'One in, one out' failure shows the Home Secretary has no idea why refugees come to the UK

My journey to find sanctuary was long, difficult and dangerous. I know only too well that nobody gets into an overcrowded, unstable dinghy to cross one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes without a desperate need to find safety.

The Home Office has confirmed that one person sent to France under the ‘one in, one out’ scheme is now back in the UK, having crossed the Channel not once but twice since the Government introduced the policy. What this reveals is the Home Secretary’s fundamental failure to understand why refugees continue from France in their search for safety.

Deterrence policies like the ‘one in, one out’ deal and the cash-for-humans Rwanda deal before it do not ‘work’ on the Government’s own terms, and they certainly do nothing to preserve life and ensure access to protection for those fleeing unimaginable horrors. 

Freedom from Torture’s clients – survivors of torture who have fled oppressive and authoritarian regimes – tell us that they make these dangerous journeys to the UK because they believe it to be a country that upholds and cherishes human rights, where they will be protected.

Others have cultural or family ties, or speak English, that make the UK their natural destination for safety. The decision certainly has nothing to do with access to benefits, settlement rights , or the job market.

My own experience, and the daily encounters with survivors of torture in our therapy rooms, make clear that a deterrence and enforcement approach only pushes people into taking ever more dangerous routes to find safety. True international cooperation must go beyond enforcement and must prioritise the safety, dignity and access to protection of those fleeing war and persecution.

A system that horse-trades vulnerable human beings, as the ‘one in, one out’ scheme does, is not only unfair and dehumanising but also fails the test of protecting those who need it most. Since the scheme began, hundreds of desperate people have found themselves locked up in detention centres, cut off from support and access to legal advice. Many are struggling to tell their stories, to have their trauma recognised or even to prove that they are children or survivors of trafficking.

The Government should instead refocus its efforts on rebuilding an asylum system that is fair, effective and compassionate. The solution for the Prime Minister is straightforward: improve the quality and speed of initial asylum decisions, house refugees in our communities and stop punishing those who have already endured so much.

Refugees are not faceless statistics – we are men and women who have stood up for the rights that we all hold dear and in doing so have been targeted by authoritarian and oppressive regimes. A deterrent approach like this ignores the root causes forcing people to flee their homes in the first place. As long as torture and war exist, smugglers will profit from desperation and people like me will continue to take dangerous journeys to find sanctuary.

Whatever our background, religion or postcode, we all deserve to live a life free from harm. The UK Government must stop treating refugees as a problem to be deterred and start treating them as human beings in need of our protection. Only then can we ensure that journeys to safety do not come at the cost of human lives.

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Kolbassia Haoussou is Director of Survivor Leadership and Influencing at Freedom from Torture.

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