Chance brings refugees to Britain not choice
originally published by: The Guardian
14th January 2010
Refugees have little, if any choice, over which country they claim asylum in with most only learning they were heading to Britain after they left their home country, according to new research published today.
The Refugee Council report based on in-depth interviews with 43 refugees and asylum seekers also explodes myths about ‘benefit tourism’ showing that three-quarters had no knowledge of welfare support before coming to the UK.
The study by Professor Heaven Crawley, director of the centre for migration policy research at Swansea University, shows that most asylum seekers often had to leave their home countries within a few days or weeks because they were in fear of their lives. Their primary motivation was to reach a place of safety.
Most were also helped to leave by an external party or agent who made the key decisions about their destination. The research shows that fewer than one-third specifically wanted to come to Britain. Some, including many of those who arrived as children, only found out where they were after arriving in Britain.
For the minority that intended to head towards the UK family and friend connections and a belief that their human rights would be respected were their most important considerations.
