Supporters of the West Wales Stand Up to Racism group will be staging a protest in Haverfordwest this evening, to highlight what they call the UK Government’s ‘inhumane scheme’ to send refugees to Rwanda.
The protest will be held protest outside the office of Conservative MP Stephen Crabb in Market Street at 6pm on Tuesday (May 7) evening.
Since the Rwanda Bill was finally passed last week, refugees have already been identified, detained and are being prepared to be flown to Rwanda to have their asylum claims processed there.
Prime Minister Rushi Sunak has said: “To detain people while we prepare to remove them, we’ve increased detention spaces to 2,200.
“To quickly process claims, we’ve got 200 trained, dedicated caseworkers ready and waiting. To deal with any legal cases quickly and decisively, the judiciary has made available 25 courtrooms and identified 150 judges who could provide over 5,000 sitting days.”
Ahead of the protest, a spokesperson for the West Wales Stand Up to Racism group said: “Why is all this money being spent when these vulnerable people could have their asylum claims dealt with in the UK?
“If the Prime Minister hoped his Rwanda plan would help get more votes for the Conservative Party in the recent elections, it would appear he was mistaken.
“A new report from the Refugee Council warns that the UK Government’s flagship Illegal Migration Act and Rwanda Plan will lead to another catastrophic ‘system meltdown’, trapping over 100,000 people in permanent limbo while costing taxpayers billions.”
West Wales Stand Up to Racism has campaigned against the Government’s plan to send refugees to Rwanda from the time this scheme was first suggested.
Supporters have previously met with Simon Hart MP and attempted to deliver a giant postcard to his office.
The group has taken part in the online Hands in Protest project organised by the Artisan Avenue group from Tenby which allowed everyone to express online how they felt about Rwanda by submitting drawings of their own hands.
“The collective Hands In Protest gives a powerful message that the Rwanda plan should be stopped,” continued the spokesperson.
“Supporters will be once more taking the giant postcard on Tuesday, to protest about the Rwanda scheme.
“We will have small postcards for supporters to write messages to MP Stephen Crabb, telling him how strongly we feel about this.
“All over the UK, anti-racists are picketing Home Office buildings to show their opposition to the Rwanda scheme and are trying to prevent arrests and giving support to the refugees being arrested and detained.
“West Wales Stand Up to Racism supporters want to make their voices heard too.”