“If I am sent to Rwanda, I will not go. “I will die here, I will take my life,” said Cemal, a young man from Eritrea. “Do you know how many thousands of miles I traveled to be here? How long have I been inside [the] desert…? To get to this point, to be here, we all had to make so many sacrifices. Many of [people] lost their lives at sea. “I have left my country now – I can not return to Africa.” “No one knows Africa as well as we Africans,” said another Eritrean man. “Africa is Africa – there is no freedom there. Rwanda is like Eritrea, it does not protect people. “Here in Europe you are free.” Of the group of 22 migrants, all said they would commit suicide instead of facing deportation from the UK to Rwanda. “100%, people will lose their lives on their own,” agreed a Sudanese man. “Some will go up the hills [the cliffs] here, some will go by train, by sea, anywhere. “This is a human rights issue, not just in Rwanda.” “I do not know where Rwanda is – all I know is that it is dangerous there,” said a member of the team from Iraqi Kurdistan, gathered around a map. “Last night I could not sleep; thinking, thinking all night about what would happen to me. We do not know the culture in Rwanda. It’s so different from what we know. “ Many in the group said they believed only new arrivals from Africa would be transferred to Rwanda. those of other nationalities felt confident that they would not be sent there. “I’m coming from Iran – the government, they will not send us to Africa; only Africans,” said a man from Iranian Kurdistan. The Eritreans and Sudanese also said they believed only Africans would be relocated to Rwanda if the plans went ahead. The group had mixed views on whether the prospect of moving away from the UK would act as a deterrent to those trying to cross the Channel. “I think it will prevent people from coming here,” said a man from Eritrea. “Maybe they decide to stay in France, maybe they go to Germany, places like [that]. » “People will always want to leave, they should always live safely,” said another man. “Why Rwanda?”: Government’s immigration policy strongly condemned – video report Many said they believed the Rwandan government had entered into the agreement with the United Kingdom for economic reasons. “It’s about money. Rwanda is a small country. It is a poor country. They need British money. That’s just it. “ While all new arrivals said they hoped the government would abandon its plans, they felt there was a good chance they would move on. “Everything is easy for them. “I think they will do it,” they agreed. “Money is not a problem here [in the UK]. It’s a problem for Rwanda – that’s why it’s happening. “But we hope, we hope, that they will cancel it.”
