I spoke to 48 refugees trying to reach Britain about why they want to come here

I spoke to 48 refugees trying to reach Britain about why they want to come here

Since small dinghies full of terrified men, women and children started arriving in British waters in late December, the Home Secretary, Sajid Javid, has been questioning whether they are ‘genuine’ refugees and what we can do to stop them coming.

The grubby deal to ship refugees back to France – rather than hearing their asylum claim and seeing whether Britain could offer them protection – is the latest iteration of that approach.

At its root, Javid’s view of the situation ignores the answers to some crucial questions: who are the people arriving on our shores? Where have they come from? Why are they trying to reach the UK?



So, to help Mr Javid, we went in search of facts. Four volunteers and I spent a cold, wet Sunday afternoon in Calais talking to 48 people who are trying to reach Britain to apply for asylum.


Four volunteers and I spent a cold, wet Sunday afternoon in Calais talking to 48 people who are trying to reach Britain to apply for asylum (Photo: Care4Calais)

We wanted to hear straight from the source about what their stories were. The group we talked to was mostly Iranian but included several Afghans and some people from African countries, too.

Our ‘survey’ wasn’t scientific. But I think it’s still useful: we wanted to help paint a picture of who the people on our TV screens are, where they came from, and why they seem willing to take horrific risks to reach the UK.

Here’s what we found:

We started with why they had left their home country. The most common reason given by Iranians was persecution, mostly political (45 per cent) but some religious (18 per cent) and sexual (two per cent), too. Most of the Afghans and Africans said they were fleeing war or conflict.

What do respondents most wish for if they get to the UK? The answer that we heard again and again was: ‘I just want to be safe’ (Photo: Care4Calais)

Some respondents wanted to give more detail about why they fled: ‘The Taliban and Daesh were near and rounded people up from my town. They would have taken me for a soldier.’

‘Iranian police threatened my life. If you criticise the government, they come in the night and your family will never see you again.’

‘I am a Christian and I cannot practice my religion safely.’

‘I will be executed if I return home.’

All but one person said they could not return to their home country if they wanted to.

Britain could do more to help these people (Photo: Kiran Oliver Ridley)

We asked people why they want to come to the UK. Half (48 per cent) have family here and 15 per cent speak English but no other European languages.

Again, this makes sense: I know if I had to flee my home country, my first thought would be finding my family, wherever they were.

What do respondents most wish for if they get to the UK? The answer that we heard again and again was: ‘I just want to be safe.’

After what they have been through, under the conditions they are living in, people in Calais can’t think about anything else. Ali, a quiet Iranian man, said his dream is ‘being able to have a decent and human life without being scared and humiliated every day.’



Asked if they would claim UK asylum while in France if that option was available, for example by registering with a UK processing centre, eight in ten (81 per cent) said yes. People don’t want to get in boats and float across the Channel – but they don’t feel they have a choice.

The people we see on the news arriving in dinghies have been forced to flee horribly dangerous situations (Photo: Care4Calais)

‘I would [claim UK asylum from France]’, said one respondent, ‘because then I wouldn’t have to risk my life and maybe die by crossing the Channel unsafely.’

We asked what people did back home. We found seven students, five engineers, four school pupils, three mechanics, three teachers, three electricians, and two artists, chefs, accountants, salespeople, plus a teacher, technician, car designer, doctor, farmer, driver, architect, soldier, security guard and a lifeguard.

What does all this tell us? First, that the people we see on the news arriving in dinghies have been forced to flee horribly dangerous situations.

Second, that they have good reasons to want to come to Britain: family and language, among others.

Third, that they don’t want to be making dangerous Channel crossings but don’t feel they have a choice.

And finally, that all they want is to live in the UK peacefully, contributing valuable skills, enthusiasm and experience.

These are the people we are talking about when we discuss refugees arriving in Britain by dinghy. My hope is that by understanding who they are, where they came from, and why they want to come to the UK, we can do better than politicians promising to ‘send them back’.


Britain could do more to help these people – all they want is to have their asylum claims heard, and all Britain needs to do is to introduce a safe and legal way for them to do that.

You can find out more about Care4Calais here.

(Featured image photographer: Kiran Oliver Ridley)

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