Displaying items by tag: over 10,000 refugees

10,057 migrants have now crossed from France to the UK since January. This time last year the figure for small boat arrivals with people fleeing wars and persecution was 4,200. They are desperate for sanctuary as they navigate dangerous and busy shipping lanes in dinghies and kayaks. They have no entry visas or permission to gain entry, yet they continue to come. There are fears of it being a record-breaking year for migrant crossings despite crackdowns and threats of deportation to Rwanda. There is concern that the Government’s flagship plan to end the people-smuggling risks failure. A hundred Home Office notices of removal to Uganda have been sent to migrants, and 17 failed asylum seekers at a detention centre staged a five-day hunger strike over the policy. The first flight will leave on 14 June, but last-minute legal challenges are expected. Pray for God to give compassion to negotiators helping anxious refugees, and for the Holy Spirit to comfort and heal victims of war and human rights abuses.