Published: 6th of June, 2022

Outrage grows across the United Kingdom and the world in general as the UK Government sets plans afoot to deport an undisclosed number of refugees to the East Africa country of Rwanda. These are mostly refugees who had fled persecution and death from Middle Eastern countries such as Iraq, Syria, and Libya. Some of them have been in the United Kingdom for decades so the news comes as a shock to them.

Several human rights organizations have mounted legal challenges to the move, but the government is resolute that it will move forward with its plan. The first deportation flight is scheduled to leave on June 14th, 2022. The first group of asylum seekers who are presently in detention pending deportation have already been notified of their intended fate.

The refugees are not taking this lightly. They don’t want to go to Rwanda which they see as hell or a death sentence. A number of refugees on the list have already engaged in hunger strikes, and some said they prefer to kill themselves than go to Rwanda.

Rwanda is a poor, often violent country in Africa which has a history of civil wars and genocide. Nevertheless, Priti Patel of Home Office said that the United Kingdom has a very cordial relationship with Rwanda and that the refugees will be able to rebuild their lives in safety in Rwanda. Patel says the aim with this operation is to break the broken asylum system and break “the evil people-smugglers’ business model.”

“Once in Rwanda, there is a generous support package, including up to five years of training, accommodation, and healthcare on arrival in Rwanda. Under this partnership the UK is also investing an initial £120m into the economic development and growth of Rwanda,” the UK government said.

Home Office has essentially said to the refugees who don’t want to go to Rwanda: you have a choice: go to Rwanda or go back to where you came from. The UK has been the least refugee-friendly country in all Europe lately and has limited its intake of even Ukrainian refugees.