November Home Office Vigil for Refugees

November Vigil, Credit: Johan Maertens

There were 32 of us praying outside the Home Office in Marsham Street, London SW1 on 17 November. It was the monthly ecumenical vigil for those who lose their lives trying to reach a place of safety in Europe and it has, astonishingly, entered its fifth year.

Astonishing - because five years ago, we thought the tragedies could not get any worse. Instead, they did, and the draconian policies used in the building up Fortress Europe have simply multiplied and intensified. We saw large transfers of money to build up the Calais defences. We saw policies floated (no pun intended) such as naval fleets in the Channel, sending migrants to Rwanda. We have seen frequent high-level consultations between British and French politicians, the use of military barracks to house those arriving by boat, vast numbers of hotels used for migrant accommodation.

Five years ago, we started campaigning against the new Nationality and Borders Bill, which became an Act of Parliament in 2022, and which increased the obstacles to seeking asylum, and making it impossible to apply from outside the country. This alone triggered further illegal crossings.

On 17 November we commemorated nearly 400 people losing their lives, in around 50 separate incidents taking place in November 2024, including at least ten involving children. Five years ago, none of these fatal incidents had taken place in the English Channel. Today we heard of no less than 12 deaths taking place either on the French coast or between France and England, in that one month alone last year.

The policies designed to prevent the Channel crossings are simply not working, as all concerned with the Calais Jungle in 2015-16 had predicted. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmoud has just proposed legislation to prevent asylum seekers from gaining citizenship until 20 years of residence has elapsed. It is unlikely to stem the flow.

Five years ago, we thought things could not get worse. The catastrophes we heard about today at the vigil are flagging up that things certainly can and have done. We need to keep on praying in public and to speak out against repressive measures, which are sops to a right-wing way of thinking. We commit every month to compassionate attitudes of welcome towards strangers and beg our government not to fight a losing battle to stop the flow of migrants. We managed previous migrant arrivals better. We can do it again.