PORTLAND: Britain on Monday began housing migrants on board a barge docked off the southwest English coast, in its latest controversial immigration policy that has drawn heavy criticism from locals and rights campaigners.
The “Bibby Stockholm,” which has been moored for weeks in Portland on the Dorset coastline, accepted the first of up to 500 young, male inhabitants due to stay there, after a series of delays.
The decision to dock the vessel in Portland, a small island with a population of about 13,600 people, has prompted a backlash from some locals, including its Conservative MP, who argue the area is ill-suited to the task.
Rights advocates have also hit out at the policy, saying the barge is unfit for the purpose, with protesters from either side showing up at the waterfront site in recent weeks.
It was previously used by Germany and the Netherlands to house homeless people and asylum-seekers, but opponents in Britain have noted it was previously described as an “oppressive environment.”
The firefighters’ union last week called for an urgent meeting with the interior ministry over safety concerns raised, but officials have said it passed all necessary checks.
The UK government, which is trying to lower the costs of housing asylum claimants following a surge in cross-Channel arrivals aboard small boats in recent years, has insisted it is suitable.
Britain’s asylum system backlog had ballooned to more than 130,000 by the end of March. The bill to house those applicants and other migrant arrivals has spiralled to more than £6 million a day, according to officials, as they resort to using hotels and other temporary accommodation.
“The government thinks it is right to find alternatives that are cheaper and more cost effective,” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s spokesman told reporters Monday. “We think this is one alternative.”
Sunak’s government is also seeking to deter migrants through a new “illegal migration” law, enacted last month, which bars asylum claims by all arrivals via the Channel and other “illegal” routes.
It also mandates their transfer to third countries, such as Rwanda.
But both policies are on-hold amid a court challenge over the legality of sending migrants to east Africa.
The United Nation’s refugee agency has condemned the new rules as a “breach of international law” and warned it would expose refugees to “grave risks.”
Sunak’s spokesman said the UK leader remained committed to his pledge to “stop the boats.”
“That’s the long-term aim of the Rwanda migration partnership and the new legal powers the government has sought,” he said.
Contentious barge docked on UK coast begins hosting first migrants
https://arab.news/czt35
Contentious barge docked on UK coast begins hosting first migrants
- “Bibby Stockholm” accepted the first of up to 500 young, male inhabitants due to stay there, after a series of delays
Prominent figures, doctors urge restoration of medical care in Gaza
- Letter will be presented to UK, EU leaders
LONDON: Dozens of prominent figures, including Cynthia Nixon, Mark Ruffalo and Ilana Glazer, have joined doctors, human rights leaders and humanitarian organizations in calling for the immediate restoration of medical care in Gaza, in a letter addressed to Israel and world leaders.
“Israel’s systematic attacks on hospitals and unlawful blockade have collapsed Gaza’s healthcare system,” the letter says.
“Through its policies and military activities the government of Israel has deliberately inflicted conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of Palestinians in Gaza, and then denied the very help that could save them.”
The letter, shared with The Guardian, will be presented to UK and EU leaders this week and calls for the “immediate, unconditional, unhindered and sustained humanitarian access into Palestine,” including the entry of medical and humanitarian personnel.
The first signatory was Wesam Hamada, the mother of 5-year-old Hind Rajab, who was killed by Israeli fire in January 2024 while waiting for Palestinian paramedics whose ambulance was shelled as it tried to reach her.
Her story is told in Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania’s Oscar-shortlisted film “The Voice of Hind Rajab.”
Ben Hania said: “Hind Rajab did not die because help was impossible, but because it was denied.”
Human rights groups, including B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights, have also signed the letter, along with figures such as Brian Eno and Rosie O’Donnell.
The UN Human Rights Office estimates that 94 percent of Gaza’s hospitals have been damaged or destroyed since the conflict began in 2023, and at least 1,722 healthcare workers have been killed.
Many medical items, including wheelchairs and walkers, have been barred from entering the territory. UN experts have described the attacks on the healthcare sector as “medicide”.
Israel recently banned dozens of aid agencies, including Medecins Sans Frontieres, from working in Gaza and the West Bank.
The Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, also known as COGAT, the Israeli military agency that controls access to Gaza, said “the registration process is intended to prevent the exploitation of aid by Hamas,” although a US analysis found no evidence of Hamas systematically looting aid convoys.
More than 18,500 Palestinians are awaiting medical evacuation from Gaza, MSF estimated in December, with at least 1,000 people having died while waiting for care.
Dr. Thaer Gazawneh, a Chicago-based emergency physician who has signed the letter, said: “(They) are making the living conditions in Gaza so unbearable that people will be forced to be displaced again.”
Ilana Glazer said: “This call for medical access is urgent because medicine and care is the bare minimum of humanity, and when even that’s blocked, it puts every person on the planet at risk of being treated the same way: subhuman.”
Rajab’s mother said the issue was deeply personal because her daughter had dreamed of becoming a doctor.
Hamada said: “Hind never bought any ordinary toys or dolls like other children. She always chose doctor’s toys: a stethoscope, a plastic syringe, a small first-aid kit. She would treat her dolls, pat them, and promise them that everything would be all right.
“Hind’s dream is no longer to become a doctor, but for the children of Gaza to find a doctor, a hospital, medicine, and safety.”
