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Last year, Britain's media published endless images of people landing on the Kent coast in small dinghies.
The Daily Mail referred to 'Migrant Madness' in its headlines; the Daily Express to 'Lawless Chaos'. The BBC called it a 'Migrant Crisis'.
But what are the facts?
The Daily Mail referred to 'Migrant Madness' in its headlines; the Daily Express to 'Lawless Chaos'. The BBC called it a 'Migrant Crisis'.
But what are the facts?
Yes, it's true that small boat migrant arrivals rose considerably last year. In 2018, fewer than 300 people seeking asylum in Britain travelled by small boat to the Kent coast; in 2019, that figure rose to just under 2,000. In 2020, more than 8,000 crossings were recorded.
But those numbers need some context. The rise in dinghy crossings is mainly explained by the Covid pandemic, which disrupted traditional road and rail freight routes for irregular migration from northern France - it *didn't* represent an overall increase in new asylum-seekers.
By the early summer, when media panic over 'migrant dinghies' was reaching its height, the rise in small boat crossings was already dwarfed by a much bigger fall in other forms of irregular entry to the UK. Overall asylum claims actually *fell* by 40% on the previous quarter.
What's more, even this temporarily heightened level of small boat migration to the UK is far lower than that experienced by many other European countries. Italy and Spain, for example, each witnessed more than 30,000 irregular migrant arrivals by sea last year.
But still, I've heard people say time and again, why are so many refugees coming here? The answer, first and foremost, is that they aren't.
The vast majority of the world's 26 million refugees - 85% in fact - do not come to Europe at all, but are hosted by poorer countries in the global south.
Turkey alone is home to 3.6m refugees, Pakistan and Lebanon to 1.4m each. Britain's total? 127,000.
Turkey alone is home to 3.6m refugees, Pakistan and Lebanon to 1.4m each. Britain's total? 127,000.
But what about the refugees who do make it to Europe - they all want to come to Britain, right?
Wrong. In 2019, Germany had 142k asylum applications, France 120k, Spain 115k, and Greece 75k
The UK figure is 36k. Per capita, asylum applications here are a third of the EU average
Wrong. In 2019, Germany had 142k asylum applications, France 120k, Spain 115k, and Greece 75k
The UK figure is 36k. Per capita, asylum applications here are a third of the EU average
Why does any of this matter? Because repeated references to a 'migrant crisis' that doesn't exist serve to stigmatise some of the world's most vulnerable people, and give cover to violent government rhetoric about deploying the navy and laying steel dragnets across the Channel
It also reinforces the sense that politics is a zero-sum game: in other words, if anyone else is afforded dignity and safety, then it has to come at a cost to me. But the blame for unaffordable housing and overstretched public services lies with government, not asylum-seekers
Our real crisis lies in the fact that Britain is the fifth-richest country in the world, and yet millions of us live a precarious existence every day with insecure housing, insecure jobs, and a social safety net that is fraying at the seams. That has nothing to do with dinghies.
If there is a scandal here, it's that the increasing militarisation of our borders - while doing nothing to curb irregular migration - is killing people. Almost 300 have died in the Channel over the past twenty years, as this report from @IRR_News details: https://irr.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Deadly-Crossings-Final.pdf
If there's a scandal here, it's that people seeking refuge on these shores from war and persecution are being held in overcrowded military camps that are totally unsuitable for asylum accommodation, and that the government wants to build more of them
So the next time you see dramatic pictures of 'migrant dinghies' on British beaches, it's worth stopping to ask what narratives are being pushed here, and what facts (as well as whose voices) are being ignored
For more on all of this, check out my new long-read for @tortoise on the UK's small boat arrivals - and what the stories of migrants who have made it here tell us about the confused and uncertain country they now call home. The end! http://torto.se/2Xez8At
