Multiple migrants have allegedly attempted to end their own lives as they face being deported to Rwanda under the UK government’s new deal with the African country.
Several asylum seekers are said to have attempted to end their own lives when faced with the possibility of deportation from the UK to Rwanda, including an Iranian woman and a 40-year-old from Yemen who went as far as creating a video addressed to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, claiming he had no other choice.
Another man, a 32-year-old from Afghanistan, also claimed he tried to take his own life after being told he would be deported to Rwanda, claiming he would “rather die” than be sent to Africa, the Guardian newspaper reports.
Last month, a 27-year-old Sudanese man was found dead in the back of a lorry in Calais, after allegedly hanging himself. Reports claimed that he was attempting to reach the UK and was described by other migrants as being “very tired” and had been rejected for asylum by three other European countries.
Clare Moseley of the pro-migrant Care4Calais charity slammed the migrant deal with Rwanda and the effect it has had on some asylum seekers saying, “The aim of the Rwanda plan is to act as a deterrent by being even more terrifying to refugees than the journeys they make in flimsy boats across the Channel. Refugees have suffered terrible oppression. Yet our goal is to deter them using the fear of more injury and oppression.”
“This is not the act of a civilised or compassionate nation. Little wonder that Priti Patel’s actions are driving the world’s victims to take their own lives in despair,” she added.
Migrants in northern France have expressed concerns over the Rwanda deal for months, with an April report noting that some were considering simply applying for asylum in another country, such as Germany.
“I made this whole journey to get to a safe country, to build a new life, and yet they want to send me to Rwanda. Together with two other Afghans, we decided to apply for asylum in France, although the conditions are more difficult,” one Afghan migrant said.
Earlier this week the UK government announced that the first deportation flight to Rwanda would take place on June 14th as various leftist charities, including Care4Calais, have vowed to launch legal action to prevent the deportations.