europe are heating up again. EU leaders have long been divided about how to handle the migrant crisis, which is being highlighted by the grueling voyage undertaken by 630 migrants now in Spain. They were stranded at sea for more than a week because of a diplomatic row. Italy and Malta refused to accept them after being rescued from overcrowded dinghies off the coast of Libya.

After much debate, the new Spanish government allowed the charity ship Aquarius and two other vessels to dock in Valencia. Anti-immigration sentiment has increased in Europe with right-wing parties who want tougher rules making gains in Austria, Germany and Italy.

There is widespread agreement that the EU needs to overhaul asylum and immigration laws, but disagreement on how. An EU summit is due to discuss new rules in Brussels at the end of this month. Can they overcome their deep divisions?

Presenter: Elizabeth Puranam | Guests: William Lacy Swing - Director General, International Organization for Migration; Francesco Galietti - Head of Policy Sonar political risk consultancy

As Shutdown Looms over Immigration, Trump’s Rejection of Refugees Could Have Global Domino Effect