this is real, not fiction
Dover Port by David Lockett
By Razia, KRAN CEO
On Saturday, driving back from a quiet walk with the dogs at the lakes near Sandwich, I felt like I was in a film set from the Second World War, or a dystopian drama. At least 100 men, and some women, in black balaclavas and black clothes came marching down the pavement, with police cars and residents looking on.
Intimidating, aggressive and agitated far-right protesters were at the Port of Dover, blocking the town’s main roads for several hours and causing major disruption. According to Kent Police, it was a “spontaneous” protest - but planned or not, organisers were using it to demonstrate their power and their desire to “Stop the boats.” Residents in nearby Preston and Ash had reported to police that they were in the area the night before and that coaches had come to take them to Dover in the morning.
This was followed on Sunday by a mass protest in Portsmouth, following the arrival of a mega-dinghy carrying 140 people. The 70-mile journey (from Cherbourg) took 10-plus hours - far longer than the “usual” route. Why was there no mention in all the media coverage about the 140 and what they had experienced (trauma and exhaustion to begin with)?
It is not only the far right who are waging war on refugees and asylum seekers, as a recent Guardian article suggests: Drones, teargas, riot squads: why has the UK gone to war against asylum seekers already fleeing conflict? | Diane Taylor | The Guardian
This is real, not fiction and groups are warning that this is a very worrying and escalating trend. One of our young people recently told us that a homemade device (similar to a petrol bomb) had been hurled through his kitchen window as he was making dinner. Luckily, no one was hurt and the incident reported to the police. KRAN staff have also recently been targeted, but I won’t share the details here.
This is at a time where the latest stats show the numbers arriving in small boats is falling, along with the number of applications for asylum in the UK: Tracking UK migration: Small boats, asylum hotels and visas - BBC News.
The Migration Observatory has a detailed analysis of the people who are claiming asylum and the trends over time, although this predates the current Immigration and Asylum Bill 2026 going through Parliament. If successful, this bill would have major implications for our young people who have recently arrived in the UK: Asylum and refugee resettlement in the UK - Migration Observatory
However all this misses the point. We are talking about human beings who have already had to uproot their lives - through no fault of their own - because they are in fear of persecution in their homeland.
Human beings who have had to travel long distances alone. Our staff team recently completed a six-week fundraising challenge, covering the distance from Kabul to Canterbury (3,500 miles). This is something many of our young people have had to do, but for months on end and with the knowledge that they can’t return to their homes and families.
Human beings who have had to start again in the UK with nothing. My car was recently stranded on a raised grass verge, again, after walking the dogs, on a busy road. The only car that stopped to help was a taxi driver, who it turned out was a Kurdish refugee and had accessed KRAN services more than seven years ago when he first arrived!
When we were looking to rebuild Great Britain after the war, we invited young, able people from the Commonwealth - this is how my Irish and Bengali parents came to be here. With an aging population and skills gap (Skills England annual skills report 2026), it is more important than ever to invest in supporting young refugees and asylum seekers to contribute to community and society.
Back to the rallies at Dover and Portsmouth. Much has been made of the alleged organising group, its so-called leader - a long-term campaigner against migrants who calls himself a Christian - uses religion as an opiate of the masses.
I leave you/them with this thought: what would the masked Christian patriots do if Jesus had to flee Jerusalem and seek sanctuary in the UK?