Syrian asylum-seekers will be on UK's first deportation flight to Rwanda
June 2, 2022, 8:32 am

Syrian asylum-seekers will be on UK's first deportation flight to Rwanda

Syrian mother and her child-Syrian refugees/Facebook page

A British refugee charity said that more than a dozen Syrian asylum-seekers are to be deported to Rwanda by the UK government this month.

The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI) said that 15 Syrians have been served with removal notices by the Home Office and would be deported under what it described as a “despicable” plan.

Zoe Gardner, a policy and advocacy adviser at the JCWI, called the plans “cruel and a complete abdication of responsibility”.

She wrote on Twitter: “These are the people our government wants to send to a dictatorship in one of the poorest countries in the world. A country these refugees have no connection to, no future in."

Home Secretary Priti Patel confirmed that the first flight to East Africa under the offshore processing plans will leave the UK on June 14.

Appalling and shameful. https://t.co/HQ1nhi0G4z
— Gary Lineker 💙💛 (@GaryLineker) May 31, 2022

Ms Gardner said that one of the charity’s clients was a Syrian man who arrived in the UK by boat because there were no other “safe route to escape Syria”.

She wrote: “No visa to apply for or queue you can join to reach the UK. He was targeted by the regime and had to run. He has two sisters living here. Where would you go? What welcome would you hope for?”

UK Home Office cancels flight to deport Kurdish asylum seekers to Iraq

The refugee charity's Twitter account added: “The government is carrying out its despicable plan to deport refugees to Rwanda. This scheme is an abomination. Racist, barbaric and morally bankrupt."

Sceptics suggested the timing of the government’s announcement was made to deflect attention from the Partygate scandal that is threatening Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s leadership.

On Tuesday, a deportation flight with about 30 Iraqi Kurds who had been living in Britain for decades on board was halted at the last minute after challenges by lawyers and human rights campaigners.

UK aims to send the first group of asylum seekers to Rwanda on June 14

Home Office officials said those on the June flight list are in detention and are set to go to Rwanda “where they will be able to rebuild their lives in safety”.

Ms Patel said she would “not be deterred” from her “strategy to overhaul the broken asylum system” as the government braced itself for legal challenges to the deportations.

Campaigners are concerned that asylum-seekers subjected to the Rwanda removal policy may not have access to legal advice and mental health support.

UK-Rwanda asylum seekers deal faces first legal challenge

Yvette Cooper, Labour shadow home secretary, called the Rwanda scheme a way of “chasing headlines regardless of reality”.

She said: “This is a completely unworkable, extortionately expensive, and deeply un-British policy. There is no proper process for identifying people who have been trafficked or tortured."

The Home Office has said that those deported to Rwanda would get a “generous support package” that includes up to “five years of training, accommodation, and healthcare on arrival”.

Source: thenational

Japan approves restart of Fukushima-like nuclear reactor UNHCR: 132 African asylum-seekers evacuated from Libya to Rwanda

BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
BENEFIT’s Chief Executive Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi, commented: “Our support for this educational hackathon reflects our long-term strategic vision to nurture the talents of emerging national youth and empower the next generation of accomplished female leaders in technology. By fostering creativity and innovation, we aim to contribute meaningfully to Bahrain’s comprehensive development goals and align with the aspirations outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030—an ambition in which BENEFIT plays a central role.”
Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
For his part, Dr. Humam ElAgha, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at the University, said: “BuildHer CityHack 2025 embodies our hands-on approach to education. By tackling real-world problems through creative thinking and sustainable solutions, we're preparing women to thrive in the knowledge economy – a cornerstone of the University's vision.”