❓REFUGEES Q&A❓
It's more important than ever to understand the realities of refugees. As Catholics, we are called to welcome the stranger and care for the vulnerable. Yet, there's a lot of misinformation out there that can cloud our understanding and compassion.
Here we address some common myths and answer questions you might have about refugees in the UK. Let's build a more welcoming and informed community together.
1️⃣WHAT IS A REFUGEE?
A refugee is a person who has been forced to flee their country because of a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group.
This is not a choice; it's an urgent flight to find safety. The right to seek asylum is a universal human right, protected by international law in the 1951 Refugee Convention, which the UK helped to write.
2️⃣WHY DO REFUGEES COME TO THE UK?
Many refugees do stay in other "safe" countries. Countries bordering conflict zones host far more refugees than the UK. There are international legal obligations, which are binding on the UK, that require countries to share responsibility for hosting refugees. For those refugees who do come here, the reasons are often personal and practical:
👨👩👦Family: They may have loved ones already living in the UK.
🗨️Language: they may already speak English.
🇬🇧Historical Ties: Some, like Afghans who worked with the British military, have a direct connection to the UK.
3️⃣WHY DO PEOPLE COME IN SMALL BOATS?
People risk their lives in small boats because there are very few safe routes to claim asylum in the UK. The few existing pathways are extremely restricted by nationality and number.
There is no specific asylum visa to allow someone to enter the UK regularly to access their legal right to seek asylum, leaving people with little choice if one of the few resettlement schemes aren't available to them. It is a violation of the Refugee Convention to punish a person seeking asylum on account of how they arrived in the host country. People arriving by small boat are not "illegal".
The majority of people arriving by boat are from places where conflict and persecution are widespread such as Afghanistan, Iran, Eritrea, Syria and Sudan.
4️⃣HOW MANY REFUGEES ARE IN THE UK?
Refugees and asylum seekers make up less than 1% of the UK's total population. They also represent only a small fraction of the overall immigrant population in the UK, at around 13%.
In the year ending June 2023, 44,460 people arrived by small boats, which is only 3.7% of the total 1.2 million people who immigrated to the UK during that time. The idea that refugees and people seeking asylum are overwhelming the UK is NOT supported by the statistical facts. The challenge we face is with a slow and inefficient asylum system, not the number of people arriving.
5️⃣WHY ARE THERE MORE YOUNG MALE ASYLUM SEEKERS?
In many countries, societal expectations of men - such as being the breadwinner, or joining the army - make them a target in times of political and social unrest. Young men are also at high risk of forced conscription to the military or armed groups in some conflict zones. These factors make them more likely to risk the initial dangers of unsafe routes, such as small boat crossings. As a result, more men make these type of journeys to the UK.
Following grants of asylum, many of these men will go on to be joined by female partners through family reunion. From 2012 to 2023, 81% of adults receiving refugee family reunion visas were women.
6️⃣WHAT DOES OUR CATHOLIC FAITH SAY?
Catholic Social Teaching demands we stand against the cruel political scapegoating of vulnerable people fleeing unimaginable trauma actively reject the hostile narrative surrounding refugees in the UK. Let's not allow misinformation to harden our hearts when our compassion is needed most. This is summed up in the words of Pope Francis in Fratelli Tutti:
"Migrants are not seen as entitled...to participate in the life of society... it is forgotten that they possess the same intrinsic dignity as any person... in practice, by our decisions and the way we treat them, we can show that we consider them less worthy, less important, less human. For Christians, this way of thinking and acting is unacceptable, since it sets certain political preferences above deep convictions of our faith: the inalienable dignity of each human person regardless of origin, race or religion, and the supreme law of fraternal love."
