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There is an increasing lack of compassion in the world. People want to stop the alleged influx of unauthorized foreigners entering their countries but fail to offer any solutions for where these people should go instead.
The outright racism behind such a view is no longer even thinly veiled; politicians, media outlets, and extremist right-wing groups all openly state that these people are “not their problem” and “someone else should deal with them.”
But let us look at the actual numbers for a moment. According to the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, the number of unauthorized arrivals in the UK grew slightly from 16,281 to 17,100 in 2020, then began to spike in 2021, reaching 36,218.
But surely this was inevitable? The lockdowns imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic had started to be lifted, Afghanistan was handed back to the Taliban, and the war in Ethiopia was escalating, to name but three contributory factors.
Then, in 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine and the UK’s COVID lockdowns were fully lifted, the number of unauthorized entries into the country once again spiked, at 54,702. The number later fell, to 36,949 in 2024. There was a slight increase in the number of people arriving in small boats, from 29,437 in 2023 to 29,851 in 2024.
Do these numbers really reflect a crisis? Migrants in the UK have been described by some as “second-class,” and without any evidence labeled as rapists and child abusers. In fact, there are few crimes of which they have not been accused.
In UK news outlets and on social media, there are claims on a daily basis that so-called “illegal” migrants are committing crimes against women, bleeding the economy dry by claiming government handouts, taking up scarce housing space, and receiving “free healthcare.”
No amount of statistical evidence to the contrary can seem to convince the accusers that their claims are unfounded. In fact, the majority of crimes in the UK — minor, major, violent or abusive — are committed by British citizens.
Yes, of course there are occasions on which the perpetrators are individuals who arrived in the country illegally on boats or in the back of a lorry. But in general, most crime is homegrown. That is just a fact.
There is a push in the UK for more information to be provided about how many offenses are committed by migrants. But in the very likely event that wider availability of such information reveals that migration is largely not to blame for incidences of crime or public disorder, the former of which have actually fallen in recent years, will this be acknowledged by the same right-wing extremists, media outlets, and social media users who continue to spread such disinformation?
Similarly, migrants are not receiving generous handouts from the British government; they receive as little as $40 ($53) a week for food.
Yes, like everyone else in the UK, they have access to free healthcare “at the point of entry.” This is a given for everyone in the country and the foundation on which the National Health Service was built.
Politicians around the world are scapegoating people a lot less fortunate than themselves in a bid to maintain power.
Peter Harrison
There is also a widely shared belief that there has been a massive increase in the UK in the number of houses used for multiple occupancy, with each room rented out individually, again because of the so-called migrant crisis. Yet this is nothing new; when I left my parental home in 1988 I lived in shared accommodation until about 2004.
But again, no amount of facts or other contradictory information seem to get in the way of a good old fashioned right-wing protest. If you believe everything you read on certain news platforms or while scrolling through social media, you would be forgiven for thinking all crime in the UK was committed by migrants from other countries.
Sadly there seems to be a continuing trend of deliberate misinformation that is pushing this message, with some success. Politicians around the world, certainly in the West, are scapegoating people a lot less fortunate than themselves in a bid to maintain power.
Anti-migrant protesters say we should just send the refugees back home and their own countries should deal with them. Yes, in an ideal world, all countries should indeed look after their own. But what about people who have no choice but to flee their home nations? What about those to whom we owe a debt of gratitude, such as the Afghan nationals who helped the International Security Assistance Force during the war in Afghanistan?
A report published by UNICEF in February said: “The world is experiencing more armed conflicts today than ever in recent human history. Two years ago, around 400 million children lived in conflict and war zones. That number had risen to 473 million by the end of 2024.”
The UNHCR Refugee Data Finder report found that 123.2 million people worldwide had been forcibly displaced by the end of 2024. Of those, 8.4 million sought asylum, 36.8 million were refugees and 5.9 million were in need of international protection.
The main narrative in so many Western countries right now is that they are being “overrun” by people who cross their borders illegally. Really? In 2024, UNHCR reported that 76 percent of refugees and asylum seekers were hosted by low- and middle-income countries, and about 70 percent were in countries that border their own. The report went on to state that “only a minority make it to wealthy countries in Europe or North America.”
Before I am accused of being a left-wing rabble-rouser, it is clearly apparent that there are indeed some people who arrive from other countries and subsequently commit offenses against women and children, or who steal. But the majority do not.
According to the UK’s Office for National Statistics, you are more at risk of violence and abuse in your own home than at the hands of a migrant. In the year ending March 2024, an estimated 2.3 million people were subjected to domestic abuse in England and Wales. Police recorded 851,062 offenses, 72,641 suspects were referred for further action, 49,046 were charged and 38,776 were convicted.
These numbers are not notably higher or lower than in previous years. Domestic abuse in England and Wales (the figures in Scotland are recorded separately) is an ongoing problem and it seems as though little is being done to prevent it. The fact that victims often do not report attacks does not help.
Yet how often does the British media report on this ongoing issue? How many questions are put to the prime minister asking what steps are being taken to protect people from domestic abuse?
Populism is taking over mainstream politics, with some degree of success. Many migrants fled their homes because they were not safe there, and now they find themselves treated like second-class citizens all around the world.
- Peter Harrison is a senior editor at Arab News in the Dubai office. He has covered the Middle East for more than 15 years. X: @PhotoPJHarrison