How lovely. The Home Office has officially given Paddington Bear British citizenship. Everyone’s favourite marmalade-munching RP-accented Peruvian has been given an official UK passport ahead of the upcoming release of his latest film .
We’d like to indulge in this warm and fuzzy moment, but as a charity that aims to help immigrants, asylum seekers, and those who want to also gain citizenship, it’s hard to celebrate the triumph of a fictional character when our real-life clients are treated with such disdain. Luckily for Paddington , he was adopted by the Browns, and now the movie producers have praised the Home Office for having the ‘sense of humour’ to give him citizenship. Sadly, our clients haven’t been so fortunate – and while it may seem harmless, a stunt like this is a kick in the teeth for the people we help, some of whom have been stuck in the asylum system for over 10 years.
The backlog is no secret. Nearly 120,000 people are currently waiting for an asylum decision in the UK. And one thing has been consistent through their long wait – the politicians and media personalities who have barely taken a breath to stop scapegoating migrants.
There’s so much anger directed at migrants – maybe some of it should be directed at the Home Office. Because to us and our clients, this department seems hell bent on avoiding doing their actual job – ‘to build a safe, fair, and prosperous UK’ – while people continue to wait in limbo across the country, in .