Thread by @CampaignUyghur

THREAD 🧵

Yesterday we were proud to stand alongside so many different allies, all united by the need to defeat the appalling #AntiRefugeeBill #BordersBill and win sanctuary and equality for everyone fleeing tyranny & persecution, including Uyghurs.

Why does this matter? [1]

https://twitter.com/labsolidarityhk/status/1421073765971152901

Imagine you escaped the abuse and persecution in East Turkestan / Xinjiang. You found a home in, say, Egypt, where you rebuilt your life.

In 2017 Egyptian cops rounded up dozens of Uyghurs for deportation to China (qz.com/africa/1028546…), so you fled to Turkey. [2]

Despite the Turkish government's rhetoric of support for Uyghurs, you were not given secure refugee status or residency, and you struggled to access work or healthcare. Nevertheless you began rebuilding your life in a new place, for the second time. [3] foreignpolicy.com/2021/03/02/why…

But now, even in Turkey, rising numbers of Uyghurs are being detained, and some deported to third countries which will send them on to China. Police shut down protests against China's repression, and the parliament considers a new extradition treaty. [4]
stockholmcf.org/uyghurs-living…

Today, you decide that you need to get out before it gets worse. You have family in the UK and you read that its parliament and politicians from across the political spectrum have condemned China's repression as genocide. Could you finally find safety there? [5]

The situation for refugees arriving in the UK is already appalling. But the new #BordersBill would make it so much worse for that Uyghur refugee. [6]

First, the #BordersBill talks up safe & legal routes but offers none for the targets of political, religious and LGBTphobic persecution - sending our refugee into the hands of the very smugglers that the Bill claims to oppose. [7] jcwi.org.uk/explained-prit…

Second, it could make criminals of anyone who rescues refugees in distress at sea and brings them ashore to the UK. And if a smuggler leaves one of the refugees to steer the boat, that refugee will also be branded a criminal "smuggler". [8] ft.com/content/1c1ac6…

Then, if our refugee does make it ashore safely, the #AntiRefugeeBill condemns them for not having used the non-existent legal routes. For the crime of escaping danger, they will be denied proper refugee status - denied the security of knowing they have permanent residency. [9]

Instead, if their claim is recognised at all, our Uyghur refugee will be condemned to a life of precarity: forced to reapply for temporary status, over and over, for the rest of their life, always fearing the next time they might be denied. [10] freemovement.org.uk/priti-patel-bo…

While they await the decision, they may be locked up in an offshore prison. The model for the scheme is Australia - whose offshore centres are rife with physical, mental & sexual abuse (theguardian.com/australia-news…).

So an Uyghur may flee the camps, only to be interned again. [11]

Nor can they be sure of gaining asylum at all. Because our refugee did not come direct from China, the Home Office might decide they were were safe enough back in Egypt or Turkey - that they should have waited for conditions to get worse before leaving. And deport them back. [12]

It's 70 years since the #RefugeeConvention, which was created after many countries - including Britain - failed to open their doors to so many victims of another crime against humanity. Now the #BordersBill will violate that convention. [13]

https://twitter.com/AlfDubs/status/1420352838446821377

So we call on every MP who has expressed solidarity with the Uyghurs, who has denounced China's abuses, to vote down the #AntiRefugeeBill, tear up our existing anti-refugee policies, and instead offer safe routes, sanctuary & equal rights to Uyghurs & all refugees. [end]

Thanks to friends who stood with us and spoke to the protest including @labsolidarityhk, @PTHK_HongKong, Dashty Jamal of the Intl Federation of Iraqi Refugees, @pcs_union Asst GS John Moloney, @ucu Pres @zenscara, @AnaOpp of @labfreemvmt & many more. Solidarity will win! ✊