Nowhere to seek asylum

BAD POLICY: WHY OFFSHORING’ BY WESTERN COUNTRIES IS DANGEROUS AND CRUEL

- Ali Bhagat and Genevieve LeBaron

» Rich countries pay poorer ones to manage their refugee crises.

In recent years, western nations have been sending asylum seekers who arrive at their borders to other countries. This is a practice known as offshoring. The UK has become the recent poster country of this practice.

The UK, whose plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda was later scrapped after domestic and international opposition, has continually manufactured a perceived asylum threat. This led to slogans by the UK government such as "send the boats back" and "stop the boats".

The European Union (EU) has struck several controversial deals with African and Middle Eastern countries to stop asylum seekers from reaching European borders. Since 2017, the EU has been funding Libya to stop migrant arrivals in Europe.