But there is something different about the latest migrants because they’re not coming from war-torn Syria or Yemen, but from Iran; a country that on its surface does not have a war or humanitarian disaster to speak of.
Over the past three years, Iranians have put in more requests for asylum in the UK than any other nation, according to Home Office statistics, but until recently, we’ve rarely heard about them trying to cross the border illegally. So why do Iranians want to come here and why have their requests for asylum and illegal border crossings increased?
Iranian-born Sohrab Amari, who left Iran for the US shortly after the 1979 revolution, wrote in The Spectator: “Iran has been miserable ever since the Ayatollah Khomeini returned from his Parisian exile to usher in his total Shiite state. It’s a suffocating place, with Islamic conformity enforced on pain of flogging, jail and death, and a lousy, mismanaged economy made worse by US sanctions. For all its ancient civilisational glories, Iran is also a cruel, spiritually deracinated land.”
These people aren’t fleeing the Taliban or civil war, but they are fleeing an evil Regime set on domination of the entire Middle East. A violent, repressive Regime that Europe fails to recognise the innate evilness of because business deals are supposedly more important than human rights.
Why the sudden influx of dangerous boats? Simply because it’s much harder for Iranians to get asylum through legal methods because Europe doesn’t admit that the Regime is increasingly cracking down on political opponents, human rights advocates, religious minorities, and anyone else who speak out against the Regime. Also, modern human-smuggling networks have perfected their business model in order to make more profit off those desperate to escape.
Why are the migrants choosing Britain? Because many of them know English, which will make it easier for them to live and work in the UK. They believe Britain to be a tolerant, welcoming place.
While, the UK should, of course, begin to recognise the dangers of the Iranian Regime and accept more refugees from Iran, it should also start to support the work of the Iranian Resistance who are trying to overthrow the Regime and make the country safe for all Iranians.
