Together we can stop the flights

1 February 2023

Last week, STAR UCL and members of the STAR national team participated in the Together With Refugees protest outside of Westminster. We gathered to voice our opposition to the government’s Rwanda Plan and called for it to be scrapped. 

The Rwanda plan was announced by the government in April 2022. The scheme will see people seeking asylum removed from the UK and sent to Rwanda on a one-way ticket, to claim asylum there. They may be granted refugee status to stay in Rwanda. If not, they left in limbo – forced to either find another way to settle in Rwanda or to seek asylum in another country.

This plan is cruel and inhumane. Those facing deportation to Rwanda are people fleeing war, violence and persecution, who often simply do not have the option to access safe routes to the UK. Most would be given a refugee status if the UK processed their claims: the Refugee Council found that three quarters of people in a sample of those threatened with being sent to Rwanda have fled countries (Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iran, Sudan and Syria) where 82% or more of people who have sought asylum in the UK have had their refugee status recognised. 

The UK will be turning its back on people already traumatised – sending them to a country where most do not have any connection, adding to their distress and isolation. This policy will simply not end small boat crossings, it won’t stop people smugglers and it won’t keep refugees safe. In addition, it will come at a huge cost for the taxpayer. 

That is why we mobilised on Wednesday 25th January to call for the end of the Rwanda plan. We lifted the powerful signs that the Together with Refugees coalition had prepared for the protest: orange hearts, the symbol of the campaign against the Rwanda plan, and our slogan #RefugeesWelcome.

The bus journeyed by the Home Office, crossed Lambeth bridge, crossed back on Westminster bridge, and toured Parliament Square and Whitehall.  Along the way, we made sure to voice our opposition by chanting that refugees are welcome in the UK and that the Rwanda plan is cruel and wrong. It was heartwarming to receive support from passersby who cheered for us during the tour. We truly felt the shared passion to stand together to oppose the government’s unjust plan. Thank you to our STAR members who came in support!