‘News and leaks from the Home Office have reached new levels of dystopian fantasy.’

Don’t be a stranger: Catherine Henderson reports from QARN

'There are no safe, legal routes enabling people to exercise their right under international law to seek asylum in the UK.' | Photo: by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash.

It’s not hard to see why so many people attended the Quaker Asylum and Refugee Network’s (QARN’s) meeting last month. News and leaks from the Home Office have reached new levels of dystopian fantasy. Asylum seekers could be sent to Ascension Island in the South Atlantic; they could be held on old ferries or oil rigs while their claims are processed. Boats could be stopped in the Channel by nets or wave machines. Prison inspectors recently found people in Dover being held for more than two days in windowless containers, with no means of social distancing, no showers and nowhere to sleep.

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