Refugees sent to Rwanda from remote UK island speak to BBC

A group of migrants were transferred to Rwanda from a remote UK territory by the British government over a year ago. They say they feel isolated and unsafe, with one describing the African country as an “open prison”. The small group arrived from Diego Garcia, an island in the Indian Ocean. They say their complex medical needs, in some cases as the result of past rape and torture, are not being met in Rwanda. Each of them receives the equivalent of $50 a week for food and other essentials, but they are not permitted to work. All four say they have faced harassment and unwanted sexual advances on the street. They say they are too scared to go out while they wait for the UK to find somewhere permanent for them to live. The group, all Sri Lankan Tamils, were transferred to Rwanda for urgent medical care after suicide attempts. They are now living in two flats on the outskirts of the capital, Kigali, paid for by British authorities. Their legal status in Rwanda is not the same as it would be for asylum seekers flown there from the UK. A lawyer representing two of the four says their “negative experiences do raise serious concerns” about Rwanda’s ability to offer a safe haven for “very vulnerable refugees”. None of the four tried to enter the UK - instead they filed asylum claims on Diego Garcia, which is used as a secretive UK-US military base. They were among dozens of people to arrive on the island in October 2021. The four we met in Rwanda said they had been victims of torture and sexual violence in their home countries - some because of past links with the Tamil Tiger rebels, who were defeated in Sri Lanka’s civil war 15 years ago. Azhagu, one of the migrants, says he has been diagnosed with severe post-traumatic stress disorder, and uncertainty about his future and the isolation are making things worse. Mayur, another migrant, says he has given up on counselling and doesn’t get proper medicine. Lawyer Tom Short, from UK firm Leigh Day, says an independent expert assessment found “each of our clients has complex medical needs which are not being met in Rwanda”. The migrants’ safety concerns are not shared by anyone else, says official Doris Uwicyeza Picard. Three of the migrants have had their claims for international protection approved by British Indian Ocean Territory (Biot) administration, which runs Diego Garcia. The United Nations and lawyers representing the group say this, in effect, gives them refugee status. The fourth in the group has been permitted to accompany his daughter. It means the group cannot be returned to Sri Lanka, but the UK has said it will not take them in. The group in Rwanda showed us legal documents, WhatsApp messages, emails and letters they had written over the past year to British officials, including Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, asking to be moved. They also told us that harassment had left them frightened to leave their homes. In Lakshani’s apartment, a grey curtain is pulled across the barred windows - shutting the room off from the outside world. Both say there have been a number of attempted break-ins at their apartment. They show us videos that appear to show intruders being caught by neighbours. They also recalled one incident on a nearby street, when, they say, a group of men had separated them and tried to touch Lakshani while using “very inappropriate words”. The experience, and others like it, had been triggering for the pair, they said. The four told us they had not approached Rwandan police for help. They all said they distrusted uniformed law enforcement based on past experiences of abuse. The UN refugee agency has called on the UK to “secure solutions” for the group in Rwanda. While they wait, the migrants continue to dream of a future elsewhere.