A Syrian refugee and filmmaker who shot to fame working as an NHS cleaner during the pandemic says the Home Office plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda are an 'ethical and moral failure'
Government plans to send asylum seekers to RwandaHe told Sky News:"To be honest I didn't find it surprising because since I have come to this country seven years ago Hostile Environment keeps getting worse and worse in Britain.
"The treatment of asylum seekers has been getting worse and worse since I have come here, so I didn't find it shocking that our Government has now sank so low to decide to send people to a country that's thousands of miles away and run by an authoritarian leader."'Ethical and moral failure' Mr Akkad described the plans as"an ethical and moral failure" and said they were"more expensive than putting people up in the Ritz"."You come here expecting to be protected and looked after only to be faced with this new law that the Government is passing.Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video playerMr Akkad has released a memoir since his arrival in the UK, entitled Hope Not Fear.
"We cannot have people continuing to die at sea, paying huge sums to evil people trackers who are simply exploiting their hopes and their ambitions.The Home Office scheme, designed to provide"safe and legal routes for asylum seekers while disrupting the business model of people smugglers", has been described as"inhumane" and"cruel" by human rights organisations, who claim a similar offshore strategy in Australia has failed to curb numbers of arrivals.
Human rights groups say President Paul Kagame's government in Rwanda is authoritarian, with opposition parties only allowed at the last election in 2018.
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