During this year’s 85th anniversary of the Kindertransport, we draw on our experiences as Jewish people, of seeking refuge and safety. Through our experiences, we understand why people seeking safety in the UK deserve dignity and compassion when seeking to build a new home. The Kindertransport is an example of greeting refugees with compassion and welcoming arms by the UK public during the Second World War to create a new life in times of persecution and make the UK ‘Our Home’.
Today, people fleeing from persecution in search of refuge and safety in the UK are met with suspicion, punishment and dehumanisation, a threat of being deported to Rwanda and a worrying increase in immigration detention. The Nationality and Borders Act 2023, the Safety of Rwanda Act 2024 and the Illegal Migration Act 2023 criminalise refugees and asylum seekers, furthering the UK government’s hostile environment. These harmful policies towards individuals seeking safety from persecution strongly contrast the responsibility of protection held within the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the European Convention on Human Rights (1950) and the Refugee Convention (1951).
This year’s theme for Refugee Week is ‘Our Home’ – a reminder of what residency, protection, safety with family members mean to people The feeling of home is a sensation many refugees and asylum seekers lack, replaced with feelings of anxiety, fear and worry of their asylum applications not been accepted (with decisions delayed), or the threat of deportation to Rwanda.
René Cassin is proud to support Refugee Week to raise our voice in solidarity and to promote a more compassionate, welcoming and safe approach to refugees and asylum seeker regulations with recommendations of safe routes into the UK and community-based alternatives to immigration detention.
Take part in our actions this refugee week.
#OurHome
