Paddington Bear being given a real British passport is an insult

How lovely. The Home Office has officially fixed Paddington Bear British citizenship.

Everyone’s favourite marmalade-munching RP-accented Peruvian has been fixed an authoritative UK passport up of the upcoming merchandise of his latest film. 

We’d similar to indulge successful this lukewarm and fuzzy moment, but arsenic a charity that aims to assistance immigrants, asylum seekers, and those who privation to besides summation citizenship, it’s hard to observe the triumph of a fictional quality erstwhile our real-life clients are treated with specified disdain. 

Luckily for Paddington, helium was adopted by the Browns, and present the movie producers person praised the Home Office for having the ‘sense of humour’ to springiness him citizenship. 

Sadly, our clients haven’t been truthful fortunate – and portion it whitethorn look harmless, a stunt similar this is simply a footwear successful the teeth for the radical we help, immoderate of whom person been stuck successful the asylum strategy for implicit 10 years. 

The backlog is nary secret. Nearly 120,000 radical are presently waiting for an asylum determination successful the UK. 

And 1 happening has been accordant done their agelong hold – the politicians and media personalities who person hardly taken a enactment to halt scapegoating migrants. 

There’s truthful overmuch choler directed astatine migrants – possibly immoderate of it should beryllium directed astatine the Home Office. 

Because to america and our clients, this section seems hellhole bent connected avoiding doing their existent occupation – ‘to physique a safe, fair, and prosperous UK’ – portion radical proceed to hold successful limbo crossed the country, successful mediocre accommodation and with nary Brown household to prime them up astatine Paddington presumption to invited them into the British mediate class. 

In fairness, since his instauration successful 1958, it’s taken implicit 60 years for Paddington to get a British passport, truthful I conjecture the backlog impacts him, too. 

He’s cute, he’s cuddly, he’s impeccably spoken – the embodiment of the ‘good migrant’, but adjacent being a nationalist treasure, it takes clip to get migration status. 

Behind this gag lies a superior constituent – ideate however overmuch harder it is for galore of our clients who travel present traumatised from the horrors they person encountered. 

This trauma past magnified by years and years successful limbo arsenic a ‘temporary’ resident, without the basal rights of citizens of this country.    

This is the harsh world for galore of our clients. 

Marie, is 83 years old, she’s been successful the UK for implicit 23 years; the Home Office person acknowledged that her aesculapian needs – which necessitate a caregiver to administer medicine regular – marque her highly vulnerable. 

Despite this she is connected the 10-year way to settlement, meaning she volition hold till her 93rd day earlier she has status. 

Marie is 1 of galore successful this situation. Michael, who came to the UK from Jamaica implicit 10 years ago, is being made to hold different decennary earlier helium has presumption due to the fact that of existent rules. 

The Home Office acknowledged to america that Michael won’t person the medicine and attraction helium requires successful Jamaica but refused to springiness him colony contempt the UK being the lone suitable harmless spot for him to unrecorded his life.

Paddington famously fled Peru aft an earthquake successful the jungle, boarding a vessel arsenic an unaccompanied minor, earlier yet reaching safety. 

Well, we cognize from bitter acquisition that if helium had made his travel implicit the past fewer years, galore of our politicians would person vilified him arsenic a contributor to the ‘small boats crisis’. 

So, the faux compassion astatine the bosom of this Home Office stunt stings adjacent much astatine a clip erstwhile we are seeing much tragedies of those who are putting their lives astatine hazard taking the aforesaid travel Paddington took successful a tiny boat.

Just past month, a babe was reported dormant successful the Channel by the French coastguard. Had this babe made it to the UK, they would not person been automatically granted citizenship. 

Instead of giving a passport to a fictional bear, the Home Office should tackle the existent problems, for existent people, similar those seeking information successful this state who are being made to hold tens of years for a decision. 

It’s clip for Yvette Cooper’s section to springiness up the gimmicks and marque existent changes – similar abolishing the 10-year way to colony and implementing new, simplified routes to presumption based connected 5 years residence. 

Instead of vilifying radical who travel to this state by sea, they should beryllium providing harmless routes truthful radical don’t person to hazard their lives and those of their children conscionable for the luxury of being capable to unrecorded ordinary, harmless lives. 

People don’t travel to this state expecting the warmth and generosity granted to Paddington – this is fiction, of course. 

But it’s not excessively overmuch to expect the Home Office to bash its job, process asylum claims successful a timely mode and dainty radical with the basal dignity and respect which we each deserve.  

When they’ve done that, they tin honour each the fictional bears they want.

This nonfiction was primitively published October 23, 2024

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