Seeking Sanctuary: 'Let's avoid yet more deaths in the Channel'

Image: People Not Walls

Source: Seeking Sanctuary

After a bitterly cold day in which four people are known to have drowned and about 43 people - among them seven children - were rescued in the English Channel, when their massively overloaded rubber dingy sank, Seeking Sanctuary have issued the following statement:

Reports are reaching us of some of the dire conditions of sub-zero temperatures in Northern France where many hundreds of migrants are huddling together in flimsy tents. It is little wonder that they seek to escape these conditions by risking their lives in small boats.

Seeking Sanctuary repeats its proposals for avoiding the tragic risk to lives for people attempting to reach the UK in small boats and the consequent impact upon those who are involved in the rescue services:

1. Provide a reception centre in Calais where asylum seekers can make their claims in safe and legal ways and cross to the UK once their claims have been registered. Operate the centre through a system of pre-bookable on-line appointments to avoid unnecessary journeys to Calais and prevent the system being overwhelmed. In this way asylum seekers could stay in other parts of France while waiting for appointments.

2. In these sub-zero temperatures with migrants crowded together in frail shelters and becoming obvious prey for people smugglers with the alternatives being too dire to think about, provide some basic shelter by using some of the millions of pounds already provided to France by the UK government and so avoid unnecessary risks being taken.

Ben Bano, from Seeking Sanctuary said: "Those fleeing war and persecution should not be vilified by commentators and be able access a fair hearing and live in safety and dignity while their claims are considered.We cannot solve this problem simply through yet again adding more security systems, more technology, more police and more patrol boats. While our proposals are not ideal, they do indicate practical ways to solve the immediate problems which lead to the current misery and tragic loss of lives. They would also eliminate the need for the often complex and difficult maritime rescue operations currently being undertaken."

'Seeking Sanctuary' aims to raise awareness about people displaced from their homes and to channel basic humanitarian assistance from Faith Communities and Community Organisations via partnerships with experienced aid workers. Our special concern is for the 2,000 or so exiles who are stuck in north-western France, mistakenly expecting a welcome in the UK.

They need food, water, good counsel and clothes, which are accepted, sorted and distributed by several organisations, including two Calais.

LINKS

Watch a report on Channel 4 News: www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuE4tF-87Ho

Seeking Sanctuary: www.seekingsanctuary.weebly.com