Tower and Town, September 2016

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On Arriving in England

I arrived in the UK without a passport because the apartheid government had withdrawn it preparatory to arresting me.  Happily my family was granted political asylum and we have lived here happily valuing freedom and the tolerance of the British population. This does not qualify me as an expert on migration but what it does do it is to make me personally a firm supporter of immigration for refugees who are desperate to have the privilege granted to me of living in the UK.   

The UK has a proud tradition of granting asylum to political refugees who, persecuted in their countries of birth, flee in desperation to the UK. The government is obliged under international laws - to which it has subscribed - to maintain this tradition, so this is not an issue. What is an issue is the process followed by the Home Office which under political pressure often arbitrarily refuses applications for political asylum and the right to appeal against these decisions has been severely limited by recent legislation.  This is contrary to our common law that unjust decisions can be appealed. 

The position with economic immigrants is different from political asylum immigrants because, while they are normally victims of poverty, they are not personally being persecuted and what they aspire to is a better life for their families. We should welcome them on the grounds of humanity and because they have the potential to contribute to our wellbeing.  One only needs to look at the immigrants and descendants of immigrants in our country to recognise how they have enriched our society for the benefit of all in so many fields ranging from the NHS to education, to business, to sport and the arts.  However while our humanity and self-interest  moves many of us to welcome all immigrants, this has to be tempered by the recognition that the UK cannot absorb all the immigrants who wish to come here. The pressures on housing, the NHS, social services, education and other services as well as on employment, would adversely effect the lives of many of our citizens.  It accordingly becomes clear that immigration to the UK has to be controlled. 

I do not know what the solutions are to the European refugee crisis and clearly the UK cannot solve this crisis. What the UK can do is admit as many immigrants as it can both for humanitarian reasons and for the contribution they can make to the UK. The number of immigrants to be admitted in future years must surely be a great deal more than the previous government proposal to cut immigration to below 100,000 a year.  While the pitiful offer made last year by the Prime Minister to admit only 30,000 desperate Syrians - adult and children - over five years, hardly enhances the UK’s reputation as a caring nation particularly in contrast to the million plus refugees Germany has welcomed. 

Joel Joffe