The UK claims the policy will deter dangerous Channel crossings and disrupt people smuggling networks. However, asylum seekers like Alex view it as a death sentence.
According to Daily Mail, Under the scheme, asylum seekers who arrived irregularly in the UK after January 2022 could be relocated to Rwanda to have their claims processed there. If granted asylum, they would be given permanent residency in Rwanda, not the UK.
“For us, Rwanda equals death,” Alex told The Irish Times in a powerful testimony. “Rwanda is a dictatorship. For more than 20 years the president has been in power. They don’t care about us there, they care about business money. This is a fact.”
Alex, whose real name is withheld, undertook a treacherous journey from Eritrea to the UK, fleeing his home country’s oppressive regime and endless military service described by the UN as “slavery-like.”
“We already fled abusive militaries and corrupt governments in Africa,” he said. “We want to seek asylum in the UK, but now they are paying the Rwandan government.”
The asylum seeker recounted how a previous Israeli deal to deport refugees to Rwanda ended disastrously, with many making deadly journeys to Europe after escaping the African nation. According to Alex, some even died attempting to reach safety.
“We feel that the British government is effectively sentencing us to death by sending us to Rwanda,” he stated.
Alex’s fears are compounded by the UK government’s perceived mistreatment of asylum seekers like himself. “The UK’s MPs are treating us badly for politics,” he lamented. “Why is the UK government playing with poor asylum seekers and migrants to suit their own politics?”
In a heart-wrenching admission, Alex revealed he had contemplated taking his own life rather than face deportation to Rwanda. “For me, instead of going to Rwanda, my solution would be to kill myself here,” he said. “All are the same. Die here, die also in Rwanda, die equally.”
The asylum seeker questioned how a prime minister of migrant heritage like Rishi Sunak could implement such a policy. “Rishi Sunak’s family were migrants,” Alex noted. “I am surprised that he is leaving behind such shameful history during his tenure.”
Human rights groups have condemned the Rwanda plan as unethical and unlawful. Alex pleaded for support from activists, charities and the European Court of Human Rights to stand against the government’s decision.
“When someone asks you for asylum, he comes to your house because he is in trouble, not because he is satisfied to live apart from his beloved family,” he implored.
As the first deportation flights loom, the UK faces mounting pressure to reconsider a policy that appears to be inflicting severe trauma on vulnerable asylum seekers simply seeking refuge. According to Alex and many like him, the Rwanda plan is not a deterrent, but a potential death sentence
