Asylum seeker reveals real reason refugees are coming to the UK
21 August 2020, 08:50
Asylum seeker reveals real reason refugees are coming to the UK
Danny came to the UK illegally from Eritrea 15 years ago. He told Iain Dale the reason asylum seekers are coming to the UK - and it's not to claim benefits.
The caller arrived in the country on the back of a lorry. He didn't have money to pay a people smuggler, so he organised his journey himself.
He said he didn't want to leave his family back home, but he had to or he would now be dead.
And he thanked Britain for being the only country which wanted to help.
He said: "I've been through this journey myself. I came through France in 2005.
"The French don't really look after the immigrants the way the British do. The French try to push you out of the country. When I was trying to come to the UK, they used to show us the lorries that came to the UK.
"The way the British handle the refugees and the rights that you have - I think that's what's happening with all the immigrants.
"These are not economic migrants, they are fleeing brutal dictatorships like myself. We had no choice. I never wanted to come to the UK, I never wanted to leave my country or my family.
"It's very hard to come to a country where you don't speak the language or know the culture. But sometimes you don't have a choice. It's a survival mechanism. There was a brutal dictator - you either do what they ask you to do or you end up in prison or get killed."
He's worked in the UK for 15 years as a chef and a taxi driver. He wanted to make clear that the asylum seekers know nothing of the UK's benefits system when they make the treacherous journey.
He added: "Back home, nobody knows about the benefits system in the UK. People think that immigrants come here to claim benefits. I never knew about these things.
"You just want to make a life and survive. We don't have a choice."
Hear his fascinating call at the top of the page.
