British Home Secretary Suella Braverman has come under heavy attack on social media for showing insensitivity during a visit to potential housing in Rwanda, where asylum seekers from the United Kingdom would be accommodated, according to critics.
The UK government has long been hatching far-reaching plans to stop illegal migration to the UK via the Channel. In April last year, under Braverman’s predecessor Priti Patel, an agreement was negotiated with Rwanda to fly migrants who have arrived illegally in the United Kingdom to the East African country and accommodate them there. However, that provoked enormous protest at home and abroad with several lawsuits resulting, suspending the agreement pending the verdicts on the merits.
Braverman visited the country on Saturday to defend the policy, which she described as “humanitarian” and “compassionate,” despite criticism from human rights organizations and the United Nations.
In a photo that went viral in the UK, the minister can be seen laughing out loud in front of the construction site of housing for asylum seekers who would be expelled from the country by the United Kingdom. “This is Suella Braverman at a center where she hopes to evict victims of human trafficking and modern slavery,” a journalist tweeted.
Also, her comments during a tour of the buildings shocked many: “these houses are really beautiful, good quality, really cozy, and I really like your interior designer. I need some advice myself, ” she said during the tour. The minister was also criticized for rejecting journalists from the BBC and The Guardian, a newspaper opposed to the government’s plan.
In Rwanda, Suella Braverman said it would be a” blessing” if deported asylum seekers were permanently resettled in that country rather than the UK.
“I would encourage all my critics to visit Rwanda before they express any suspicions and give incredibly biased and snobbish opinions about what this beautiful country has to offer,” she added.
