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Life Onboard |
LAST UPDATE
July 19, 2005
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| site design imagesparkle.com |
| August 22, 2004 |
Debunking Immigrant Myths: The Hard Reality of
England's "Soft Touch" – Sinead O'Rourke |
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| A participant tries on O'Rourke's barrister wig |
Wearing the traditional waistcoat and powdered wig of a British barrister, Sinead O'Rourke, a 46th
voyage guest, challenged the audience of 200 to see beyond looks to discover how they define their
own identity and that of others. O'Rourke, a lawyer and advocate for immigrants' rights, looks the
part of an overwhelmingly elite, white and highly-educated profession, but for her the difference
between citizen and immigrant is not an abstract question. Although she works and lives in England,
O'Rourke has an Irish passport, name, education and Irish parents. "So am I a stranger or a citizen?
Am I on the outside or the inside? Am I the immigrant or am I truly British?" O'Rourke asked. |
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| A bullet-ridden wall from Eritrea, where some of O'Rourke's cases come from |
Immigrants as Invaders
According to her, one common misconception among the British is that the UK takes the most refugees
in the world, when it actually takes in less than two percent of 19.8 million refugees worldwide.
According to Asylum Aid, a refugee advocacy organization, Britain ranked 11th in the European Union
in total refugee admissions compared to national population from 1992 to 2001. "In a recent
survey British people responded that England takes in 23 percent of immigrants worldwide. They think
we take in more than 180 times what the reality is," said O'Rourke. The irony is that 72 percent
of the world's refugees are given asylum by developing countries in Asia and Africa, those with
the greatest burden are Iran, Burundi and Guinea. A recent study showed that the most important
factor for asylum seekers was existence of family and friends in the country, followed by language
ability and knowledge of the culture. Many asylum seekers who are brought to the UK by agents cannot
even choose their destination. |
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| Peace Boat GET teacher Kane Niwa |
Immigrants as Job-Snatchers
A common defense for stricter immigration laws and a motivation for discrimination is the belief
that immigrants are stealing jobs from the host country's citizens. "There's a perceived threat
that people will lose their jobs to immigrants," said Kane Niwa, a Japanese-American teaching
English on Peace Boat. In reality, asylum seekers in the UK are not allowed to work until their
status as a refugee is accepted, which takes two years for the average case. For highly-skilled
and educated asylum seekers, depending on the state is frustrating and essential prevents integration. "Immigrants
would rather support themselves," O'Rourke said. Historically, the UK has relied heavily on
the foreign influx of skills to boast its economy. French refugees brought metalworking and book
binding skills, Irish immigrants filled the ranks of the army, while Jewish immigrants brought textile
and dress-making expertise. |
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| O'Rourke discussing immigration with Cindy Tsai (left) |
Modern UK is no different, with the National Health System filling a critical human resource need
by recruiting 17,000 nurses from African countries. Now, 23 percent of doctors and 47 percent of nurses
in the NHS were born outside the UK. Ironically, the government passed laws in April 2004 that deny
secondary care (doctor consultation or check-ups) to immigrants and are seeking to limit primary care
(emergency services). "Rather than draining the NHS, they are the NHS," O'Rourke pointed
out. As an American citizen born in Taiwan, Cindy Tsai knows firsthand the discrimination and subjective
nature of citizenship. "I'm considered an immigrant in America because I was born in Taiwan.
Even though I'm a citizen and lived in the US for 35 years. But a short term migrant farmer is also
considered an immigrant - so there's a wide spectrum of what it means to be an immigrant," said
Tsai, a participant in one of O'Rourke's workshops. Currently, three percent of world's people live
outside the country they were born in. "We have to address the fact that there will be a movement
of labor following that," she argued. |
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| Fadime Tiskaya, a voluntary worker at the Turkish-Kurdish Community Centre in East
London |
Immigrants as Criminals
Many British have been led by the media to believe that immigration and crime are interlinked,
but according to the UK's Association of Chief Police Officers there is no evidence of higher rates
of criminality among refugees and asylum seekers. In fact, the ACPO reported that statistical they
were more likely to be victims of crime than perpetrators. Of all the EU countries, O'Rourke said
the UK routinely detains the most asylum seekers, with no maximum time limit on detention. "A
Kurdish person I represented had been prosecuted for criminal damage for a crime so minor he received
a conditional discharge and the police deemed it not necessary to take him to the crown court." Yet,
the Home Secretary rejected his asylum clain and he was not considered a refugee, due to his "crimes
against peace." |
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| Peace Boat in Dover, UK |
Immigrants as Lazy
According to O'Rourke, the image of a immigrant living solely on the goodwill of the government
is a stereotype long overdue for a reality check. According to Asylum Aid almost all countries in
the EU provide financial support to those seeking asylum. A destitute single adult asylum seeker
over 25 in the UK receives 70 percent of normal benefits (£37.77 per week) and cannot legally
work. O'Rourke said the majority of immigrants would rather work for money than receive handouts. "Almost
without exception, they are the ones with the greatest entrepreneurial skills, because they are
the ones who worked out how to escape and survive," she said. According to a recent Home Office
report, people born outside of the UK, including asylum seekers, contribute 10 percent more to the
economy in taxes and national insurance than they consume in benefits and public services. Immigrants
also send money back home, effectively reducing the amount of foreign aid the UK gives those countries. |
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| Two Muslims praying at Aziziye Mosque in the London bourough of Hackney |
Less Discrimination, More Benefits
O'Rourke argues that immigration policy, multicultural equality and concepts of citizenship are
inseparably linked and allowing immigration to become a dirty word not only condones discrimination,
but ignores the benefits society gains from immigration. "If you take away people's respect
it will come back to effect the majority," she said. "Instead of immigrants being a threat,
they can be an opportunity to see ourselves better." There are glimmers of hope for the UK,
which has highest percentage of mixed ethnic relationships in Europe. "If my brother is part
black, it will be much harder to say that blacks are the problem," O'Rourke said. Moreover,
O'Rourke sees the successfully application of the European Convention of Human Rights to protect
asylum seeker in UK courts as a good step to protecting UK's multi-ethnicity. "How we treat
the most vulnerable people in society is indicative of how we are as a society," O'Rourke said. |
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Resources
Asylum Aid – www.asylumaid.org.uk
Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants – www.jcwi.org.uk
Refugee Council – www.refugeecouncil.org.uk
Moving Here Immigration Site – www.movinghere.org.uk
Hackney Museum – www.hackney.gov.uk/museum |
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