Some people, are literally mad about refugees. They have fallen so far into their narratives that they are disconnected from reality. Consider this from Esme Madill at the Islington Law Unit, which appears to be an activist legal project. She is commenting on data which shows that a small number of child “asylum seekers” have gone missing after being placed into Home Office accommodation [1]:
These figures are shocking. Behind each number is a frightened child who will already have experienced egregious human rights abuses before arriving in the UK seeking safety. When we represent children who have escaped after being trafficked whilst ‘missing’ in the UK, we see how their mental and physical health is permanently harmed by the abuse they experience during this time.
For one child to go missing represents an abject failure of the state to protect the most fragile and abused in their care. These numbers are in the hundreds.
I, obviously don’t know, but I would hazard a guess that if you said “all asylum seekers should be detained in secure accommodation the moment they arrive” the Islington Law Centre would be up in arms and denounce your authoritarian project. At least; most “pro refugee” NGOs take this position.
Esme Madill says hundreds, but according to the report on which she appears to be commenting, the actual figure is, in fact, 56 missing. (Others went missing but then turned up again).
This is sheer madness. Many of these children have been brought into the country by irresponsible and in some cases criminal adults. They haven’t in fact “gone missing” as such. They have connected with the people who organised their passage to the UK – to work in criminal enterprises. This was the plan all along. Blaming the Home Office for this is absurd. The actual victim here is the Home Office, who is being used by criminals to bring in child operatives for criminal scams and temporarily house them before they are allocated their cannabis farm or other criminal role. Unless Esme Madill is going to argue for secure detention what does she really expect the Home Office to do? Put 10 social workers on each child and maintain a 24 hour waking detail? I hope she does argue for that because, otherwise she is accusing the Home Office of “abject failure” for something which they cannot possibly control. But that would be expensive. (According to the Telegraph the cost to local authorities of unaccompanied child asylum seekers is £5 million a week. That is £5 million not available for other purposes). [2]
(Does she know that ‘each’ child has experienced terrible human rights abuses before they arrived in the UK, other than the dangerous trip across the channel, which I hope the Islington Law Centre denounces, but I doubt it? If “seeking safety” was the motive for their journey why did they not stop in France – a country which is ‘safe’ by most standards?)
This kind of delusional nonsense is why the Reform party is gaining ground. People simply feel that all this is not their problem. People may well be compassionate but may simply feel they can’t cope with every “trafficked” child criminal in the world.
I was going to title this piece “refugee madness” but I changed it to the current title. Something made me think I should “follow the money”. And, guess what, legal aid is available for your asylum claim and if we do a search on the government web site for legal aid for the postcode of the Islington Law Centre then the centre comes up. Is Esme Madill so upset because the “hundreds” (56) missing children represent 56 lost opportunities for her centre to get some nice legal aid work? Obviously; that is a bit unkind; the children went missing in Kent and perhaps her firm would not have taken on all or even any of these specific cases; but my point should be clear. Behind the human rights outrage there may well be a professional calculation of the fee. In these cases in general, if not in this specific case.
Notes