• UK Boycott of barges for migrants

The British government on Monday transferred a first group of asylum seekers to the sleeper barge Bibby Stockholm, which moored last month at the isolated dock of Portland, in the English county of Dorset, amid shouts of protest from activists and residents of the area. Aspects of fire protocol and other safety issues on board delayed for several weeks the inauguration of the controversial strategy of shock against immigration in small boats across the English Channel, which Prime Minister Rishi Sunak flags among his priority election promises.

The first occupants of the Bibby Stockholm embarked after noon in the so-called "dormitory jail", where they will reside while their asylum applications are processed in the United Kingdom. The floating platform, which Interior has chartered for a minimum period of 18 months, is 93 meters long and three floors high structured around a central courtyard. The original 221 individual cabins have been modified to accommodate more than 500 foreigners who have entered the country by routes considered illegal. "It is cruel and inhumane to hold, especially on a floating vessel, people who have suffered traumatizing experiences," denounces a collective of fifty NGOs in a letter addressed to the owner of the boat, the company Bibby Marine, based in Liverpool.

The barge 'Bibby Stockholm'. BEN STANSALLAFP

A spokesman for Sunak dismissed the forecasts of Secretary of State Sarah Dines, who told the BBC in the morning that the operation would be completed by the weekend. The refugees are currently scattered across different districts of England although it is estimated that most of those destined for Bibby Stockholm are temporarily accommodated in hotels in Weymouth and other towns in the tourist and attractive county of Dorset. Weymouth Beach, which is about nine kilometers from the pier, is filled with families on sunny days while American troops trained at nearby Cecil Beach before embarking in Portland to participate in the historic 'Normandy landings', in June 1944.

Downing Street clarified however that no timetable has been established to complete the transfer of the five hundred refugees, men between 18 and 65 years old. The conservative government is trying to replicate the experience in other ports in the country, but has run into opposition from politicians and local populations to the arrival of waves of migrant men. Asylum seekers cannot legally work while their papers are processed and receive a weekly allowance of around €50 per week, including the cost of maintenance.

The 'pay' is reduced to less than 11 euros per week when food is borne by the State. This is the case for the new tenants of the Bibby Stockholm, where food will be served three times a day and there will be an almost continuous supply of water, tea and soup. In addition, they will receive medical care and access to the Internet and English lessons, according to government sources. Security guards will control the departure and return to the boat and the movements of the port will be made with a special bus service, until 11 at night.

Sunak and his interior minister, Suella Braverman, are working on a plan B that they would trigger if the Supreme Court blocks the process of deporting migrants to Rwanda who arrived by boat or other clandestine routes. The controversial strategy initially ran up against the European Court of Human Rights and was ruled unlawful by three appeal judges from England and Wales in a majority ruling this spring.

Downing Street expresses confidence in the final victory in the Supreme Court but on Monday confirmed that talks are being held with other governments about the possibility of transferring the responsibility of receiving and processing the cases of immigrants seeking asylum in the United Kingdom. The Times lists Ghana, Nigeria, Namibia, Morocco and even Niger, which is facing a military coup, among the conservative administration's potential partners. The press has also floated the option of expelling undocumented immigrants to the volcanic island of La Asunción, with its desolate location in the middle of the Atlantic, and other overseas territories.

The prime minister leads, from his summer refuge in California, the roadmap towards his goal of "ending the boats". Sunak endorsed in the last hours an agreement with operators of social networks, which will "voluntarily" withdraw advertisements of clandestine transport of individuals, and an increase in the penalties imposed on employers and entrepreneurs for renting a home or employing migrants without a work visa.

  • United Kingdom
  • Rishi Sunak

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