Increasing number of migrants risking all on crossing
By JONATHAN POWELL in London | China Daily Global | Updated: 2022-09-06 09:12
The number of migrants trying to cross the English Channel seaway this year has surged and will likely surpass the entire total for last year by the end of this summer.
More than 26,000 people have tried to make their way across the Channel from France to the United Kingdom so far this year, according to data compiled by Sky News.
An increasing number of migrants are using makeshift boats to make the dangerous sea crossing, one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, after authorities added extra security to the port of Calais and cross-Channel tunnel routes, and despite British government plans to deport those arriving illegally to Rwanda, Reuters news agency reported.
On Saturday alone, nearly 1,000 people attempted to cross the Channel, the span of water between northern France and southern England, government figures showed.
French officials reported that they had rescued nearly 190 migrants trying to make the crossing on Saturday, in a series of operations.
France's interior ministry estimated that the number of people attempting the crossing between Jan 1 and June 13 this year was up 68 percent on the same period last year.
Analysis from Sky News showed an average of 39 people are now being packed aboard each small boat that reaches the UK this year. It said this is up from 28 last year and 13 in 2020.
The British government agreed a deal in April that will send migrants who arrive on its shores illegally to the East African country of Rwanda, more than 6,400 km away.
Home Secretary Priti Patel described it as a "world-first agreement" that aimed to deter migrants from making the crossing. But no one has been deported yet and the controversial policy is subject to a legal challenge in London's High Court that began on Monday.
A coalition of human rights groups and a trade union will argue that the Rwanda policy is unworkable and unethical.
On August 22 this year, a record 1,295 people in 27 boats were intercepted after making the crossing from the European mainland, according to the British government. This surpassed the previous daily record of 1,185 set last November.
British government officials have warned that as many as 60,000 could arrive by the end of this year, reported Reuters. It noted that in total, 28,526 people were detected arriving on small boats last year, with most coming from Iran.
The UK's welfare organization Refugee Council said the numbers were "yet more evidence if needed that the government's cruel Rwanda removals plan ...simply isn't working".