"The Silent Human Rights Crisis"
Mark Choonara | 30.01.2004 15:33 | Migration | Liverpool
UN General Secretary Kofi Annan highlights the crisis of negative European attitudes towards refugees and asylum seekers.
"The Silent Human Rights Crisis"
In an address to European Parliament, UN General Secretary Kofi Annan spoke out against the "dehumanising" policies towards immigrants. He highlighted the gross mistruths which governments and the mass media have fed to the European public, whilst taking time to point out the many human beings who travel through hell and high-water, simply for the chance of a fair opportunity. In his speech he also emphasised that many immigrants do not want to live apart from society, but "to integrate, while retaining their identity."
Mr. Annan's speech also included references to the horrific struggles many endure, and through which hundreds every year lose their lives, in order to attempt to enter European countries illegally. His speech has come at a time when many in Britain may be focused on other issues, but we must not forget the hugely important issue of refugees and immigrants. There is a real danger in Britain at the moment of this issue being overlooked, which would be a very dangerous situation. Conservative Party policy goes to far as to suggest imprisoning any asylum seekers in detention centres on a remote island whilst their claims are reviewed. Such horrific treatment of fellow human beings must not and cannot be allowed. Labour Party policy approaches the issue from a different angle, threatening the abduction of the children of failed asylum applicants. Whilst this has been defended by the government as the most humane option available in the process of removing failed applicants, we must bear in mind that this is a government which defends the sacrifice of more than 8,000 civilian lives as an act of great humanity and 'liberation'.
At the moment there appears to be no clear solution to the issue of confused immigration laws around Europe, but this does not mean that we can simply ignore the clear problem facing us. Whilst it is true that Britain cannot accept every asylum application it receives, there is a lot which can be done. Greater effort can be put into catching and imprisoning human traffickers, who profit from the cruel and illegal transportation of thousands of people every year. The government should dare to take a stand against the racist and xenophobic comments apparent in a great deal of national newspapers. Freedom of speech is one thing, but so is incitement of racial hatred. It must also be remembered that Britain can accommodate many more immigrants than it currently does.
The key point to remember is that there is no real 'us and them'. Asylum seekers and refugees are no less human than any British citizen. I find it very hard to believe that so many immigrants travel thousands of miles, enduring incredible dangers, in the hope of scrounging off benefits for the rest of their days, as would be suggested by certain newspapers. We are all people, the majority of whom simply want the chance to live in a society where we have a fair opportunity to earn an honest living, yet somewhere along the way this appears to have been forgotten.
For more information on refugees, visit:
www.star-network.org.uk
or
www.refugeecouncil.org.uk
In an address to European Parliament, UN General Secretary Kofi Annan spoke out against the "dehumanising" policies towards immigrants. He highlighted the gross mistruths which governments and the mass media have fed to the European public, whilst taking time to point out the many human beings who travel through hell and high-water, simply for the chance of a fair opportunity. In his speech he also emphasised that many immigrants do not want to live apart from society, but "to integrate, while retaining their identity."
Mr. Annan's speech also included references to the horrific struggles many endure, and through which hundreds every year lose their lives, in order to attempt to enter European countries illegally. His speech has come at a time when many in Britain may be focused on other issues, but we must not forget the hugely important issue of refugees and immigrants. There is a real danger in Britain at the moment of this issue being overlooked, which would be a very dangerous situation. Conservative Party policy goes to far as to suggest imprisoning any asylum seekers in detention centres on a remote island whilst their claims are reviewed. Such horrific treatment of fellow human beings must not and cannot be allowed. Labour Party policy approaches the issue from a different angle, threatening the abduction of the children of failed asylum applicants. Whilst this has been defended by the government as the most humane option available in the process of removing failed applicants, we must bear in mind that this is a government which defends the sacrifice of more than 8,000 civilian lives as an act of great humanity and 'liberation'.
At the moment there appears to be no clear solution to the issue of confused immigration laws around Europe, but this does not mean that we can simply ignore the clear problem facing us. Whilst it is true that Britain cannot accept every asylum application it receives, there is a lot which can be done. Greater effort can be put into catching and imprisoning human traffickers, who profit from the cruel and illegal transportation of thousands of people every year. The government should dare to take a stand against the racist and xenophobic comments apparent in a great deal of national newspapers. Freedom of speech is one thing, but so is incitement of racial hatred. It must also be remembered that Britain can accommodate many more immigrants than it currently does.
The key point to remember is that there is no real 'us and them'. Asylum seekers and refugees are no less human than any British citizen. I find it very hard to believe that so many immigrants travel thousands of miles, enduring incredible dangers, in the hope of scrounging off benefits for the rest of their days, as would be suggested by certain newspapers. We are all people, the majority of whom simply want the chance to live in a society where we have a fair opportunity to earn an honest living, yet somewhere along the way this appears to have been forgotten.
For more information on refugees, visit:
www.star-network.org.uk
or
www.refugeecouncil.org.uk
Mark Choonara
Comments
Hide the following 4 comments
Refugees are supposed to seek asylum in the first safe country they come to
30.01.2004 16:12
realist
How many
30.01.2004 16:15
Dave
The Facts on Migration
30.01.2004 16:29
Until the early 1990's the outflow of migrants exceeded or balanced the inflow so there was no resultant increase in the population of the U.K. However the latest government projection is that our population will increase by 5.6 million by 2031 of which 3million is due to immigration.
Since 1997, net international inward migration has more than trebled from 47,000 to 153,000 in 2002. Illegal immigrants are additional to this total. 50,000 were detected in the year 2002 so a similar number undetected would be a low estimate. Adding this brings the total to 203,000 a year or more than 2 million every decade.
Asylum seekers comprise about half the total. Even after the recent fall in applications, we still take more than any other industrialised country. The cost in 2002 was £1.8 billion.
The Asylum and Immigration Act (2002) was mainly concerned with speeding up the asylum process but, since more than three quarters of those refused stay on anyway, this has little effect on the inward flow. In 2002 about 110,700 arrived (including dependants); 13,300 were removed.
Changes to the settlement rules for spouses and partners in 1997 mean that the flow of dependants, continuous since the 1960s, will increase further and continue indefinitely.
There is no economic case for large scale inward migration. Any labour shortages could largely be dealt with by existing arrangements for 5 year employment permits. The argument that immigration is needed to support an increasingly elderly population is false.
The impact on housing will be considerable, especially in London and the South East where more three quarters of the new migrants are settling.
Migrants now comprise about 29% of London 's population.
Fact Giver
and why are they here
30.01.2004 18:45
obscene wealth divide; deliberately perpetuated via debt-financing etc
climate change affecting eqiutorial areas most greatly (kills <160,000 a year; The Ecologist, Feb 04)
If the gulf stream 'turns off' due to global warming's affect on north sea salinity; britain will have a climate like alaska in a few years. would you just stay put and freeze?
!