The Windrush scandal shows the government needs a "conversion of the heart" over its whole approach to migration, the Jesuit Refugee Service said today.
The government must make a radical change in its approach to migration, the Catholic charity said, adding that the cruelty of the current hostile environment for asylum seekers and other undocumented migrants "demonstrates the need for deep reflection on the inhumane and unethical assumptions that underscore it".
The stories of citizens known as the "Windrush generation" – a reference to the ship MV Empire Windrush bearing migrants from the West Indies which docked at Tilbury in 1948 – being stripped of their rights has brought into the public eye the consequences for human lives of this hostile environment, said JRS UK.
This complex web of policies was introduced to make life for those living in the UK without documentation as difficult as possible, the service continued. In apologising to those Windrush-era citizens caught up in this system, home secretary Amber Rudd has admitted that their treatment has been “appalling” and arose because the Home Office “lost sight of individuals”.
However, the Windrush citizens are not the only victims of the hostile environment agenda.
JRS UK said it accompanies, serves, and advocates for the rights of asylum seekers who find themselves struggling to gain recognition of their status as a refugee, in the face of a Home Office system which often seems stacked against them.
They too are subject to the hostile environment agenda, which imposes on them destitution, detention, homelessness, and difficulty accessing healthcare.
Sarah Teather, the former MP and former chair of the all-party parliamentary group on refugees, said: “The terrible stories we have heard from individuals of the Windrush-era echo those we hear daily from asylum seekers we accompany at JRS UK, who came here in search of safety. Deprived of their rights, asylum seekers and other undocumented migrants rely solely on the goodwill of strangers and charities to survive day-to-day as they struggle with destitution and constant fear of detention.
“The home secretary has openly apologised for the way her government has treated Windrush citizens. But it is not enough to tinker at the edges, make exceptions for a few without looking at the deeper rot. The hostile environment agenda is deeply cruel and and is symptomatic of an approach which is inhumane and lacking sound ethical foundation. Now is the time for the government to reflect deeply on its approach, on its attitudes to human life and engage in some true conversion of heart. This crisis provides the government with an opportunity to stop and think; they should take it.”
Bishop Paul McAleenan, chair of the bishops' conference office for migration policy, said: “We welcome the government’s apology for the unacceptable rejection and denial of access to services for some members of the Windrush generation, whose vital contribution to the reshaping of the UK after the Second World War is hugely acknowledged.
“Such an oversight is both extraordinary and unacceptable; a fact now recognised by the government. To deny them access to the benefits of the State they have served so well would have been truly reprehensible. The Windrush generation and all communities that have made meaningful contribution to this country deserve to be treated fairly and with respect.”
Yesterday, Teather told The Guardian: “The Home Office has a culture of enforcement and disbelief which runs deep into the walls, but it is politically led. It’s a culture from the top, and it has been a bit rich for the home secretary, Amber Rudd, to blame civil servants. When you’ve had a Conservative home secretary that long, you cannot moan when civil servants deliver those policies.”
Pic: HMT Empire Windrush pictured in 1953 ©PA
Loading ...
