A refugee facing deportation to Rwanda on the Home Office’s first flight says he would rather commit suicide than go.
The Syrian, who says he was smuggled, sold and tortured before reaching the UK, said: “I would rather kill myself than put myself on that plane.”
The man, using the false name Amar due to threats, is being held in a UK detention centre and is due to fly to the African country on Tuesday.
He said: “When I read the letter about Rwanda, it made me feel anxious and depressed. I am now feeling continually under pressure. I prefer to kill myself rather than be sent to that black hole.
“All I asked for is a chance for a life. That’s all. A chance to have a life.”
Amar has family in the UK and was living in Damascus in 2011 when the Syrian civil war began.
He fled his home country to avoid joining the military.
He said: “When you are 18, you have to do military service for the regime in Syria, which means killing your own people. I couldn’t do it.
“On the date I was due to join, I didn’t go. I kept getting letters warning that I had to join, but I ignored them.
"They came to search for me so I paid a smuggler to help me get to Libya.”
In the north African country, Amar says he was sold to a local militia before being tortured.
He was later released after his parents paid a bribe to his captors.
Amar spent five days crossing the Med to Italy in a boat but was caught travelling to the UK and detained.
He said: “All I knew about Rwanda [when I got the Home Office letter] was it is a country in the middle of Africa and it is famous for the genocide in the 90s. I feel that I will disappear there.”
Amar said he would like Home Office officials – including Home Secretary Priti Patel – to put themselves in his shoes and ask, ‘Is this humane?’
“They should consider what we have been through and ask themselves if Rwanda is the right place to send people like us,” he said.
Ali, originally from Iran, has also been told he is due to be deported on the first plane to Rwanda.
He has been in a detention centre next to Heathrow Airport since arriving in the UK on May 31.
He paid smugglers 8,000 euros to get him to the UK after he says he was in danger of being killed by government officials for taking part in peaceful protests.
He endured a long journey through Turkey, Greece and France – including treacherous boat rides across the Med and the Channel – in a bid to be reunited with his Iranian Kurd wife, who is living just outside Leeds.
They married in 2019 but she fled their homeland after family members threatened her life. Ali said: “Six days ago, they gave me a letter saying I’m being moved to Rwanda.
"I feel so stressed and scared and mentally very bad. Sometimes I feel suicidal.
“I’m being treated like a criminal, not a refugee. At 9pm each night, they lock the doors on our rooms and they don’t open again until 8am.
“The situation is very bad in here. Two or three people try to kill themselves every day.
“My wife can’t eat or sleep because she is so worried about me. Her mental health is very bad. She has lost a lot of weight because of the stress and anxiety.
"I don’t know why Priti Patel is discriminating against Iranians when Ukrainians are being allowed in. Are only Ukrainians human? Priti Patel’s policy is very foolish.”
Clare Moseley, of Care4Calais, said: “Hearing the stories of people who will be sent to Rwanda is enough to give you nightmares.
“They have escaped wars, been tortured and abused, and people have tried to kill them.
“It’s deeply shocking that the UK may subject these victims to further trauma, and the callousness of deporting torture victims is particularly breathtaking. The Rwanda plan is brutal.
“Given the more humane options available, is this really what we as a compassionate country want to do?”
Prominent Rwandan politician Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza also hit out at the Home Office policy, saying refugees deported to Rwanda will face serious threats.
She said: “The government of Rwanda is known as a government that doesn’t respect human rights.
"It is unheard of that a democratic country like the UK has failed to take on her responsibility and decided to put the burden on a developing and non-democratic country like Rwanda.”
Ms Umuhoza, chair of Rwanda’s Development and Liberty For All Party, stood in the 2010 presidential elections and was later jailed for alleged politically motivated crimes, which she denied.
She said: “The claim that Rwanda will provide economic opportunities for migrants is a lie.
“Unemployment among youth is persistent, the human capital development of Rwanda is very low, the private sector of the country remains small and poverty is persistent.”
Jean-Claude Ntezimana, of the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda, said there was already “a lot of conflict and competition for natural resources” within the existing population.
And human rights activist John William Ntwari said: “The Rwandan government went into this deal for two things.
"One is becoming close to the British government, meaning Kagame [Rwanda’s President] will no longer be held accountable for his human rights excesses. The money and rewards involved are other factors.
“What the British government should be doing is to help Rwandans achieve democracy instead of sending people running away from dictators in their countries to Rwanda.”
Home Secretary Priti Patel said: “I welcome the court’s decision in our favour, and will now continue to deliver on progressing our world-leading Migration Partnership.
“People will continue to try and prevent their relocation through legal challenges and last-minute claims, but we will not be deterred in breaking the deadly people smuggling trade and ultimately saving lives.
“Rwanda is a safe country and has previously been recognised for providing a safe haven for refugees – we will continue preparations for the first flight to Rwanda, alongside the range of other measures intended to reduce small boat crossings.”
Care4Calais is raising money for its work to support people at risk of being sent to Rwanda. You can donate here
The Samaritans is available 24/7 if you need to talk. You can contact them for free by calling 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org or head to the website to find your nearest branch. You matter.
