We Came by Sea by Horatio Clare, reviewed by Pete White, CLEAR Project Manager.
With the almost daily negative coverage about the record number of ‘small boats’ arriving, and the recent news showing an inflatable full of people being slashed by French police (an act ‘welcomed’ by the UK Prime Minister), Horatio Clare’s new book couldn’t be more timely.
Taking the approach that no story has only one side, he visits Calais where he meets those seeking to make the treacherous journey, and the volunteers who provide care and support in the makeshift local camps. He also visits Dover where he meets local people, lifeboat crews and journalists, before heading to Luton to find out more about those who make it here and the people who provide help and support to them.
His account is one of hope and humanity, where he finds a nation which is ‘every bit as great and good as the people in the dinghies believe Britain to be’ and wonders what it might be to see a paradigm shift, where rather than fear, xenophobia and hostility, we were actually proud of the compassionate, kind and free country that leads people to risk everything to get here, in the same way we celebrate the victories of the Second World War or the heroics of the RNLI.
Clare identifies the futility, extortionate cost and ineffectiveness of recent actions – from Rwanda (£715 million for 4 failed asylum seekers who volunteered to go) and Bibby Stockholm (£34.8 million) to the rhetoric of ‘Stop the Boats’ and ‘Smash the Gangs’ – recognising the complexity of the criminal operation, our tolerance for the cruelty required to make deterrence work and the desire of desperate people for ‘something better’.
Establishing safe and legal routes, allowing asylum seekers to work, improving access to English classes and redirecting the billions being given to outsourcing firms and hotels to local authorities instead, are widely recognised as more compassionate and effective solutions to the current crisis.
Looking to the future, the geopolitical tensions and the impact of the climate crisis, means that global migration will continue to increase over the coming years and requires a global response.