![]() ![]() On the other hand, many of the refugees awaiting an asylum decision in France have had asylum claims rejected elsewhere in Europe and are therefore “Dublin”. Up to 20% of these people already have asylum in France but as there are very limited provisions for refugees at this point they are stuck living in the camps without financial or housing support. The Paris Refugee Camps are unofficial settlements which at points are home to up to 4000 families, unaccompanied children, women and men living in tents and makeshift shacks with limited access to healthcare. Since the destruction of the Calais Jungle in October 2016 the 10,000 refugees who lived there were forcibly dispersed across France and nearby countries, thousands of whom made their way to Paris. As stated by the UNHCR, there are even more refugees and displaced people worldwide today than at the initial peak of the European Refugee Crisis in 2015. And since the closure of the Calais Jungle in 2016 many people are under the false impression that there are no longer refugee camps in Europe. Most people have heard of the Calais Jungle due to the huge and overwhelmingly negative coverage by European media however other places in France such as Paris and Dunkirk are not talked about on such a scale. As fellow humans it's our duty to do all we can to help them.The Paris Refugee Crisis is one of the least known refugee communities in Europe. ![]() They’re happening to real people who feel the same emotions we do, who love and who are loved. ![]() It is important for democracy that government is forced to recognise that the electorate can recognise when its messages are morally and legally wrong, and that as lawyers we are in a position to point such things out.Īccording to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, at the end of 2018 there were 126,720 refugees, 45,244 pending asylum cases and 125 stateless persons in the UK.īut these atrocities aren’t happening to statistics. Support organisations that support refugees and asylum seekers such as the British Red Cross, Save the Children, UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), UNICEF, World Food Programme, Amnesty International and Refugee Action.Īnd perhaps most importantly, put pressure on our government to address the issues of why people feel they have no other option but to seek asylum, instead of trying to keep them out when they’re already in danger. Who are being criminalised simply for seeking protection.Īrm yourself with facts. We need to add our voices to those who are struggling to be heard. It’s not enough for us to sympathise with those making a desperate journey, we need to show our support. If this is difficult for us, imagine what it’s like to say goodbye to your loved ones permanently, to turn your back on your career, to leave your belongings behind because you feel unsafe in your native country. You cannot put a price on life, and if you could, it certainly wouldn’t be the £37.75 per week welfare payments people are being misled into believing refugees are making dangerous crossings for.ĭuring Coronavirus, many of us have struggled not seeing family and friends, being furloughed or working from home, not having access to certain products and luxuries. No parent would risk their child’s life unless they felt like they had no other choice. While difficult to look at, it's important we keep this image at the forefront of our minds. The three-year-old Syrian refugee drowned as a result of escaping with his family from the war-torn country that was his home. It’s just five years since we saw the harrowing photos of Alan Kurdi’s body washed up on a Turkish beach. The fact that people feel the need to flee in the first place. What makes this a crisis is the fact people are dying. In fact, refugees only make up 0.26 per cent of the UK’s population, far less than other countries such as France and Germany. This narrative is insensitive and extremely damaging. What makes this crisis different from the others is that it’s not a crisis in the way some would lead us to believe.Įngland is not being ‘invaded’ by ‘criminals’ and we do not need a ‘Channel threat commander’ to protect us. When such a powerful word is used so often it’s easy to become desensitised.īut one ‘crisis’ where it's absolutely vital that we maintain our humanity, our morality and our passion for change is the ‘refugee crisis’. Financial crisis, climate crisis, coronavirus crisis. Crisis is a word we hear a lot these days. ![]()
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