Syrian refugee who shot to fame as NHS cleaner says plans to send migrants to Rwanda are 'moral failure'
Filmmaker Hassan Akkad arrived in the UK seven years ago after fleeing the war in his home country and having no choice but to put his trust in a people smuggler.
Friday 15 April 2022 16:46, UK
A Syrian refugee and filmmaker who shot to fame working as an NHS cleaner during the pandemic says the Home Office plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda are an "ethical and moral failure".
Hassan Akkad arrived in the UK seven years ago after fleeing the war in his home country, having no choice but to put his trust in a people smuggler.
As more and more people risk the treacherous crossing of the English Channel aboard small boats, the 34-year-old says the Government's treatment of asylum seekers is getting "worse and worse".
Read more: Why are people being sent to Rwanda and how will it work?
Now living in London, Mr Akkad filmed all 87 days of his perilous journey from Syria, and his resulting film Exodus: Our Journey To Europe, went on to win a Bafta and an Emmy.
As the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, Mr Akkad gained viral fame when he swapped careers to clean hospital wards for the NHS.
Now granted permanent leave to remain in the UK, Mr Akkad continues to make films and also works as an ambassador for refugee organisation Choose Love.
'Hostile Environment keeps getting worse and worse'
Asked how he felt when he heard about Government plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, he said it was "depressing" but did not come as a shock.
He told Sky News: "To be honest I didn't find it surprising because since I have come to this country seven years ago Hostile Environment keeps getting worse and worse in Britain.
"The treatment of asylum seekers has been getting worse and worse since I have come here, so I didn't find it shocking that our Government has now sank so low to decide to send people to a country that's thousands of miles away and run by an authoritarian leader."
'Ethical and moral failure'
Mr Akkad described the plans as "an ethical and moral failure" and said they were "more expensive than putting people up in the Ritz".
He continued: "The reason why you leave your country is if you don't leave you die.
"You come here expecting to be protected and looked after only to be faced with this new law that the Government is passing.
"It's very depressing and it's not a great look for Global Britain."
Mr Akkad has released a memoir since his arrival in the UK, entitled Hope Not Fear.
Mr Johnson rebuffed concerns from charities that the plan was "cruel and nasty".
He said: "This is the morally right thing to do and the humane and compassionate thing to do.
"We cannot have people continuing to die at sea, paying huge sums to evil people trackers who are simply exploiting their hopes and their ambitions.
"We need to encourage them to take the safe and legal route if they want to come to this country."
The Home Office scheme, designed to provide "safe and legal routes for asylum seekers while disrupting the business model of people smugglers", has been described as "inhumane" and "cruel" by human rights organisations, who claim a similar offshore strategy in Australia has failed to curb numbers of arrivals.
Human rights groups say President Paul Kagame's government in Rwanda is authoritarian, with opposition parties only allowed at the last election in 2018.