Something struck me the other night, as I stood waiting to pass through border controls in London upon my return to the country: ignorance. Behind me in the queue stood a couple complaining about the wait time to scan their passports and continue their journey. (Admittedly, the length of the queue was exceptionally long for 1am, but that's besides the point). Their complaints were centred around refugees, and their argument was something to this effect:
Illegal immigrants can get a boat into this country and get in quicker than we can, and we are legal citizens. We'd get through here quicker if we were entering illegally. These immigrants have it easy entering. They don't have to queue.
Ignorance. Pure and simple. I was tempted to turn around and correct this couple, but what would that have achieved? There were already high tensions and a couple of small arguments had already broken out in the duration of my wait. All I would have succeeded in doing is aggravating the situation, leading to raised voices, and potential security intervention. Which is why now, a few days later, I'm writing this piece.
To say I was shocked and angered by the comments I heard would be a gross understatement. Just as it is a gross understatement to say that refugees and asylum-seekers can enter the UK far more easily than British subjects. Such a statement highlights, clearly and effectively, the ignorant and prejudiced public opinion about refugees. And it is this skewed perception of refugees which dominates the way media sources approach the topic and how charities see best to educate and engage the public in aiding support. But clearly it's not enough. More generally, we see that the divisions introduced by these sources among lived experiences is in fact always a way of imposing a new hierarchy, especially one which works against refugees.
To say that refugees and asylum-seekers can enter the UK more easily than British subjects is grossly misinformed. The last decade has seen an upsurge in the number of people taking to the sea in search of safety, economic opportunities, or both. However, danger, more often than not, awaits those who include a sea route in their escape from war-ravaged, developing countries such as Syria, Egypt, Haiti, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Desperate people crowd into decrepit ships, and often are placed in perilous situations by unscrupulous, unethical, and dishonest people-smugglers working off of overpriced payment-systems (yet refugees fleeing their countries accept this price in order to maintain their hold of a glimmer of hope at the prospect of something better). The headlines are full of tragedies, and many more go undetected, which is another tragedy in itself: not all who escape can be saved. The scale of the problem is hard to measure, as many ships and bodies disappear into the sea.
But obviously these people have an easier time entering than those of us queuing to get our passports checked, right?
Passports, to a certain extent, offer a sense of freedom. It's a legal document, a piece of paper which grants (generally) safe passage from one country to another. Owning a passport opens up a world of freedom and possibility for travellers should they so seek to use it. Yes, visa prices for entrance into some countries can delay experiences, but, in a globalised world, visa restrictions are an important tool for governments to control the movement of foreign nationals across borders. Yes, the process can be time-consuming, but it is most definitely safer than risking your life for "easier access" into a foreign country.
Where's the humanity, the compassion, and the solidarity? How about a little gratitude for, those of us who own a passport and are capable of travelling, the sense of freedom such a document endows us with? The sense of security and safety we are almost certainly guaranteed? Our lives are not risked. Our lives are not the next potential headline. Our savings are not given for the chance to sit on an overcrowded boat to enter a country which offers the hope lacking in a war-torn homeland. How about a little compassion for those who are dying in their attempts to attain the opportunity we have?
Their stories have stopped hitting the headlines, but the problem is ongoing, and needs to be sorted. And quickly. We can start by recognising our own privilege. We can start by rejecting the narrative of ignorance and prejudice which prevents refugees and asylum-seekers from integrating. We can start by opening the borders and providing safe shelters and support.
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