Asylum Seekers in Aberdeen: Fact Check

Are they?  Strange, because none of these protestors seem to care about feminist causes or show up at women’s marches…  Did any of them show up at the Sarah Everard protests?  At the Me Too protests?  At any VAWG protest?  What exactly are they doing to help women and children?

And what risk do asylum seekers pose to women and children?  There is no evidence to suggest there is any more risk than with the general male population. The greatest risk to women in Scotland is overwhelmingly men who are current or ex-partners.

FALSE.  Stats show that in 2024, 4,794 small boat arrivals were age 17 and under.  Out of a total of 36,816.  That’s 13% children.  The average over the last 5 years was 16% children.

Of all the small boat arrivals 18 years and over in 2024, 11.6% were women.

Of all ages in 2024, 13% were female.

The main reason for men making the journey across the channel without women and children is because it is DANGEROUS.  By October 2024, there were 52 recorded deaths for the year.

FALSE.  The top 5 nationalities for small boat arrivals for 2024 were Afghanistan, Syria, Iran, Vietnam and Eritrea.

You can find more information about human rights issues and conflicts in these countries here and here, just search by country.

The total of asylum seekers entering the country on small boats in 2024 was 36,816.  UK population is around 69 million.  So that is 0.05% of UK population.

For a more visual reference, that’s around half the capacity of Murrayfield stadium.

FALSE.  There is no evidence of children starving in Aberdeen.  There is poverty throughout Scotland, including Aberdeen, defined as households learning less that 60% of median income after housing costs, but this does not equate to starvation.  The most recent data for child food insecurity in Scotland can be found here.

Poverty in Aberdeen is very real and concerning, but to say children are “starving” is dramatic and inaccurate.  Food insecurity exists, but that is not the same as starvation.

If you’d like to do something useful to address this issue instead of standing outside hotels shouting at asylum seekers, you can donate to Aberdeen-based charities such as Befriend A Child and Abernecessities.

No they do not. That’s a myth.

Refugees overwhelmingly go to the surrounding countries: Islamic Republic of Iran, Türkiye, Colombia, Germany and Uganda hosted over one-third of the world’s refugees and other people in need of international protection.

But some go further afield, to places they feel they may integrate better (know the language, have relatives here etc). It’s only fair that all countries should take their fair share of people in need.