British Prime Minister Boris Johnson appears to be playing a leading role in the international response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – at least in the media. Over the weekend, Johsnson proposed a six-point plan covering the delivery of humanitarian aid, solidarity with the Ukrainian government and punitive measures against Russia. One thing that was missing from Johnson’s plan was how the United Kingdom would host the displaced from Ukraine.
Also over the weekend, French Home Secretary Gerald Darmanin wrote a test letter to his UK counterpart, Home Secretary Priti Patel, after hundreds of displaced Ukrainians were trapped in Calais without legal means to reach the UK. UK Border Patrol officials have told Ukrainians that they must first apply for a visa at the nearest British consulate before they can continue their journey.
In a letter to Patel, Darmanin wrote that Britain’s response to the displaced showed a “lack of humanity”. About 600 Ukrainians are now in Calais, with at least 150 of them saying they should go to the nearest British embassies – in Brussels, 200 km east or in Paris, 300 km south – before attempting to enter the United Kingdom. “It is important to establish a consular presence at the border during this crisis for the immediate issuance of a family reunification visa,” Darmamin wrote.
Calais, in the north of France, is a common gathering place for migrants hoping to reach Britain by boat. Darmamin’s letter to Patel comes just months after British officials said their French counterparts did not do enough to crack down on smugglers who make such trips possible. The French government responded by noting that there are very few ways for people to travel legally to Britain to apply for asylum.
Enver Solomon, executive director of the British Refugee Council, has made clear his views on the government’s treatment of displaced Ukrainians so far. “If this happens in Calais, it is disgusting and shows a worrying lack of compassion,” Solomon said. “It shows the hostile environment of our asylum system.”
“Small numbers only”
At least 2 million people have fled Ukraine, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees – mostly children, women and the elderly. About 1 million of them first went to Poland, which borders Ukraine to the west. 200,000 headed east to Moldova. and 50,000 people have previously declared their arrival as refugees in Germany, although the number could be much higher, as there is no obligation to register immediately upon arrival in the country. The European Union offers Ukrainians three years of protected status within the Member States, including work permits and health insurance.
Britain’s policies, which are largely limited to family reunification, seem stingy in comparison. With only about 18,000 Ukrainians living in the UK, the number of people who can apply for protection is already limited. As of Monday, Britain had issued only about 50 visas to displaced Ukrainians.
“We have established procedures according to which people with families in the UK – and, indeed, those who do not have families in the UK – can come to the UK,” European Neighborhood and American Affairs Minister James Cleverley told Sky News. Monday. “You say that only small numbers have arrived so far and I will remind you that the process has just begun and the vast majority of people are still in Ukraine’s neighboring countries. There we provide support first because this is what we want to help these people, whether they are in Bulgaria, Slovakia, Poland, where there are a lot of people right now, but we also want to help them when they come to the UK. “
The Tories are fighting the Tories
The ruling Conservatives found their party in disarray on Monday. “I am now exploring the legal options to create a humanitarian route,” Patel told the daily tabloid The Sun, aligned with the Tories, after returning from a trip to the Ukrainian border. “This means that anyone who has no ties to the United Kingdom fleeing the conflict in Ukraine will have the right to come to this nation.”
Johnson appeared to be at odds with his secretary of state on television. “What we are not going to do is have a system where people can come to the UK without any control or no control at all,” he said on Monday. “But what we are going to do is have a system that is very, very generous.”
His spokesman followed suit with a briefing on Tuesday, which further confirmed that Ukrainians could only go to Britain if they had close relatives there or someone willing to grant them.
Tom Tugendhat, the Conservative Chairman of Parliament’s Select Committee on Foreign Affairs, seemed to have another third place. Britain’s policy towards displaced Ukrainians “certainly does not succeed,” Tugendhat told LBC Radio auf die Frage nach der Aufnahme von ukrainischen Flüchtlingen. that you receive support for those most in need. “
The opposition Labor Party is criticizing Britain for failing to host people displaced by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “Many families are still not included in the Home Secretary’s program and there is still no way for people to become friends here,” wrote Yvette Cooper, a Labor MP and shadow Home Secretary, in a column published Tuesday in the daily newspaper. . The mirror. “The Home Office bureaucracy is slowing everything down. The families I have heard from are tired and desperate.”
This article was originally written in German.
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