FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
As we mourn the tragic loss of human life on the other side of Europe, let us channel that human compassion and solidarity into finding a new and better way for them here in the UK...
This week we were once again faced with the horrific news of people losing their lives at sea as they desperately seek a safe place to live and work. The number of lives confirmed as lost off the coast of Greece is appalling and looks certain to rise.
Most of us want to see a humane solution, to ensure that desperate people do not have to make such dangerous journeys to find protection. But this tragedy happened at the exact time when the Illegal Immigration Bill is being debated in the House of Lords.
A bill that will be ineffective in addressing the tragic loss of life that we have seen so often in the English Channel. As I and many others from all political camps have argued in the House of Lords, a bill aimed at closing the door on anyone seeking asylum in the UK unless they arrive legally.
This means that if this draft is passed, it will deny asylum to children from Sudan, people who have worked alongside British personnel in Afghanistan, but also to the thousands of people whose lives have been destroyed by the war in Syria.
That's because there are very few safe ways for people from these and other countries to reach our shores. With the exception of refugees from Ukraine and Hong Kong, existing legal avenues have been closed, and the bill in question does not provide any steps to address this issue.
Instead, we are seeing measures aimed more at helping victims than at helping the victims, at promoting the idea that adopting an increasingly hostile and cruel attitude towards those fleeing war and persecution will prevent them from seeking asylum in Britain.
In a long list of brutal refugee policies, the Illegal Immigration Bill represents another low, which "would amount to a ban on asylum", in the words of the UN refugee agency. My family sought refuge in Britain after the revolution in Iran brought the small Anglican community there under attack.
My father, a bishop in Iran, survived an assassination attempt. They also assassinated my 24-year-old brother. The truth is that those fleeing war, famine and persecution seek to find safety by any means they can. 43 years later, I am forced to wonder if today we would have found the safety and welcome that they once gave us and allowed us to rebuild our lives.
Në rast se shndërrohet në ligj Projektligji i Emigracionit të Paligjshëm, azilkërkuesit që po u ikin tmerreve të paimagjinueshme dhe që aktualisht nuk kanë zgjidhje tjetër veçse të mbërrijnë me mjete të tilla si një varkë e vogël, do të përballen me mbylljen pas hekurave ndërsa qeveria kërkon që t’i largojë ata pa shqyrtuar as kërkesën e tyre për azil.
Për më tepër, kjo do të thotë se vendi ynë mund të mbyllë në qendrat e paraburgimit rreth 45.000 fëmijë në 3 vitet e para pas miratimit të projektligjit. Një ndalim i tillë masiv i fëmijëve do të ndodhte pavarësisht nëse ata janë me familjet e tyre apo të pashoqëruar.
Ky ndalim do të jetë pa asnjë kufizim kohor dhe në çdo objekt në të gjithë vendin ku e cilëson të nevojshme Ministria jonë e Brendshme. Nga përvoja jonë e kaluar e paraburgimit të fëmijëve në Britani por edhe nga praktika e kaluar në vende si Australia dhe Greqia ne e njohim fare mirë dëmin e madh fizik dhe mendor që u shkakton kjo përvojë fëmijëve, duke i lënë shpeshherë me trauma për gjithë jetën.
Projektligji i Emigracionit të Paligjshëm po provokon një kundërshtim të fortë nga të gjitha anët e spektrit politik, si dhe nga organet mjekësore, grupet e besimit, organizata bamirëse në ndihmë të fëmijëve dhe nga më shumë se 500 grupe kombëtare dhe lokale të të gjitha llojeve të bashkuara në koalicionin “Së bashku me Refugjatët”.
But in the meantime, terrible events continue to happen. As we mourn the tragic loss of human life on the other side of Europe, let us channel that human compassion and solidarity into finding a new and better way for them here in the UK.
I hope that government cabinet ministers will reflect and review the bill as a whole, canceling this measure which is extremely cruel./ Taken and adapted from "The Independent"
Lini një Përgjigje