Why illegal immigrants in UK are taking luxury cruises

The 'Dunkis' who plan to take the Donkey Route to illegally emigrate from India to the UK or the US prepare for a gruelling journey. The route goes through thick, snake-infested forests, stormy seas and barren deserts. However, there are immigrants in the UK who are now paying thousands of euros to enter Ireland on luxurious cruise ships.

Over 85 tents of illegal immigrants have come up between Mount Street Bridge and Huband Bridge in Ireland. The number of tents has doubled since last week, thanks to cruise ships.

Illegal immigrants who risked their lives to reach the UK are rushing to Ireland. The mushrooming tents are a manifestation of that trend. This is after the UK announced its plans to nab illegal immigrants and transport them to Rwanda.

Tens of thousands of people have arrived in Britain in small boats since 2018, with many fleeing war or famine and travelling through Europe to Britain.

One of the immigrants in Ireland, originally from Egypt, told the Irish Daily Mail how he felt safer there than he did in the UK, where immigrants were being packed off to Rwanda.

Many of these people arrived in Ireland just this week and are happy with the encampments, but the Irish PM, Simon Harris, has said the country would not let the encampments remain for "weeks and weeks".

As far as the encampments in Ireland are concerned, another man from Afghanistan, Rashid told the Mail how moving through the Irish Sea was an easy task, and he did not even require a passport. This ride was even easier as he took a €2,000 cruise ship ticket.

"I got a very big boat to Ireland only yesterday – it was like a hotel, and they gave us food and everything," said Rashid, who recently moved from the UK to Ireland.

"I came from a very happy family with no problems until the Taliban came. My father was killed and the rest of my relatives had to leave their homes," said Rashid, originally from Afghanistan.

"I paid €7,000 to get to France and had to cross six different countries to get there." "I spent 15 months in France, but they didn't accept my papers. So, I had no other choice but to travel to the UK", said Rashid.

Soon, he would find out about the Rwanda problem and give Ireland a shot.

Khyber Ghurzng also from Afghanistan, told the Mail, "We bought tickets [for a cruise] but didn't need passports." He said it was expensive to reach here in a cruise, but there was no other way. He also said, "I'm here now, and I'm still questioning how I'm alive. Crossing the sea into the UK was so dangerous that I accepted death."

"The boat we were on started to sink and water was coming past our legs, but thankfully the British coast guard came to rescue us," said Ghurzng, describing the first leg of his illegal travel to the UK.

Now, the asylum seekers are getting along well with each other and are even helping each other. They are also using their skills to help. A barber from Gaza was seen giving haircuts to people.

These encampments do not come without their own set of problems. Locals were seen shouting and insulting the asylum seekers. But there is a silver lining and there are other local volunteers who are helping these people in the absence of government assistance.

Olivia Headon, a volunteer, said, "When asylum seekers arrive and register at the IPO [The Protection Office] they're given a sheet that explains the services they can access." They are being provided with tents and other important items.

Ireland Prime Minister Simon Harris has said, "We need to see a multi-agency response where we don't have some sort of national game of pass the parcel in relation to responding to the very significant humanitarian situation." It was even called a "public health emergency".

Other political leaders are criticising the government and saying it has "lost control" of the immigration system. The inability to deport immigrants is sending a message internationally, said Aontº leader Peadar T³ib­n.

The rush of asylum seekers comes amid the UK's plan to send illegal immigrants to Rwanda. It plans raids to nab those asylum seekers and place them in detention camps until they are put on planes to Rwanda.

On May 1, Britain sent its first asylum seeker to Rwanda under a voluntary scheme.

The voluntary scheme is separate to a forced deportation programme that Britain is about to embark on in the next few months, seeking to deter asylum seekers from crossing the English Channel in small boats to live in Britain.

For now, it seems the asylum seekers, in contrast to the treacherous route taken by Indians to the west, are finding a comfortable journey on luxury cruises.

India has seen its own version of the immigration struggle where young men travel in testing conditions to reach the US, especially the youth from Haryana. One such group of immigrants involved a man named Jitendra who took over 11 months to reach the US via the Donkey Route. The Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Dunki was based on youths like Jitendra.

While the Irish government continues to wash its hands off the immigrants, it remains to be seen how the asylum seekers will find and retain their refuge in Ireland, or would they have to consider going back to Rwanda? Their future in Ireland is uncertain however comfortable their journey in cruise ships might have been.