Why the arguments against Jersey taking in child refugees are false
Debunking the myths surrounding the debate on refugees
Mention the words ‘child refugees’ in Jersey and some people enter into a frenzy, telling anyone who will listen about why we should not even contemplate re-locating a small number to Jersey. I’m here to argue that people should be a little less reactionary and a little more considered in their views. Not all of us will agree about everything. We’re lucky enough to live in a society where we can freely express our opinions without fear of reprisals, unlike some of the countries where these children come from.
The decision whether or not to welcome unaccompanied child refugees into the Island rests with the Chief Minister, not with me or you. However, what I do want to do is dispel the myths surrounding the some of the arguments which have been used as to why Jersey should not take in an appropriate number of unaccompanied Child Refugees, and then tell you why we should.
“They will bring their families”
A no-brainer for anyone who has done even the minimum of research into child refugee relocation. In the UK, people who have been given asylum or humanitarian protection can apply for family reunion but those who are under the age of 18 cannot do so. There is no reason to suggest that Jersey would have a different legal standpoint to the UK Home Office.
“It will open the floodgates”
In April 2016, the Daily Express published an article entitled “People smugglers and migrants target Jersey as ‘back door into Britain’”. It is plainly obvious that this never happened. Jersey has laws, procedures and security in place to protect its borders and every year, people who try to enter Jersey illegally are refused entry. If an illegal entrant wishes to claim asylum, there are very strict rules to be followed (freely available to read on gov.je) and should a person’s claim be admissible, the judiciary of the Island follows due process while all aspects of the claim are considered.
To suggest that by giving sanctuary to a very small number of unaccompanied child refugees, the Island will attract increased numbers of asylum seekers is at the very least an ill-informed and confused statement, and at worst, a deliberate attempt at scaremongering.
“They are grown men pretending to be children”
This accusation was used extensively by UK media after some lone children were transported to the UK after the demolition of the Calais Jungle refugee camp in October 2016. Although I cannot argue that determining the exact age of a child or teenager who has no proof of when they were born is by any means easy, the fact of the matter is that the Jersey authorities probably will not be put in the position of having to do so. Any children relocated to Jersey will have been screened elsewhere before their arrival by professionals trained in how to do so (and having presumably rejected those who were found to be falsely claiming to be under 18).
“They will not integrate”
Says who? Jersey has many people of different nationalities living here together. Some people of any nationality who relocate to this Island — be that British, Southern European, Eastern European, African, Asian or any other nationality you might care to name — will choose to integrate fully into Island life, and some will be more inclined to keep themselves to themselves.
However, if we look at the experiences of other countries who have accepted unaccompanied child refugees in recent years, it is the efforts of the receiving communities which can make or break a young person’s ability to settle into their new surroundings.
It is far more important to the young person to be in the presence of welcoming people who actively want to nurture and care for them. Left to their own devices, some probably would find great difficulty in getting involved with learning the language, continuing their education or finding employment, as would any teenager.
A majority of child refugees are at the stage of becoming young adults who, at the best of times, will struggle with their own motivation, self-worth and identity. However, they can also surprise, delight and inspire their communities, as do teenagers everywhere. Does Jersey have a community which could facilitate such integration and families to provide the caring foundations these young people need to flourish? I believe so.
“Jersey is too racist”
This is surely the most disturbing statement I have read as to why Jersey should not take in unaccompanied child refugees. If this is true then it is a damning indictment of the state of our community. However, I do not believe it.
This is more often than not the preferred argument of individuals who are too xenophobic to entertain the idea of the Island welcoming a few child refugees, in order to make themselves feel better, and to convince themselves that others feel the same when they have absolutely no idea whether this is the case or not.
Personally I believe that the vast majority of people living in this Island are not racist. They may be concerned, nervous, unsure and overly-influenced by widespread right-wing media coverage or political rhetoric. But given a chance to examine the issue, ask questions and access relevant information, most reasonable people would come to the conclusion that the fact that these child refugees might be from different cultural backgrounds to the majority of people living in this Island is no barrier to us offering them sanctuary from their difficult lives and hope for a better future.
If racism does exist in our Island then shouldn’t we make every effort to challenge it?
“Jersey can’t cope”
Of all the arguments used by people who do not want to see any child refugees resettled in the Island, this one perhaps bears some scrutiny. Unfortunately what is meant by the statement is not often explained by these critics.
In any case, the Chief Minister has asked his officers to investigate the possibility of Jersey accepting an appropriate number of unaccompanied child refugees and this is exactly what they will do, with consideration of all the issues relevant to Jersey.
Jersey has seen challenges to its Children’s Services in recent years, and foster carers are in short supply. However, people on the Island have already stated their good intentions to take refugees into their homes if they are allowed to, including lone child refugees. Who knows — they may also find themselves in a position to foster other vulnerable children in due course.
We are talking about Jersey accepting a very small number of unaccompanied child refugees and it is likely that they will either already have been granted leave to remain in the UK or be going through the asylum process there. Therefore logically there would be no added strain to either our immigration or judicial system.
What I would ask you to think about is this: is Jersey less able to cope with resettling a small number of child refugees than other towns and cities in the UK?
I have no doubt that the Island can offer these young people safe and comfortable homes, education or training towards their futures, the support of kind and generous Islanders and the stability of knowing they do not have to worry about their own survival.
However, the question of whether Jersey can cope or not pales into insignificance when compared to the question of whether it is better for unaccompanied child refugees to live in Jersey or to stay where they are: be that in a filthy and unsafe refugee camp in Lesvos, or sleeping on the streets of Paris or in a field in Calais, not knowing when the police will next arrive to violently harass and evict them.
So why SHOULD we accept unaccompanied child refugees?
European law requires states to offer protection to unaccompanied minors regardless of their immigration status. But because systems are so overrun, many simply fall through the cracks.
At this point I will re-iterate that these are children. They are under the age of 18. This bears a moment of grave reflection. They have no parent or older sibling, in fact maybe no-one but their friends looking out for them and they live in the most vulnerable and dire conditions imaginable, facing hardships and challenges that most of our Jersey teenagers would not even be able to contemplate dealing with.
Are you OK with this? Morally, is this acceptable? Yes, they are not Jersey children. Yes, they are not legally our responsibility. But they are children, we CAN do something and therefore I argue that we should.
Even if we only take one child, it would be worth it.
In 2016, Lord Alf Dubs, himself a child refugee brought to the UK on Kindertransport in 1938, sponsored an amendment to the Immigration Act 2016 to offer unaccompanied refugee children safe and legal passage to Britain. The amendment was accepted by the UK government, however in February 2017, the UK Home Office abandoned the scheme after accepting only 350 of the planned 3,000 child refugees, a number later increased to 480 after legal challenge by Help Refugees. Of these 480 places, only 220 have been filled to date, and right now there are children waiting in squalid conditions in Europe to be brought to safety and security.
More places are needed immediately so that these children can be brought to the UK as soon as possible. According to the charity Safe Passage UK, there are currently an estimated 30 children in Northern France and 25 children in Greece known to have been approved for protection under the Dubs relocation scheme who have been waiting months to be transferred. Their mental and physical health and in some cases literally their lives are more and more in danger with each and every day they spend waiting.
So lets step up. Lets bring an ‘appropriate number’ of these kids here, to offer them safety, security and love until they are back on their feet again. Lets see what they have to offer our society and our community, and enable them to reach their potential and look forward to their futures again, as they once did. Jersey has an opportunity to give these incredibly vulnerable youngsters the precious chance of a childhood.
I’ll end with a quote from a teenaged Jersey student who, in April 2017 as part of the States of Jersey Youth Assembly, took part in a debate on whether Jersey should relocate 400 Syrian refugees:
“It is easy to believe, from a position of safety, that if we lost such security somebody would help us, but it is wrong to expect from others what we ourselves are failing to provide . . . Our common humanity both obliges us to make room for refugees and gives us means with which to understand them . . . In fact, the only difference between us and them is that we were born here and they were born there.”
Anyone interested in finding out more about the possibility of Jersey accepting unaccompanied child refugees is invited to an evening with Lord Dubs on Thursday 21st March where Lord Alf Dubs and representatives from Safe Passage UK will be speaking about their experiences of how the scheme has worked in the UK.
The event will begin at 7.15pm and will be held at Hautlieu School. Free tickets are available at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/an-evening-with-lord-dubs-tickets-57349536006 or via the JCRAG Facebook page.
