The Home Secretary has been sent an advent calendar featuring the hopes and dreams of refugees and asylum seekers in the UK after she professed it her “dream” to see them deported to Rwanda.
The calendar, delivered to Suella Braverman from a network of activists, counts down to Christmas with a “dream” each day of December from a person who has suffered under the UK’s immigration and asylum system.
Lydia, whose dream is shared behind door number 1, said: “My dream is for all refugee children fleeing persecution and danger to find comfort and warmth when they arrive.”
Natasha, whose dream is at day 21, said: “I dream of an immigration system that is designed to treat me as an individual, one that examines my claim fairly, instead of one that leaves me in limbo for years.”
The calendar was also sent to the Minister for Immigration, Robert Jenrick, to “encourage decision-makers to acknowledge the lived experiences, rights, and humanity of refugees”, creators One Strong Dream and Ben & Jerry’s said.
“The hope is that they will reconsider their hostile policies and instead create a fair and efficient asylum system which supports people to rebuild their lives.”
Ms Braverman was widely condemned for saying she would “love to have a front page of The Telegraph with a plane taking off to Rwanda, that’s my dream, it’s my obsession” during the Conservative Party Conference in October.
Britain’s most senior police officer of colour Neil Basu has condemned the “horrific” rhetoric being used by senior politicians of Asian heritage in relation to migrants.
The former Met Police assistant commissioner told Channel 4 News on Wednesday: “I find some of the commentary coming out of the Home Office inexplicable.
“It is unbelievable to hear a succession of very powerful politicians who look like this talking in language that my father would have remembered from 1968. It’s horrific.”
If the government’s proposed Rwanda plan goes ahead, people seeking asylum in the UK would instead be sent to the East African country.
It was first announced seven months ago by then-home secretary Priti Patel in a bid to curb Channel crossings.
Last week Ms Braverman described Rwanda as “fundamentally a safe and secure country with a track record of supporting asylum seekers” despite the nation having a history of arbitrary detention, torture, and abuse of fair trial standards, according to a US report.
Ms Braverman added that the blame for immigration problems lay with the people smugglers bringing people across the Channel rather than ministers.
The claims came as Ms Braverman was put under heavy pressure from MPs over the government’s handling of the small boats and asylum issues during an appearance before the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee.
The first Rwanda-bound plane of refugees, due to take off on June 14, was halted amid High Court legal proceedings.
Britain has already paid Rwanda £140 million, but the legality of the policy has since been contested in the courts, with ministers and campaigners awaiting a ruling from High Court judges on the case.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has vowed to plough on with the controversial plan.
More than 43,000 people have crossed the Channel in small boats this year.
The Home Office is under scrutiny for its handling of a diphtheria outbreak among recent small boat arrivals, with symptomatic people isolating at the once-overcrowded Manston centre.
A man who was sent to Manston died last month from what could be diphtheria, the Home Office said.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “The UK has a proud history of providing protection for those who genuinely need it through our safe and legal routes, recently welcoming hundreds of thousands of people from Hong Kong, Afghanistan and Ukraine.
“The public rightly expects us to control immigration, at a time when the number of people arriving in the UK via small boats has reached record levels, placing pressure on the asylum system and stretching our capacity to support those in need.
“We are using every tool at our disposal to deter illegal migration, disrupt the business model of people smugglers and relocate to Rwanda, those with no right to be in the UK.”
