"France, UK, France, UK, France it's not my choice, he says. I went to UK twice because I felt I had no other option. The smugglers in northern France attacked me and threatened my life before I crossed to the UK for the first time on August 6. When the Home Office returned me here the first time I believed the smugglers were still searching for me. I continue to believe that. I am frightened every time I go outside the shelter."
"I am not safe here. An asylum seeker from Iran. Human rights campaigners see the one in, one out' scheme as unduly harsh. Photograph: Julien Daniel/MYOP/The Guardian Afran is sitting with three other recent returnees from the UK, including the first woman removed under the scheme. Soon after they speak, the policy will be followed by draconian measures that the government says will deter asylum seekers from crossing the Channel in small boats."
Afran, an Iranian asylum seeker, has been removed to France and returned to the UK multiple times under the 'one in, one out' scheme, then returned again to Paris. He reports attacks and death threats from smugglers in northern France and expresses persistent fear and lack of safety outside the shelter. The scheme has produced relatively few returns—113 to France and 84 allowed to come the other way—while crossings continue, with 217 people making the Channel crossing on one recent day. Human rights campaigners call the scheme unduly harsh, and the government plans additional measures it describes as deterrents.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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