This animation, based on Fuller’s writing, depicts the UK’s “hostile immigration
environment” as a fairytale, drawing on elements of the government’s approach
which have impacted and destroyed the lives of thousands of non-EU nationals.
As Home Secretary in 2012, Theresa May’s policy introduced a cruel new approach
towards immigration that aimed to make life so difficult for people in the UK who
didn’t have the correct documents, that it would force them to leave the UK.
The reality of translating this policy into practice has created a deeply unequal and
rigidly divided society. While citizens benefit from a wide range of human rights, and
enjoy a certain standard of living, others have been deemed illegal – which is a term
with only one use – to justify discrimination.
If ill, they struggle to get healthcare. If released from work, they have no labour rights. If evicted, they may be forced to live on the streets. They cannot drive or open bank accounts, are demonised in media and treated with disgust by a large part of the political establishment.
Michelle Fuller & Arushi Gupta