The United Kingdom is sending illegal immigrants to Rwanda. It’s basically deportation to another country because London is not in a mood to accommodate such refugees and illegal immigrants on its own soil. The pilot scheme will focus on single men arriving on boats or lorries. In fact, the United Kingdom has just cut a deal with Rwanda costing London nearly $158 million, which would allow it to deport asylum seekers to the East African nation. Interestingly, the said deal is being called an “economic development partnership.”
In a speech on Thursday morning, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced, “From today…anyone entering the U.K. illegally as well as those who have arrived illegally since January 1, may now be relocated to Rwanda.”
Boris Johnson has said the action was needed to stop “vile people smugglers” turning the ocean into a “watery graveyard”. According to the deal, Rwanda would take responsibility for the people who made the more than 4,000-mile journey, put them through an asylum process, and at the end of that process, if they were successful, would be provided with long-term accommodation in Rwanda.
Interestingly, Boris Johnson admitted, “Our compassion may be infinite but our capacity to help people is not.” He also said, “those who tried to jump the queue or abuse our system will find no automatic path to settle in our country but rather be swiftly and humanely removed to a safe third country or their country of origin.”
Ironical, Isn’t It?
Recently, an article published by a British daily called The Guardian sought to demonise India for the way it was handling Rohingyas. The Modi government has been crystal clear on the question of Rohingyas – they made their way into India illegally and will be deported.
However, the Guardian in its report said, “Action against the 40,000 Muslim Rohingya people has intensified since the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) came to power in 2014. BJP leaders have launched campaigns demanding the expulsion of all Rohingyas.”
The report added, “Human rights groups have said Rohingya refugees are facing “life-threatening risks” in India and accused the authorities of “cruel disregard for human life and international law”.
What are the Brits Doing?
Just so we are on the same page, the United Kingdom is deporting illegal immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers out of its soil, and India is doing the same. The United Kingdom cannot afford to have a sea of immigrants coming in and eating away at the country’s resources. The case is similar with India as well. We are a 1.3 billion-people strong country, and cannot have immigrants sliding in from neighbouring countries illegally.
Yet, when the United Kingdom deports illegal immigrants, it does so because it does not have the resources to house them. However, when India does the same, it is accused of being in contravention of international laws, apart from taking decisions from a place of Islamophobia and bigotry.
When India deports illegal immigrants, it is labelled cruel and inhumane. When UK does the same, its decision stems from careful ‘fiscal considerations’. Can you imagine a scenario where India cuts a similar deal with a country like Bangladesh? Imagine Bangladesh being a country where India dumps its illegal immigrants! How would the world, particularly the West react?
Do you think the UK, being a predominantly White country, dumping its illegal immigrants in an African nation called Rwanda is being subjected to sufficient outrage for its racist deportation policy? Absolutely not. Switch the UK with India, and all of Western media will descend upon New Delhi to not just demonise India, but point faults at this land’s culture as a whole.
