This is horrible news by
GlasgowBlue 25 Nov 2021 15:05Got this in my inbox this morning. Please follow the link and email your local MP today.
Hi Glassers,
"If people would understand how dangerous the journey is, and what the challenges are in crossing, they wouldn't ask why we flee… [They would understand] that we are either dead or alive, there's no third option for us."
These are the words of Aliyah*, a young woman who was forced to flee her home country when her husband was targeted by the Government for demonstrating for their basic human rights. She stepped onto a small boat on a French shore with her husband and looked at our country for hope.
Yesterday, at least 27 people, including three children and a pregnant woman, lost their lives because they too had no third option. Words cannot express the horror we feel today at the worst humanitarian tragedy of its kind ever recorded on our borders. These were people who dreamt of starting a new life in safety. Safety most of us have the privilege of taking for granted every day. Now those dreams lie at the bottom of the sea.
But we also feel anger today. Anger at the fact we have spent all year calling on the Government to change its approach to those seeking safety. The fact we have warned time and again that the Home Secretary’s headline grabbing “get tough quick” policies have not only been cruel but dangerous. That they would do nothing to stop people putting their lives in the hands of smugglers.
And so we are appalled to see that this Government’s response to yesterday’s horror is to double down on its Anti-Refugee Bill as the “solution”. But for people like you, who see the Bill for what it is, those tactics will not work. This Bill will only cause more misery for people who deserve protection, not punishment. Even worse, we know it will lead to more deaths in the Channel. 
Soon MPs will be voting on the Anti-Refugee Bill before it moves to its next stage in the House of Lords. Now, more than ever, we need as many MPs as possible to give the Bill a resounding NO. 
Of course, we know that the Government’s large majority in the House of Commons means the Bill is very likely to be voted through. But it must not do so unopposed. It is essential that no one can argue the Bill and all it represents has wide support, especially in light of yesterday’s tragedy. We know that it doesn’t. In fact, three out of five voters disagree with the Bill’s central policy of treating refugees differently just because of how they arrived in the UK.
This is why I am asking you to email your MP today to ask them to vote against this Bill. We must bear witness, and draw lawmakers’ attention to the injustice of these cruel proposals by encouraging each and every MP to speak the truth to a Government dealing in dishonesty.
We know that on days like this it is all too easy to feel powerless. But your voice matters. Our movement matters. So thank you for taking action and being on this difficult journey with us. This is what it means to stand up for asylum. 
Mariam
Head of Campaigns
PS - We will be campaigning against the Anti-Refugee Bill and its consequences for months, if not years, to come. Can you donate to help us in this fight? Even a small donation will help our campaign go even further.
*Aliyah has chosen to use a pseudonym to protect her identity.
https://act.refugee-action.org.uk/page/93735/action/1?ea.tracking.id=Email1&ea.url.id=5617283&forwarded=true
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