Young refugees ‘traded like cattle’

LONDON: Young refugees who came to Britain alone as children and were "traded like cattle" by smugglers have urged the government to ensure safe, legal routes to the UK after it announced plans to scrap a scheme to take in vulnerable child migrants from Europe.

The open letter signed by 17 refugees, aged between 16 and 22, adds to growing calls from charities and celebrities to keep the scheme open.

Under the so-called Dubs amendment passed by parliament last year, Britain agreed to accept vulnerable refugee children who arrived in the European Union before March 20, 2016.

But earlier this month, the government announced plans to drop the scheme it said encouraged human trafficking.

"Many of us have been traded like cattle between groups of smugglers on our journeys," the refugees, from countries such as Syria, Afghanistan and Eritrea, wrote.

"Many of us boarded over-filled rubber boats to get here. Many of us know someone who died on the journey," the letter published on Wednesday said.

"We are the lucky ones – the ones that got here safely."

One of the refugees, who chose to remain anonymous, spent eight hours in a freezer during his journey, according to the British Red Cross which has been helping the group.

An 18-year-old from Iran, who came to Britain in a lorry from the French port town of Calais, said he decided to sign the letter after witnessing deaths and abuse on his journey.

"Assaulting women, sexually abusing children, the smugglers are really not nice people," he said. "I saw so many people die, this is a deadly journey."

The letter was published on the same day experts from refugee and children’s charities were due to give evidence to a parliamentary committee on the impact of the government’s plans in an emergency session.