by Diana Mess
Vlad got used to speaking quietly and being invisible. He sacrificed his rights, stability and family in western Ukraine to live a clandestine life as an illegal immigrant in the UK. “All the British believe that Ukrainians or Russians are just moneybags. However, I could not afford to spend even two pounds to travel on the underground. So I had to walk to work and back 20 km every day for three years,” says Vlad. Vlad left his motherland four years ago for what he believed would be a better life in London. When the 40-year-old man from a small town Ivano-Frankivsk made this difficult decision, he had to leave his wife and daughter and pay £1,000 to his Polish friend to cross the border in a suitcase. “My family needed money to survive, my parents were ill, and I had to make this decision. My mum gave me homemade sunflower oil and a pair of trousers to take with me, and I hid in my dad’s suitcase. I slept there for few hours until the bus driver opened it and told me that we finally crossed the border.” |
Vlad, like almost all illegal immigrants, knew that there were tough challenges to come, and the struggle to get into the country was just the beginning of it all. For £1,000, which amounts to more than his salary for half a year’s work in his job in the Ukraine, an illegal immigrant in his situation can buy a stolen Latvian or Polish passport, and can pay for a month month of living in a room shared with three others. Today prices for illegal entrance to the UK differ from £1,000 to £3,500, but the things received in exchange for that payment are almost the same.
“I expected to see a mess, so the stench, dirt and leftovers in the kitchen did not surprise me, although it was hard to say that I was happy. I noticed that the tap in the kitchen was broken when I was trying to pour water into the kettle, so I had to get water from the toilet.”
There have historically been several waves of Ukranian immigration to the UK. In the last century, one wave came after World War II, when many Ukrainians escaped from prosecution from the Soviet regime. After that, when the Ukraine gained independence from the USSR, many Ukrainians left for the UK for economic reasons. Today, the Ukraine faces the biggest exodus yet, as hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians flee the country through various channels, citing diminished well-being, and lowered salaries as well as standards of living.
There are no official statistics on a subject because it is impossible to count unregistered people, however, the peak of illegal immigration from the Ukraine was estimated to have been two years ago, when the amount of illegal immigrants was said to have reached half million. Border police also said that over the last two years, more than 20,000 Ukrainians were detained for violating of immigration law or whilst their cases were being reviewed, while almost 50,000 had already been deported.
The decisions these Ukranians take in order to immigrate illegally into the UK can be seen sacrifices to their human rights as residents of any land, and overall stability of life. Sergiy Burnus, an immigration lawyer from Sterling & Law Associates LLP and Ukranian, however, offers a different perspective:
“It depends on what you call stability,” he says, “here, migrants feel more stable than they do in the Ukraine because they feel that they will be given some sort of respect regardless. They think that all processes will always go as prescribed by the law. Whereas in the Ukraine, even while being legal citizens, they cannot always rely on the law and feel safe.”
Burnus also says, “back in their country, Ukrainians are asked for bribes in hospitals so that they can be seen by doctors, and get jobs, even though the only legal way to do so is though a contract. Even children’s work in school is not marked fairly if teachers do not receive expensive from parents.”
It is this strain from the very limited possibilities to live stable, peaceful lives that makes people break the law and come to the UK illegally, according to Burnus.
“It depends on what you call stability,” he says, “here, migrants feel more stable than they do in the Ukraine because they feel that they will be given some sort of respect regardless. They think that all processes will always go as prescribed by the law. Whereas in the Ukraine, even while being legal citizens, they cannot always rely on the law and feel safe.”
Burnus also says, “back in their country, Ukrainians are asked for bribes in hospitals so that they can be seen by doctors, and get jobs, even though the only legal way to do so is though a contract. Even children’s work in school is not marked fairly if teachers do not receive expensive from parents.”
It is this strain from the very limited possibilities to live stable, peaceful lives that makes people break the law and come to the UK illegally, according to Burnus.
“I could not afford to spend even two pounds to travel on the underground |
“Here, even while being in such an insecure state (that of an illegal immigrant) one can still have a chance of a stable income, stable transport and stable services,” he says, “honestly, I can even say that sometimes it is better to be imprisoned in the UK, where you have decent food, access to the Internet, gym facilities, libraries, than to live a normal life in the Ukraine.”
Despite the thorough work carried out by the Home Office, illegal immigrants are now crossing borders at higher rates than before. |
“Overstaying with a tourist visa is the most common to remain in the country illegally. Some of them come by boats or from other parts of Britain, where border control is not strong,” says Pavel Kvach, a Home Office lawyer.
According to him, Ukrainians are among those who find the most non-standard ways to come into the UK. Travelling in suitcases, hiding in bus shelves, agreeing to sham marriages and traveling with a fake IDs are some of the many tactics Ukrainians have used to gain illegal entry into the UK.
One of the main difficulties that illegal immigrants face, according to Kvach, are limited employment prospects. He says that their illegal status makes it extremely difficult to open a bank account, and therefore difficult to get proper jobs; they often have to rely on fake documents to make life easier.
“They cannot demand their rights, even if they were not paid or abused. They cannot see the doctor if they have problems with their health and they cannot call the police. They cannot risk disclosing their situation in any way, so they have to rely solely on themselves,” says Kvach.
Dr Irina Lapshyna, an Oxford researcher who has researched emigration from the Ukraine, says that the British public views illegal immigrants from the Slavic region as a danger to British society, although, according to her, this perception is an inaccurate one.
According to him, Ukrainians are among those who find the most non-standard ways to come into the UK. Travelling in suitcases, hiding in bus shelves, agreeing to sham marriages and traveling with a fake IDs are some of the many tactics Ukrainians have used to gain illegal entry into the UK.
One of the main difficulties that illegal immigrants face, according to Kvach, are limited employment prospects. He says that their illegal status makes it extremely difficult to open a bank account, and therefore difficult to get proper jobs; they often have to rely on fake documents to make life easier.
“They cannot demand their rights, even if they were not paid or abused. They cannot see the doctor if they have problems with their health and they cannot call the police. They cannot risk disclosing their situation in any way, so they have to rely solely on themselves,” says Kvach.
Dr Irina Lapshyna, an Oxford researcher who has researched emigration from the Ukraine, says that the British public views illegal immigrants from the Slavic region as a danger to British society, although, according to her, this perception is an inaccurate one.
“The British public tend to see Slavic illegals as a danger to society because the ‘quality’ of migrants is different. Usually, those who immigrate illegally do not have the best social background or families. The British public therefore expects that they will always live in such environments, even in the UK, and that they will commit crimes to earn small money," says Dr Lapshyna.
Dr Lapshyna belives that Ukrainian llegal immigrants actually stabilise British society and bring money to the economy, working for what she calls“peanuts”. |
I always knew that neither employers nor the authorities would take care of us |
“Illegals are necessary for the society,” she says.
The main goal of most illegal Ukranian immigrants does not appear to be an indefinite stay in the UK. Rather, they often intend to stay just until they have earned enough to help themselves and their families.
“Most of these immigrants think that they will return to the Ukraine in two or three years,” says Dr Lapshyna.. She does mention, however, that it takes them a year of their stay in the UK to pay off the costs of their journey to the UK.
Nevertheless, they do often end up staying longer.
“Realistically, these Ukrainian immigrants end up staying in the UK for 10 to 15 years,” says Dr Lapshyna. However, what makes me proud about Ukrainians, is that they are very innovative and creative, and even without documents, without full scope of rights, they can establish companies. There are some good examples how illegal immigrants form a private corporation with hundreds of employees.”
Despite British people are already fed up with immigrants, and Border Police closely monitor all these flows, Illegal immigrants from Ukraine will keep coming. Not because they want to, but because that is the only chance to make the life of their families better. They have to change their life on things they will never have at home.
The main goal of most illegal Ukranian immigrants does not appear to be an indefinite stay in the UK. Rather, they often intend to stay just until they have earned enough to help themselves and their families.
“Most of these immigrants think that they will return to the Ukraine in two or three years,” says Dr Lapshyna.. She does mention, however, that it takes them a year of their stay in the UK to pay off the costs of their journey to the UK.
Nevertheless, they do often end up staying longer.
“Realistically, these Ukrainian immigrants end up staying in the UK for 10 to 15 years,” says Dr Lapshyna. However, what makes me proud about Ukrainians, is that they are very innovative and creative, and even without documents, without full scope of rights, they can establish companies. There are some good examples how illegal immigrants form a private corporation with hundreds of employees.”
Despite British people are already fed up with immigrants, and Border Police closely monitor all these flows, Illegal immigrants from Ukraine will keep coming. Not because they want to, but because that is the only chance to make the life of their families better. They have to change their life on things they will never have at home.
Ivan was another typical example: Romanian fake passport, drudgery, rare parcels from home. He was deported two years ago. Over the years spent in London, he earned enough to buy a flat in Lviv and fund his three children’s university studies.
“I am so tired of these seven years. I wanted to be happy so much, wanted to be loved and cared. Instead, I remember myself lying in a dirty room with a bloody, swollen hand in a foreign country with the hard-nosed old neighbour. Moreover, once I understood that I am getting used to this hell, and it was scary. I always knew that neither employer nor the authorities would take care of us, but felt this only abroad. It clearly defined my outlook, "even if you do not care about me, I will get out.” |
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