10 March 2022
Holocaust survivor Steven Frank fronted a film projected by campaign groups Freedom from Torture, Together With Refugees, Aegis Trust and Led By Donkeys on to the white cliffs of Dover yesterday (10 March 2022). The projection comes just ahead of MPs voting on the Nationality and Borders Bill and as the UK government comes under increasing criticism for its response to refugees fleeing Ukraine.
The film is part of a campaign in the lead up to the vote calling on the Prime Minister to rethink the Bill – a Bill that undermines Britain’s commitments under the UN refugee convention. It stars Steven Frank who survived the Holocaust as a child and was brought to the UK by an RAF pilot, despite his lack of papers or visa.
Steven said: “If the Nationality and Borders Bill had been in place when I arrived in this country in June 1945… I would have been denied entry to the United Kingdom, I would have been sent, no doubt, to a detention centre somewhere, and then put on a plane and sent back to Holland.”
Commenting on the situation in Ukraine, Steven said: “Boris Johnson, please, show some humanity… let a lot of these people in. They will only show you gratitude, as so many refugees did when they escaped from Nazi Germany and came to this country.”
He added: “Rules were introduced after the holocaust to provide protection for refugees. But Boris Johnson if your Nationality and Borders Bill had been in place when I made my journey I wouldn’t be here today. I’m asking you Prime Minister, please rethink this bill. Do not tear up rules that protect refugees. The Nationality and Borders Bill is not the kind of generous Britain that gave me a chance to build a life here.
“Whether from the Netherlands like me, or from Syria, Afghanistan or Ukraine. No one chooses to be a refugee. But you can choose how you respond.”
Despite polling showing that 77% of the UK public support allowing Ukrainian refugees to travel to the UK without visas, the government has resisted calls to scrap visa requirements for Ukrainians. This comes as the Nationality and Borders Bill aims to criminalise refugees who reach the UK without prior authorisation.
Together With Refugees, a coalition campaign of more than 400 member organisations, is calling for an end to the proposal in the Bill that would punish refugees just because of how they arrive here, regardless of what they are fleeing from. And for a target to resettle 10,000 of the world’s most vulnerable refugees a year. It is also calling on the government to put immediate measures in place to ensure Ukrainian refugees can reach the UK safely and easily without the need for visas and be able to claim refugee protection if they choose when they get here.
Sabir Zazai, Chair of Together With Refugees, CEO of Scottish Refugee Council and himself a refugee, said: “The UK government’s shameful approach to refugees from all over the world has been made all the more obvious by its chaotic and inadequate response to Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion. Their mean spirited reaction to those in desperate and horrifying circumstances lacks humanity and compassion – and is in total contrast to the kindness of the British public. It is also woefully out of step with our neighbours in Europe.
“MPs from all parties must do the right thing and use their vote to stand with refugees and vote against the Bill to ensure this cruel approach is not embedded into British law. This crisis has shown the love and care of British people – just as I experienced when I arrived as a refugee fleeing war in Afghanistan in 1999. Our country’s laws and government should reflect who we are, not the draconian proposals in this unworkable bill.”
Sonya Sceats, Chief Executive at Freedom from Torture, a member of Together With Refugees coalition, commented: “This government is driving a coach-and-horses through international rules laid down after the Holocaust to protect refugees, just when Europe is facing the largest displacement of people since World War Two. It’s time for Boris Johnson to abandon this inhumane bill and create a compassionate refugee protection system that is kind, fair and effective for all people fleeing from war, torture or persecution.”
Steven Frank was born in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. In 1940 when he was five years old the Nazis invaded and occupied the country. After his Father was arrested and murdered by the Nazis, he and his family were sent to Westerbork and later Theresienstadt concentration camp in Czechoslovakia. When the war ended, he was smuggled into the UK in the back of a plane by an RAF pilot.
ENDS