When we are overwhelmed with constant updates on the thousands of lives lost at sea, and across dangerous migration routes, the numbers can be hard to digest and the identities of those who make such perilous crossings can be lost within the general narrative of news reports. Each person has their own past, their own experiences and their own story. Every individual has the right to reach safety through safe pathways.
People are forced to pursue irregular and dangerous migration routes as there is a lack of safe alternatives. While states need to tackle people-smuggling industries to prevent the exploitation of those seeking sanctuary, they must also improve regular pathways. However, some governments have introduced unlawful immigration policies, including the UK Rwanda scheme which blocks access to the UK for asylum seekers who have entered the country ‘illegally,’ we strongly believe this is the time to generate new discussions around migration policy and how communities can better provide asylum and protection support, and integration opportunities.
Between August 2014 and 2017, MOAS rescued over 40,000 people during SAR missions in the Central Mediterranean and the Aegean. It was an honour to save the lives of people who had risked everything to escape war, persecution, and extreme poverty. Our first mission left the Malta Grand Harbour as the first Mediterranean private search and rescue (SAR) initiative of its kind, on board the Phoenix. Equipped with a specialist SAR crew, a fully-equipped clinic and two humanitarian drones, MOAS was out to demonstrate proof of concept and make a real impact on the loss of life that had come to define the Central Mediterranean migration route. We continue to monitor maritime and land borders, and we believe the global community can do more to seek safe and effective alternatives. This is why MOAS created the #SafeAndLegalRoutes campaign.
WHAT DO WE MEAN BY SAFE AND LEGAL ROUTES?
Migrants often have to undertake dangerous journeys in order to reach their arrival country. Each journey is unique, however, those having to undertake these journeys are often exposed to exploitative processes, abuse and illegal pushbacks as they embark on their search for safety. With anti-migrant sentiments increasingly affecting government policies, they also face harsh domestic policies on arrival. Safe and legal routes do exist, and while they do not offer a finite solution to the migration phenomenon, if people are able to access these routes and they are expanded by governments, then fewer migrants will be forced to endure these dangerous journeys.
By “safe and legal routes” we mean regularized measures and pathways that can ensure safe passage for people in need of international protection, that do not force them to put their lives at risk, to claim asylum. Furthermore, such pathways can allow for robust reception and integration systems on arrival.
Resettlement is an example of Safe and Legal Routes. It is the transfer of refugees from an asylum country to a different State, that has agreed to admit them and ultimately grant them permanent residence. These programmes exist but are limited to certain locations, and many people claiming asylum do not have access to these processes.
Community Sponsorship is another pathway that resettles refugees in a community, where residents actively engage in integration support and facilitate the resettlement process. These are just some examples of Safe and Legal Routes, you can find out more here!
Currently, such routes are under-resourced and severely limited in their accessibility. We have also seen increasing use of pushbacks at EU borders and the continuation of detention in Libya, where human rights are violated. We must continue to advocate for alternative pathways of migration and to raise awareness on the importance and need for #SafeAndLegalRoutes for migration so that people don’t have to risk their lives to reach safety.
WHAT IS MOAS DOING?
While the MOAS #SafeandLegalRoutes campaign will continue to engage with global policy and migration updates, there will be a focus on Italy and the UK as we re-launch our appeal. We believe that every life is important, every identity is unique, and every statistic is a human being. Sensationalist news can bring about a general sense of fatigue as we feel unable to contribute in changing the story and outcomes, by joining our campaign, you can help MOAS tell a different kind of story – where every life is valued as we call for safe and legal routes.
Sign today our appeal for the implementation of #SafeAndLegalRoutes HERE