Why are Iranians willing to risk their lives fleeing France for Britain? Mark Almond
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/01/03/iranians-willing-risk-lives-fleeing-france-britain/
Given the reaction in some quarters, over the past few weeks it’s at times felt as if no democracy has faced such a Persian threat since ancient Athens fought the battle of Marathon. Obviously the situation on the Channel is serious and we shouldn’t be complacent about border security. But the number of illegal migrants, purportedly Iranians, attempting to sail across to the UK has been small – and far lower than the huge numbers of legal migrants that arrive from the EU each year over which we have no control.
There has been another reaction, however: incredulity. To a certain type of Remainer, it is unimaginable that anyone would seek to cross the Channel to make their way to Britain. And yet here they are, hundreds of people trying to escape from France.
Migration was such a big issue in the referendum because our society’s flexibility and our economy’s strength have made us a magnet. Macron talks about getting France “on the move”, but its brutal level of youth unemployment is a reflection of the bureaucratic blocks to enterprise and job creation that have long hindered growth.
An entrepreneurial Iranian – or Frenchman – has a better chance of making it here than in any other European country. Our language is an attraction, too. Migrants, if they don’t speak it already, regard learning English as more useful than picking up Italian or Greek.
It’s a separate question whether we want them to come, but it is interesting that so many of these migrants claim to be Iranian. Accounts of what is wrong in Iran tend to focus on the intolerance of the Islamic Republic towards Christians and other minorities, its restrictive policies towards women, and its authoritarian clerical regime.
However, what really threatens the Ayatollahs is their failure to kickstart an economy stifled by cronyism. President Rouhani was presented as a fresh face who would reinvigorate the economy. Now he looks more like an Iranian Macron, responsible for a makeover without substance.
As a consequence, young middle-class Iranians have made a rational financial decision to leave, pushed out by the combined pressure of new American sanctions and the regime’s mismanagement of the economy. Most are capable of affording not only flights out of the country but the few thousand dollars to buy a boat or to pay people smugglers to take them across the Channel, expenses which are beyond many of the other migrants in Calais. Often they are well educated, and would be capable of passing a skills test for immigration status.
Iranians looking to flee to Europe were offered a gift when the Serbian government gave them visa-free entry, the country’s main attraction being that it borders the EU. At least 12,000 of the 40,000 Iranian “tourists” who took advantage of the agreement before it was revoked last year never went home.
For Iranians, we are seen as a safe and free country. The fact that Britain and Iran are at odds over a range of geopolitical issues gives them a sense of security here. Before Donald Trump reimposed sanctions, French and Italian energy giants were bidding for contracts in Iran, a process that worried emigres in Paris and Rome who feared that efforts to improve relations with Tehran could result in their eventual, forced, return.
The Ayatollahs see emigration as a safety valve. They think they are better off if potential rebels go abroad rather than spread dissent at home. What ought to worry them, though, is the way the people responsible for the future of their country are choosing to leave: for Britain. We can think ourselves partially lucky.
Only partially, because they are still illegal migrants. We have not asked them here. And they may not be Iranian at all. It can be hard to deport failed asylum seekers to Iran, especially if they have converted to Christianity or destroyed their documents (as nearly all do). So many migrants falsely claim Iran as their country of origin because it is their best bet for staying in the UK. But even if the correct response is to send them back to France, we can take some comfort. These plucky people thought the UK was the best place to make a new life in Europe.
Mark Almond is director of the Crisis Research Institute, Oxford
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