UK offers relocation to migrants stranded in Romania

BBC

“We are treated like caged animals,” reads one protest sign, posted by Tamil immigrants who cannot be identified for legal reasons.

Britain has offered temporary relocation to Romania for dozens of stranded migrants who have been stuck for years in camps on a secret British-American military island in the Indian Ocean.

After 6 months you can move to the UK. The BBC reported that others in this group are being offered financial incentives to travel to Sri Lanka, where they are facing persecution.

In 2021, dozens of Tamils ​​became the first people to apply for asylum in Diego Garcia after problems arose with their boat.

The territory's unusual status has sparked a lengthy legal dispute, with the British government saying bringing them to Britain risked creating a “backdoor migration route”.

A Foreign Office spokesman said ministers had been working to find a solution that protected the welfare of migrants and the “integrity of UK territorial borders”.

A spokeswoman said relocating the most vulnerable migrants while their legal claims were processed could provide “greater safety and wellbeing”.

The offer to migrants by British officials on the island on Tuesday comes after Britain announced it was handing sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory (Biot), which includes Diego Garcia, to Mauritius. However, the military base will remain on the island.

The BBC was granted unprecedented access to attend a court hearing last month on whether Diego Garcia was illegally detained in a small fenced camp guarded by private security company G4S.

A ruling on this case is expected to be announced soon.

The British government has argued that although the refugee agreement is administered by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London, it does not come into force in Bioy because it is 'constitutionally distinct' from the UK.

Instead, the Biot administration established a separate process to determine whether Tamils ​​could return to Sri Lanka or receive international protection. The UN calls this similar to refugee status.

Currently, there are still 56 Tamils ​​in Diego Garcia. A further eight people are currently in Rwanda after being transferred there for treatment following self-harm or suicide attempts.

Most migrants are awaiting decisions on their international protection claims or the rejection of their appeals. A total of eight have received international protection.

Last summer, the region's top official, Paul Candler, called on the government to bring all migrants to Britain because of “dangerous and unsustainable conditions” in the camps amid incidents of mass self-harm.

In his resignation letter obtained by the BBC, Mr Candler resigned a month later, saying “the situation for immigrants is becoming increasingly difficult” and “my personal leadership has made this increasingly difficult for me”.

In an interview with migrants in the camp on Tuesday morning, Acting Biots Director Nishi Dholakia said the British government had considered the Biot administration's request for relocation but had instead “decided to make different offers for each individual.”

“Some people will be offered to go to other safe countries, while others will be offered voluntary return home,” he said.

“I want to reiterate that this announcement does not mean anyone will leave the island immediately. You will all have time to consider the offer and next steps.”

Lawyers from British firm Leigh Day and Duncan Lewis, which represents some of the migrants, said it was “urgent that the camps are closed without delay” and that the UK government had “no viable long-term solution for all individuals and families.” “I’m looking for,” he said. .

Migrants from the island and Rwanda, who have been granted a right to international protection, and families with children in the camps have been offered to be transferred to a UN-run “safe center” in Romania for up to a year. 6 months.

“Within six months, the UK will continue to develop durable solutions for you in line with international standards. You can choose to accept any solutions presented to you during this period. If you do not wish to accept any of the offers presented to you during the six-month period. “In a few months you will be going to England.” The letter from the Biot administration, reported by the BBC, states:

A man currently in Rwanda described receiving an offer to move to Romania as a “huge relief”. Another migrant said, “This is the happiest day in three years.”

Requests for protection were denied and those who were not members of family units in the camps were offered financial incentives to return to Sri Lanka. This includes 3,000 people, three years of health insurance, accommodation for up to three years and opportunities for work, training or education, according to a letter to migrants seen by the BBC.

The BBC understands that people who have not had their protection claims approved have not yet exhausted all legal options. Lawyers representing immigrants are scheduled to fly to Diego Garcia this week to meet with clients.

“I haven't eaten anything since morning. I was very depressed,” said a Tamil man who had been treated for mental illness in Rwanda and was offered to return to Sri Lanka.

The Tamils, who first arrived in Diego Garcia in October 2021, said they were rescued by the Royal Navy after their boat developed problems while trying to sail to Canada to escape persecution and seek asylum. Their accounts were backed up with maps, diary entries and in-flight GPS data.

More boats arrived in the following months.

Men, women and children are housed in khaki tents, some of which are leaking and have rats nesting inside.

When the BBC visited the camp last month, men and women stood outside tents lining a six-foot-high fence and waving.

The camp consists of a beige domed military tent used as accommodation and a white humanitarian tent that has been turned into a makeshift lounge and church.

In one of the tents, where about five or six people were sleeping, a man lifted a panel above the bed, revealing a rat's nest.

“Look, there’s a leak. A rat hole.” Another person said, urgently pointing around the tent. Sheets and towels were hung there to create another room.

The Tamils ​​were given green military cots to sleep on, but wooden pallets and flat cardboard boxes were stacked on top of them to make them more comfortable.

Handwritten signs hang in the camp with slogans such as “We are being treated like caged animals” and “This is a bad place.”

Some have shown off their efforts to improve their living conditions, including tables made from pallets and flower beds lined with coconut shells.

Recently an internal fence was built to divide the camp between the single men and their families there.

An independent social worker hired by one of the immigration lawyers described conditions in the camps as a “mental health epidemic” late last year.

Outside the courtroom, men, women and children all showed me signs of self-harm.

During the court's visit to the camp, one woman wept as she claimed her daughter had been assaulted by another migrant inside a tent. This is one of several sexual assault claims.

Three men accused or convicted of crimes within the camp are being held in a room next to the island's police station.

handout

Some of the Tamils ​​planned to load up their ship, the Marayan, and sail to Canada, where they would seek asylum.

Both UN and Red Cross representatives have previously raised concerns about the use of the camp and its conditions.

After a visit late last year, the United Nations said the camp was “clearly unsuitable” for people to live long-term and raised particular concerns about reports of sexual assault and child harassment by other migrants.

Chapels used to host court hearings typically function as schools. The walls were lined with children's drawings and educational posters, one of which depicted a military tent against a backdrop of palm trees.

There is accommodation for private contractors a short drive from the camp. Military personnel and contractors have access to leisure facilities including shops, bars, restaurants, bowling alleys, and movie theaters.

Located hundreds of miles away from any other population, the Indian Ocean territory is considered an important strategic base for the United States.

Access to the island is strictly restricted and has long been shrouded in rumor and mystery. The British government confirmed that two US planes landed there in 2002, but said the detainees did not get off the planes.

getty images

The island is under heavy security due to a British-American military base.

Earlier this year, British government lawyers objected to the BBC's access to the island to attend the hearings, but the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the BBC, saying “not only must justice be done, but justice must be seen to be done.”

The United States, which controls most of the people and resources in Diego Garcia, later said it would block access to the BBC and lawyers representing the migrants. It also said anyone attending the hearing, including British judges, would be barred from food, transport and accommodation.

American and British authorities later allowed hearings, but with restrictions. Additional G4S officers were flown in to protect the BBC and lawyers and ensure access around the island was restricted.

If they accept Tuesday's offer, stranded Tamils ​​would either have to make the 7,500km journey to Romania and spend more time in limbo, or make the shorter journey to Sri Lanka.

The 12-year-old girl, who stood outside court with her parents last month, said she had dreamed of becoming a pilot so she, too, could fly, ever since she saw military planes passing over the camp.

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