The Institute of Race Relations (IRR) publishes today a report on deaths of asylum seekers and migrants which damns government policies for putting vulnerable people at risk.
On Tuesday, an Angolan asylum seeker died during his deportation. But this is not an isolated case. According to IRR’s report, Driven to Desperate Measures: 2006-2010, forty-four people have died since 2006 as a consequence of the iniquities of the immigration/asylum system. Another seven died at the hand of racists on our streets.
Harmit Athwal, the author of the report, said, ‘Racism percolates right through the immigration/asylum system – from forcing people to risk life and limb to enter, forcing them to live destitute on the street, prey to violent racist attack. That twenty-eight people died at their own hand, preferring this to being returned, when their asylum application failed, to the country they fled, is a terrible indictment of British justice.’
Download a copy of Driven to Desperate Measures: 2006-2010 (pdf file, 432kb).
Related links
Download ERA Briefing Paper no.4: ‘Accelerated removals: a study of the human cost of EU deportation policies, 2009-2010’ (pdf file, 1.3mb)
Download the IRR’s earlier report documenting the deaths of asylum seekers and undocumented migrants, 1989-2006: Driven to desperate measures
i personally think that this page could do with more info but over all it is a good peice of study / work