Lineker and the truth about asylum

Gary Tweeted: “There is no huge influx. We take far fewer refugees than other major European countries. This is just an immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s.”

Co-incidentally, this weekend I met a young man seeking asylum. We chatted about his journey, his current situation, hopes for the future. I was deeply saddened by his story, and felt compelled to write this post.

The news this weekend was awash with the Gary Lineker row and subsequent staff walk out and boycott within the BBC. This row is off the back of the Prime Minister's new plans to ‘stop the boats’. The UK Government’s new migration Bill intends to stop people arriving by boat from claiming asylum in the UK, effectively banning them from receiving protection in the country because of their mode of arrival. While the exact details are still to be revealed, the Bill will mean that people who cross the channel will be deported to Rwanda or another country “as soon as reasonably practicable”.

The row focused on the impartiality of the BBC but stemmed from the government's corrosive narrative around this topic. Gary and I share the view that it is especially clumsy, so close to the firebombing of an immigration processing centre which was motivated by extreme right-wing terrorist ideology for the Government and Media to keep framing vulnerable people in this way.

In the?UK?news?media, refugees,?people seeking asylum, immigrants and migrants are often framed as 'dangerous criminals' here to sponge off the state and when someone hears the UK home secretary speaking about “stopping the invasion on our southern coast”, they might be forgiven for thinking Britain is at war.

At best clumsy rhetoric, at worst this is the sort of racism, discrimination and prejudice that stokes up fear and shapes much of our political narrative.

Immigration minister Robert Jenrick?said that Lineker was “far out of step with the British public” while deputy chair of the Conservative Party and?MP for Ashfield Lee Anderson?wrote?on Facebook: “This is just another example of how out of touch these overpaid stars are with the voting public. Instead of lecturing, Mr. Lineker should stick to reading out the football scores and flogging crisps.”

He's not out of step with my views. I agree with Gary and I think the government should not be engaging in corrosive narratives and seeking to enact cruel policies for populist political gain.

A person seeking asylum is:

A person who has left their country of origin and formally applied for asylum in another country but whose application has not yet been concluded.

Wherever possible, we should describe someone as a person seeking asylum because the term asylum seeker is itself, dehumanising.

By pure coincidence, on saturday I met a young person who is now almost blind, through his faith he has hope his sight will return but the medical professionals suggest not. In his own country he had no access to the healthcare to save his sight, and his family setting was not safe. In this country he is alone, in some pain and other than a volunteer that visits for a couple of hours on a Saturday he is alone in a room 24/7 awaiting the results of his application for refugee status. It has been 18 months already and no idea when the news will come. His mental health is under strain but he is trying to remain strong, his future is uncertain and he has many fears. He is unlikely to see again, and he fears he cannot study, cannot work, may not get married. The pressure on this young person is unbearable. This young person used to have a second hand tablet which is now broken, but he used to hide it because some ignorant people resent people seeking asylum if they do own communication devices like phones or tablet or laptops (which most of children have in the modern age), because it feeds into the narrative they arrive on our shores and are given free hand-outs.

He is clearly very intelligent and can chat about politics or economics and enjoys listening to the radio. My wife cooked for him and early this week I will be phoning around any charities for the blind that I can find in order to see what help and support is needed, available, and to get some ideas on how I can help. I'm thinking about education or employment opportunities, but in the short term anything to give hope.

As the Lineker row rumbles on, and the reality for other people seeking asylum continues here's three facts which, to my mind, need sharing:

1) Developing countries – not the UK – look after most of the world's refugees

72% of refugees live in countries neighbouring their country of origin

The UK is home to approx. 1% of the 27.1 million refugees who were forcibly displaced across the world.

2) People seeking asylum are looking for a place of safety

They want to work, want to learn, want to grow and 41% of displaced people across the world are children.

3) Refugees can make a huge contribution to the UK

They all want to learn and work. Some want to study and all want to contribute.

A recent Economist article pointed out Migrants contribute more to Britain than they take, and will carry on doing so. With Britain’s population ageing, the country could do with an influx of younger members to its labour force.

About 1,200 medically qualified refugees are recorded on the British Medical Association’s database. It is estimated that it costs around ￡25,000 to support a refugee doctor to practise in the UK. Training a new doctor is estimated to cost between ￡200,000 and ￡250,000

Children in the UK asylum system contribute very positively to schools across the country. This in turn enables more successful integration of families into local communities

Ben Bradford

The views in this post are entirely my own.....

I believe in human potential. I do not like seeing potential go to waste. I'm optimistic that some of what is said here will resonate with others who share these values and believe in one world, one people - where everyone has an equal chance to thrive.

“Judge [people] not by what they are, but by what they strive to become.”

―?Fyodor Dostoyevsky