UK plan to send asylum-seekers to Rwanda stokes anger and dread

Nearly every day, Kamal Mohamad calls home to his parents in Iraq from the converted military barracks on the outskirts of Folkestone, a coastal town in Kent, southeastern England, where he is awaiting a decision on his asylum claim.

“My dad called me; he was crying,” said Mohamad, 24. “He was so scared the government would send me to Rwanda, but I told him, don’t worry.”

The British government’s announcement in April of a contentious plan to send some asylum-seekers to the African country has brought confusion and concern to many, like Mohamad, who arrived here on small boats that crossed the English Channel, or by other irregular means.

It is still unclear whom the policy would affect or how the government would carry out its plan. Asylum-seekers, many of whom fled war zones and then undertook dangerous journeys to reach Britain, say that the ambiguity is an additional burden that weighs heavily on them.

Aid groups supporting asylum-seekers, who are scattered across Britain in hostels, hotels and other temporary housing, emphasised that the new policy had deepened the uncertainty for people who were already in precarious situations. And even many local residents of Kent, where small boats carrying migrants often arrive after crossing the English Channel, say the plan seems unfair.

Mohamad, who is Kurdish, arrived in England last year aboard a crowded dinghy. He is one of around 320 men seeking asylum who are housed in the former Napier Barracks in Folkestone.

“I had no other options,” Mohamad said of his flight from Iraq. “We have so many problems in my country. We came just to stay alive.”

Because he arrived before this year, Mohamad said he thought that it was unlikely the new policy would apply to him. But despite his reassuring words to his father, he acknowledged that he was worried. And he said many newer arrivals were very concerned about being sent to Rwanda.