Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
REFUGEE CHARITIES HAVE said the UK Government’s plan to send migrants to Rwanda has done little to deter people from making the perilous journey to the UK, as Channel crossings resumed at the weekend.
Some 254 people were detected in small boats crossing from France on Sunday after an 11-day pause in such trips.
More people thought to be migrants were taken to Dover on Bank Holiday Monday, including children, with the BBC reporting that more than 100 migrants had been brought to shore by the afternoon.
The official figures for Monday’s crossings from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) are not expected until tomorrow.
Confirmation of Sunday’s figures from the MoD came after what is believed to have been an 11-day break in activity around the Channel from 20 to 30 April, when no crossings were recorded amid reports of strong winds and choppy seas.
The MoD took over control of migrant operations in April, when the Government also announced controversial plans to send some of those making the cross-Channel journey to Rwanda.
The British Government’s Nationality and Borders Bill – dubbed the anti-refugee Bill by campaigners as it makes it a criminal offence to knowingly arrive in the UK illegally and includes powers to process asylum seekers overseas – became law on Thursday.
But refugee organisations said the Bill does “nothing to address the reasons people come”, with one charity saying the majority of migrants it spoke to said the plan will not put them off crossing to the UK.
The Rwanda deal will see the east African nation receive asylum seekers deemed by the UK to be inadmissible, having arrived “illegally” under new immigration rules.
Care4Calais said that of the 64 people it surveyed, 87% had heard of the plan and 75% said “it won’t put them off crossing to the UK”.
In a Twitter post, the organisation said: “They have no choice: they’ve fled danger made long, dangerous journeys, and France ‘does not give you security’, as one said.”
The charity branded the Rwanda deal – which Home Secretary Priti Patel has described as a “world-first” agreement – as “just another in a long line of deterrence policies announced by this Government over the last few years”.
Care4Calais said: “Refugees have escaped from the worst horrors in this world. When you’re risking your life, what else do you have to lose? When someone explains ‘even death wouldn’t stop me’ trying to get to the UK, it’s clear that even the threat of Rwanda won’t change anything.”
In the last few days we have carried out a survey of refugees in Calais to get their reaction to the government’s Rwanda plan. A 🧵 about the results.
— Care4Calais (@Care4Calais) May 2, 2022
Such sentiments were echoed by Pierre-Henri Dumont, French National Assembly member for Calais.
He told BBC Radio 4’s The World At One programme: “When you leave your country because of flood, because of starvation, because you are not afraid of being hauled and sent back to another country, at least if you have a chance you will try.”
‘A fair and humane asylum system’
Enver Solomon, chief executive of Refugee Council, said the resumption of crossings at the weekend showed that “draconian policies enshrined in the Nationality and Borders Bill and their (the Government’s) Rwanda deal are doing little to deter desperate people jumping on boats because they do nothing to address the reasons people come”.
He called on the UK to have a “grown-up conversation with France and the EU about sharing responsibility”.
He said: “We need a fair and humane asylum system, with means well thought-out, long-term solutions that address why people are forced from their homes, and provides them with safe routes to the UK.”
Sunday’s figures mean at least 6,947 people have reached the UK since the start of the year after navigating busy shipping lanes from France in small boats, according to data compiled by the PA news agency.
That is more than three times the amount recorded by this time last year (2,004) and over six times the figure for the same period in 2020 (1,006).
Typically there can be periods of several days or weeks without migrant crossings, often depending on weather conditions.
Two longer gaps of 16 and 13 days without crossings were recorded earlier this year, before the Rwanda deal was announced.
The longest period without any crossings so far in 2022 was 16 days, between 27 January and 11 February, PA analysis of Government figures shows.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said there needs to be “an international co-ordinated criminal response” to tackle the “criminal gangs” that he said are driving the migrant crisis.
Speaking on the campaign trail in Worthing, West Sussex, he said: “I know what can be done if you’ve got teams working together across Europe all the way along those routes, absolutely bearing down on these criminal gangs, and working very closely with the French authorities as well.”
Solomon reminded people that those “coming across the channel are fleeing atrocities like those in Ukraine and Afghanistan”.
Care4Calais said there is no longer a build-up of Ukrainians in Calais “because they can apply for visas from anywhere”.
Renewing their call for the option of visa applications for all refugees, the charity added: “The answer to many problems in Calais is to let refugees apply for visas to cross the Channel safely, because now – unless you’re Ukrainian – there’s no safe way for a refugee to get to the UK and claim asylum. That would put people smugglers out of business and save lives.”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
so nice to see this becoming important for people. The food industry is rampant with additives, conservatives, all sorts of short-cuts to make production bigger and cheaper. I mean, why the hell is there milk in ham? Can they not just boil a lump of pork, slice it and package it?
Packaging is another issue that seems to me to be out of control…sooo much plastic. But that’s for another day.
Well said Lorcán! I care deeply whats in my food and where it comes from. Be great to see every town with its own thriving food market encouraging farmers and landowners in the surrounding lands to produce real healthy food. So many pluses.. better food for all, more local employment, stronger community, healthier soil and land too. Yes Permaculture is the future and there really is no alternative.. regenerates land, soil, forests, wildlife, cleaner rivers, far healthier food, community empowerment and independence and so much more. Organic growing is just the start.. do your own research into Permaculture and learn how it solves most of our problems.
I too have an issue with packaging. However like it or hate it, plastic packaging is the material that our society has chosen and in the end there’s nothing inherently wrong with plastic, just our management of it. Plastic had many advantages and it dramatically reduces food spoilage, which is good for the environment. Plastic can be made from plants: it doesn’t have to be made from fossil fuels. It can be carbon neutral, biodegradable and sustainable.
Thought this was an interesting read. Makes me want to do something with the little plot outside my house. But for now I’m going to take a walk down the road with my rubber gloves and pick some delicious nettles.
Nettle Beer Anyone . . .http://www.wildabout.ie/nettles.html
The title made me interested in the article. Sadly the article just turned out to be a really long ad. :-/
Sorry you thought that Logan, and I totally get how beaten down we get by media manipulation. This was an interview I did about our food and how we grow it. We are a very small Artisan Food Producer, we are not a big multinational. We have a 5 acre smallholding where we grow using permaculture techniques, We don’t use any chemicals on our land or in our kitchen.. We sell at farmers markets and now in Supervalu through the Food Academy, an initiative by Bord Bia, the Enterprise Board and Musgraves, aimed to bring small producers like ourselves into the mainstream, giving us the opportunity to grow our business and for us to spread an ethical and environmental ethos. What it has meant for us, is the bigger platform had given us the means to service a debt in moving up a notch, employing someone and taking our business to the next stage. This is not an advert by a large multinational. This is an interview with a genuine small producer. Good Food Ireland Producer of the Year. All Ireland Farmers Market Champions and Guild of Irish Food Writers Award 2015.
No, it’s an advert by a large supermarket chain, piggybacking on your business. You are the product here.
I wish you well, which may surprise you, and I’d try your product too, because I’m lfortunate enough to be able to occasionally buy food because I feel like, rather than for reasons of nutrition or hunger – unlike a great number of people. But I’d do so a second time not because it’s organic, or because of the permaculture, but if it tasted nice.
The other stuff is marketing for an affluent picky market, who want to feel virtuous and superior about what they eat, rather than, you know, full. The same ones who are now filling the coffers of those making exorbitantly expensive (though not so bad in Lidl) gluten free food for people who are not coeliacs and have a ‘food intolerance’ that does not really exist.
Organic/permaculture/chutney is never ever feed large populations and is a distraction at that level. It is of no interest to those feeding people on a tight budget, but serves to make them feel guilty that they are not doing as well as they should.
Organic is irrelevant when it comes to nutrition. If you are doing it for principle and can afford to, fine. But if you can’t afford it don’t feel the least bit guilty or deprived.
Also, this always makes me laugh like a drain
‘.. we really should make quality, high-end food that we can sell to the rest of the world with pride.’
So, we should not import food – cos ‘the environment’, health etc – and we should eat and buy only Irish food preferably locally grown. But meanwhile, we should export away like good things – to hell with the environment – and people in other countries should definitely not eat and buy locally, they should eat our better food.
Hilarious.
This article has cheered me up no end.
‘You could dine out for years on ‘what is the difference between chutney and relish’’
I can honestly say I’ve been on the planet for over 5 decades and never been in the least bothered by this conundrum. If it came up when I was dining out, I’d question my choice of company.
Katie I would agree with you there but from a quick google search (your fault for peeking my curiosity and thus lowering my integrity) from what I can see basically ingredients (same can be in both) and cooking time (which can vary in both) and original origin of the names the product of which now probably has no resemblance to what it was after being messed around with all these years.
Mostly now I think the trems Relish would be used by Americans and Chutney by the English, also Relish would sound more “posh” over the “workingman’s” Chutney and both are basically the same with the ability to make or break a sandwich or burger.
Must bring this up at my next dinner party methinks……. Hmmm maybe not
Love Nettles, many of our native hedgerow foods have incredible medicinal properties . . . and they’re FREE !
Great article. Permaculture and Organic food is the right direction for our little country as we produce enough to feed everyone without Importing (or exporting) our food! There’s more and more courses cropping up all over the country from day courses to full on 2 year degrees. Accessibility is key!
Avoiding Trans Fats (man made) can reverse Diabetes Type 2. US average intake is 2.2 Kgs per annum …. daft!
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/05/fda-trans-fat-ban-118003.html
Surely this is an ad. Is it a paid for advertisement, if so surely that should be written somewhere?
It’s brought to you by SuperValu and there’s a #Sponcered.
Just saw the “Sponsered” on the pic attached to the article on the home page but there is nothing (that I can see) in the article and I must be missing the “Brought to you by Supervalu” because I can’t locate that.
A wonderful example of ‘ad blindness’ Tricia – I love it. Took me a minute too, but there is a little thing at the top beside the titles, and a big red thing at the bottom of the article. When you see them, they are obvious, but like you I at first just automatically filtered them out as ads.
Message to Journal advertisers: Your banner ads are pretty much invisible, even the big red ones. On the other hand, a lot of people don’t notice articles are sponsored. Just bear the comments in mind when creating your copy…
Ha. I only just now noticed the MASSIVE banner ad at the top of the page. So that’s 3 ads, and the one I noticed last is the biggest.
This just gets funnier and funnier.
There was a pattern of red/green thumbs here that was quite normal, all comments were green and red to a natural degree..
Then all of a sudden it changed – like, completely, within about 5 minutes. Any comments not in abject praise of the article are now red-thumbed to death, old and new (banal) favourable comments are green thumbed to the heights.
The PR company are on the ball anyway and earning their crust, have to give them that. Expect this comment won’t even last long.
I imagine the people who click on and read this article would mainly be the people who have an interest in organics/ permaculture and whatnot so they would obviously red thumb comments they don’t agree with. I wouldn’t get too paranoid over the thumbs
Not paranoid at all, amused.
Usually get mine in tesco or lidl
I find Aldi occasionally good too, though I do rate Lidl the best of the three.
have your say