Gove says the Ukrainian hosts are showing “Britain at its best” but the embassy is labeled as “hollow”.
People who took in Ukrainian refugees in the year a special visa program was introduced were hailed by Housing Secretary Michael Gove as a “wonderful example of British generosity”.
In a video marking 12 months since the Homes for Ukraine program was announced, Mr Gove encouraged more people to get involved in “showing Britain at its best”.
But the message has been described as “ironic” and comes amid debate over the government’s plans to arrest and deport migrants who arrive in Britain after crossing the Channel in small boats and ban them for life from returning to Britain.
Kitty Hamilton, co-founder of advocacy group Vigil for Visas and host to three Ukrainian refugees, said the illegal migration law “is totally at odds with what the Homes for Ukraine Scheme is about.”
She accused the government of “classifying one group of refugees as more important than others,” saying while Ukrainians are welcome, those fleeing war and persecution in countries like Syria and Yemen are not.
Around 117,100 people have arrived in the UK under the Homes for Ukraine visa program since it officially opened on March 18 last year, just days after the announcement.
Ukrainians coming through this route can live, work and study in the UK and have access to public funds.
If you can do your part by opening your home to a Ukrainian fleeing persecution, we would show Britain at its best
In a video released on Tuesday, Mr Gove said Ukrainian refugees were “taken into the hearts and homes of people who have been generous enough to support people fleeing persecution”.
He added: “I would like to thank everyone who acted as hosts and were such a wonderful, wonderful example of British generosity in showing what we can do to support people in their toughest hour.
“I would also like to say thank you to all the Ukrainian citizens who have contributed so much to our national life over the last year and I would like to say to everyone if you can do your part in the coming months – as Ukraine has many more to come There are difficult days and weeks ahead – if you can do your part by opening your home to a Ukrainian fleeing persecution I would be so grateful they would be so grateful we would show Britain at its best.
“To all of you who have been so generous in the past and to those of you who are thinking about what you might do in the future, thank you!”
Noting two government recruitment logos that had been sent to her as part of a roundtable discussion to attract more hosts under the scheme, Ms Hamilton said the wording of the planned social media campaign was “ironic”.
There is something wrong with a system that leads to the categorization of refugees – that we rank one group of refugees as more important than another
One of the logos read: “Help change the lives of people fleeing the devastating war in Ukraine.”
Ms Hamilton, who has had a Ukrainian mother and her two children in her home since May, said: “Replace it (Ukraine) with Syria, replace it with Yemen, replace it with any number of different countries.
“There is no difference for people fleeing a devastating war.”
She questioned the “injustice” of the system and said if all refugees “are allowed to work from the day they arrive – it would be such a good thing for the country as a whole”.
She added: “Something is wrong with a system that leads to the categorization of refugees – that we rank one group of refugees as more important than others.”
She said she believes the Ukrainian program has been successful despite a number of difficulties along the way, but said while the government is right to acknowledge that more hosts are needed, “the timing is terrible and the messages ring hollow”. .
She said: “How can we speak heartily about getting people to change the lives of the people who fled the devastating war in Ukraine, how can we heartily speak to the people of Ukraine and not tell others?
“The injustice of the regulation is not the fault of the hosts. We would like to make this program available to everyone so that we have a choice.”
A Government spokesman said the UK “has a proud history of providing safe and legal pathways for those who really need them” and is “committed to creating more safe pathways for vulnerable people around the world”.
They added: “But we need to deal with the rise in illegal migration first and stop the boats, which is why we are introducing new legislation making people who come to the UK illegally liable for detention and quick deportation.”
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/michael-gove-ukraine-britain-people-channel-b1067028.html Gove says the Ukrainian hosts are showing “Britain at its best” but the embassy is labeled as “hollow”.
