Rev Inderjit Bhogal, a former president of the British Methodist Conference, who is currently working with Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI) on the Church of Sanctuary project, comments on the UK Nationality and Borders Bill 2021.
I object to the Bill, and have supported opposition. It proposes a monstrous response to a human catastrophe. You cannot fix a “broken” system with a broken thread. Organisations working with refugees and those seeking sanctuary from war, violence and persecution to build cultures of welcome and hospitality have uniformly and consistently expressed strong opposition to the Bill. It is inhumane and hostile, and fans hatred towards people who are already hurt. Offshore processing of their case is cruel. Thousands of years ago, as recorded in the Bible, God called on people to provide safety in Cities of Refuge to vulnerable people while their case is processed (Numbers 35, Joshua 20). This is ancient and sacred wisdom contained in codes of holiness.
Applying for “asylum” is not a crime, but criminalising people for even trying to get to a safe place is a crime against humanity. No one chooses to be a refugee. People flee for sanctuary when their homes are destroyed and lives are in danger. Ninety percent of the world’s refugees are from counties in or close to war and conflict. The long-term solution is a cessation of this violence. Invest in healing not hurting. It beggars belief to incarcerate or require hurting people to return to the violence they are fleeing.
The Bill contravenes the 1951 UN Refugee Convention to which the UK remains a signatory. This includes a legitimate right to “asylum” which is not affected by the mode of travel. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the UN Refugee Agency rang early alarm bells on humanitarian grounds. We already know from the similar Australian model that incarcerating already hurting people in offshore detention centres is only adding to their harm and stress.
The UK has a good history of providing safety to people seeking sanctuary, and can do better.
The Home Secretary’s accompanying language of “crisis” and “invasion” misrepresents the reality and is unhelpful in the context. The numbers of people seeking sanctuary is small, and considerably smaller than in recent years. With our global economic standing we can express better hospitality. Instead of spending heavily on keeping people out of the UK, we should be investing in building cultures of welcome, hospitality and sanctuary.
Hundreds of thousands of people, including Methodist congregations, are working hard at local level to provide the sanctuary of basic shelter and support to people seeking sanctuary. Many more are ready and willing to express warmth and generosity.
What is happening at national borders reveal the broken points of the world. Borders also represent points where nations can meet and explore shared responses. God speaks to humanity from these open wounds and visible scars.
There is a need for a joined-up global approach to shared brokenness. This can begin with global efforts for economic and ecological justice that allows people to flourish where they live. The Biblical vision is well stated as achieving a point where nations “shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nations shall not lift swords against nation, neither shall they learn war any more; but they shall sit under their own vines and their own fig trees, and no one shall make them afraid” (Micah 4:3-4).
Inderjit Bhogal, 23 July 2021