Two British organisations have chronicled the lives and represented the interests of the Jewish refugees from Nazism – The Wiener Holocaust Library and The Association of Jewish Refugees. And we are both increasingly concerned about the impact of the government’s proposed Illegal Migration Bill and the discourse and language surrounding its formulation.
While the library’s collections attest to the agony experienced by those who had to flee persecution, the AJR has continuously supported the refugees and survivors, and today disburses welfare aid to those in need. Imbued with survivors’ accounts, we are sensitised to the plight of those fleeing oppression, whether through tyranny or war. We urge this and all governments to demonstrate compassion and give safe harbour to those in danger.
The UK government’s proposed Illegal Migration Bill threatens to criminalise men, women and children who enter the UK on small boats. Ostensibly, this is to deter unsafe journeys and disrupt the business model of people smugglers. Yet the provision for safe and legal routes to the UK is very limited. By being unable to definitely and categorically ensure whether the bill is compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), the government has recognised that it may breach the ECHR as well as the Human Rights Act, which the UK has not only signed but helped author.
