Latest news with #GoBackToWhereYouCameFrom
Daily Mirror
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Channel 4's Go Back To Where You Came From missed one huge issue with refugees
Campaigner Ella Lambert has visited refugee camps first-hand, and there's one thing that the controversial documentary didn't show at all Channel 4 launched Go Back To Where You Came From earlier this year, following six Brits as they visit refugee camps and make the dangerous journey back to British soil. The idea was for every day people, specifically those who hold strong views against immigration, to replicate the travel undertaken by refugees crossing the border. Across four episodes, the cast were able to speak to and come face-to-face with refugees and get to grips with the reasons behind why so many are desperate to flee their homes. However, Go Back to Where You Came From failed to mention one huge issue in these camps: period poverty, which is thought to affect 26 million refugees. Ella Lambert is the founder of The Pachamamma Project, which collectively creates reusable period products for those in need and has so far helped over 20,000 people. She explained just how unspoken this issue is amongst the mainstream media and its lack of airtime in the series. 'I think what it highlights is that period poverty is always overlooked,' Ella explained. 'And I don't think it's intentionall, it's just that people rarely even consider it.' 'I think the very fact that it's so stigmatised means that it's not going to come up in conversation. If you're going into refugee camps, and you're talking to people about their problems, no one is going to volunteer the information.' Throughout her work with refugees, Ella has noticed that it isn't just a lack of resources but a lack of education, fuelled by long-time myths. She shared: 'There's a widespread myth that you shouldn't wash or shower when you're on your period. 'And so then, you have some people living in refugee camps, like you saw in the show, who don't have access to private facilities; they're in really uncomfortable and not particularly clean conditions; they don't have period products; and on top of that, they're not showering or washing.' Other myths Ella has heard along her time working in camps are 'if your period pad touches a river, the river will run dry' and that 'if you have a menstrual health condition, the only way to solve that is by having sex'. It was during the pandemic in 2020 that Ella founded The Pachamama Project, after her plan to volunteer with refugees in Colombia was disrupted by Covid restrictions. At the time, she saw people making DIY face masks and had known women to use reusable period products, so she combined the two ideas and learnt to create some of the pads herself. As someone who suffers from debilitating periods, Ella was aware of how much it can affect your day to day life and couldn't even imagine what it was like for those with limited resources. With this in mind, she began creating pads that are made to last up to five years, and then donated them to those in need. The impact of her project has had a profound effect on its recipients, including a group of students in Uganda, who are now able to stay in school because they have period products. 'There are women that we supported in our projects in Lebanon, for example, who became really emotional when receiving the pads because they've been having to cut up their kids' clothes,' Ella recalled. She added: 'We've heard of people that we support who were using banana leaves, socks, or scraps of material. Or, unfortunately, just having to free bleed and stay at home because they don't have anything.' For more established camps, there's often a level of infrastructure with washing machines and other facilities that allow people to clean their clothes and therefore make use of the reusable pads. But, as Ella points out, that's not always the case. 'In cases of emergency, we have provided disposable products. And so we did that in Ukraine and bordering countries like Poland and Moldova right in the early stages of the war, where people just didn't have the infrastructure yet to use reusables'. In order to fund this level of transport and equipment needed, the Pachamaama project relies solely on crowdfunding, grant funding and '10 quid here and there'. Ella said: 'We got disposable pads into Gaza, and we did a fundraiser for that. When the wars first started in Lebanon, we did an emergency response, and we got disposable pads into the camp. 'But we also funded water tanks. There were schools that were turned into shelters for displaced people, and we were buying water tanks so that we could provide reusable pads and they could continue using them.' Go Back To Where You Came From received its fair share of criticism, particularly from those in the NGO sector, but the Pachamama founder thought it was "fantastic". As Ella watched the documentary, she was reminded of her own experiences in camps. 'When I was in Lesbos, it was like my mind was blown open because I saw the kind of things that you saw in that show and met people who were living in those conditions, who had the same stories. 'And I remember thinking, if every person met just one of the people that I met here, who heard just one of the stories or witnessed this, they would have a completely different perspective of what it is to be a refugee.' To take a glimpse into the realities of these camps, you can stream all episodes of Go Back To Where You Came From on Channel 4 now.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Has Channel 4 immigration show branded toxic changed anyone's mind?
"In 10 years' time, Britain is going to be full of people wearing burqas. "Islam will have taken over." Chloe Dobbs' first words on Channel 4 reality show Go Back To Where You Came From didn't leave much room for doubt. The 24-year-old YouTuber and conservative political commentator from Cornwall knows her opinions were "controversial". So was the programme. Some charities accused it of platforming "toxic views" and giving a distorted idea of what refugees really go through. But after being thrown in with five other Brits - all with differing views on immigration - has it altered anyone's thinking? In the four-part series, filmed in May and June 2024, participants were split into two groups - one travelling from Syria, one from Somalia. They spent weeks, accompanied by security teams, following the same routes refugees from Somalia and Syria use to reach the UK. Recent figures from the government suggest that more than 5,000 Syrians applied for asylum in the UK in the year ending September 2024, with 940 applications from Somalians. In the same time period, 3,385 people arriving from Syria came on small boats - the third most common nationality to come to the UK this way. The charity Freedom From Torture criticised the show as "dehumanising and downright dangerous". It said genuine refugees would not have the same resources and the programme could "never truly convey the unpredictability and the danger of what that journey actually feels like". Chloe travelled back to the UK from Syria, where the UN estimates 14 million people were forced to flee their homes after the outbreak of civil war in 2011. In the series, she was seen clashing with fellow Brit Bushra Shaikh, who had a more sympathetic attitude towards migrants and refugees. Since returning to the UK Chloe says she's able to see the crisis more from her point of view. "Purgatory is the word that I would use to describe the situation that so many people are in," says Chloe, having now seen the crisis close-up. "We saw a lot of really heartbreaking stuff." Meanwhile, Mathilda Mallinson travelled to Somalia. The 29-year-old journalist from London has previous experience working in refugee camps and tells Newsbeat she "wasn't expecting to have my views on immigration drastically changed". But by spending so much time with the other participants, she says she has learned to be more understanding of different points of view. "I really don't think that polarised, heated, angry debate gets anyone closer to the middle ground," she says. "A key part of the journey for me was just listening to the reasons that people feel different ways. "I was never going to be the person who helped them see... that was going to come from meeting refugees themselves." Both Chloe and Mathilda agree that more needs to be done to build a better understanding of the migrant crisis in the UK. "The bit that the media focuses on generally is the crossing from France to Britain," says Chloe. "It's very easy to think, if you just watch the news in the UK, that all of the displaced people in the world, they're all coming to Britain. "When actually there are millions and millions of people elsewhere in the world." Mathilda agrees, saying she was taken aback by the scale of the problem away from Europe, which she rarely sees reported. "It was so overwhelming to see the scale of the displacement crisis," she says of when they visited Dadaab in Kenya, formerly the world's largest refugee camp. "This is what we need to see more of in our storytelling in our coverage of the refugee crisis, because it really helps to put into proportion what we are dealing with in the UK and and in Europe." 'I would jump on the boat' says ex anti-immigration campaigner 'I replicated a refugee's journey for a TV show' How many people cross the Channel in small boats? Now back in the UK, Chloe says she received "hateful messages" when the show aired but her experience has definitely changed her views "on a lot of things". She says she hasn't done a "full 180" from where she started and still advocates for "very strong vetting processes" for migrants who want to come to the UK legally. But, she says: "I started to really see these people, rather than just as criminals, as human beings who are in absolutely heartbreaking situation." "It definitely gave me a heck of a lot more empathy for what people are going through." Channel 4 has been approached for comment on criticisms of the show. Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here.
BBC News
25-02-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Go Back To Where You Came From: Has it changed anyone's mind?
"In 10 years' time, Britain is going to be full of people wearing burqas."Islam will have taken over."Chloe Dobbs' first words on Channel 4 reality show Go Back To Where You Came From didn't leave much room for 24-year-old YouTuber and conservative political commentator from Cornwall knows her opinions were "controversial".So was the programme. Some charities accused it of platforming "toxic views" and giving a distorted idea of what refugees really go after being thrown in with five other Brits - all with differing views on immigration - has it altered anyone's thinking? In the four-part series, filmed in May and June 2024, participants were split into two groups - one travelling from Syria, one from spent weeks, accompanied by security teams, following the same routes refugees from Somalia and Syria use to reach the UK. Recent figures from the government suggest that more than 5,000 Syrians applied for asylum in the UK in the year ending September 2024, with 940 applications from Somalians. In the same time period, 3,385 people arriving from Syria came on small boats - the third most common nationality to come to the UK this way. The charity Freedom From Torture criticised the show as "dehumanising and downright dangerous".It said genuine refugees would not have the same resources and the programme could "never truly convey the unpredictability and the danger of what that journey actually feels like". 'Angry debates don't get us anywhere' Chloe travelled back to the UK from Syria, where the UN estimates 14 million people were forced to flee their homes after the outbreak of civil war in the series, she was seen clashing with fellow Brit Bushra Shaikh, who had a more sympathetic attitude towards migrants and returning to the UK Chloe says she's able to see the crisis more from her point of view. "Purgatory is the word that I would use to describe the situation that so many people are in," says Chloe, having now seen the crisis close-up."We saw a lot of really heartbreaking stuff."Meanwhile, Mathilda Manson travelled to Somalia. The 29-year-old journalist from London has previous experience working in refugee camps and tells Newsbeat she "wasn't expecting to have my views on immigration drastically changed".But by spending so much time with the other participants, she says she has learned to be more understanding of different points of view."I really don't think that polarised, heated, angry debate gets anyone closer to the middle ground," she says. "A key part of the journey for me was just listening to the reasons that people feel different ways."I was never going to be the person who helped them see... that was going to come from meeting refugees themselves." Both Chloe and Mathilda agree that more needs to be done to build a better understanding of the migrant crisis in the UK. "The bit that the media focuses on generally is the crossing from France to Britain," says Chloe. "It's very easy to think, if you just watch the news in the UK, that all of the displaced people in the world, they're all coming to Britain. "When actually there are millions and millions of people elsewhere in the world."Mathilda agrees, saying she was taken aback by the scale of the problem away from Europe, which she rarely sees reported."It was so overwhelming to see the scale of the displacement crisis," she says of when they visited Dadaab in Kenya, formerly the world's largest refugee camp."This is what we need to see more of in our storytelling in our coverage of the refugee crisis, because it really helps to put into proportion what we are dealing with in the UK and and in Europe." Now back in the UK, Chloe says she received "hateful messages" when the show aired but her experience has definitely changed her views "on a lot of things".She says she hasn't done a "full 180" from where she started and still advocates for "very strong vetting processes" for migrants who want to come to the UK she says: "I started to really see these people, rather than just as criminals, as human beings who are in absolutely heartbreaking situation.""It definitely gave me a heck of a lot more empathy for what people are going through."Channel 4 has been approached for comment on criticisms of the show. Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here.
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Yahoo
'I would jump on the boat' says ex anti-immigration campaigner
A woman who used to campaign against immigration to the UK has changed her stance after journeying from Somalia to the UK. Jess Hallett, from Llanelli, was one of six opinionated Brits selected to take part in Channel 4's new series Go Back To Where You Came From. She underwent the journey via people smuggling routes, experiencing the terror of small boat crossings, trekking through the African desert and climbing over border crossings. "If I was in their shoes I would be jumping on the boat myself," she said. "There is no life for the people living there." She added that what is seen on the internet is "absolutely nothing to what you see in person". Speaking to BBC Radio Wales Breakfast, Jess said the experience "shook her to her core" and she believes more than ever that people should be seen as people. "When you hear these stories of what these people are going through, they have absolutely nothing. And I mean nothing," she added. The six Brits started their journey in Mogadishu in Somalia and Raqqa in Syria, two of the most dangerous cities in the world, facing scenarios which continually challenge their views. The show features clips of Jess before the experience, where she was adamant her views won't be changed in the process. "I know my opinion is right and I know people will agree with me... why are we continuing to allow the boats in, we are full," she said. She said it's a completely different feeling seeing it right in front of you and the experience has changed her understanding of why people choose to make the journey. Far-right group exposed in undercover BBC investigation UN says 2024 is deadliest year for Channel migrants New crime of endangering lives to target small boat crossings Jess admitted she was not interested in immigration and did not really know much until it came into her life. As a resident in the grounds of Stradey Park Hotel in Llanelli, Jess was vocal in her opposition against plans to house 241 refugees at the hotel in June 2023, taking part in protests at the hotel. "That changed my perspective on everything, I was looking into immigration and finding out what is going on... the stuff I found online was obviously extremely bad and put me into panic mode," she said. The controversial plans to refugees at the hotel were dropped in October 2023, but now she said her strong views on immigration have been completed altered. "What you see on the internet is absolutely nothing to what you see in person," she added. "I think any normal person that went there, if you didn't have any empathy then there must be something wrong," she said. Meanwhile citizenship rules were tightened by the Home Office this week, making it almost impossible for a refugee who arrives in the UK on a small boat to become a British citizen. The new guidance states that anyone who enters the UK illegally will "normally" be refused citizenship, regardless of the time that has passed. Jess said she now seeks out more experiences in different people's cultures, having recently spent three months in Thailand. She said she was inspired by families she met first-hand in Somalia, who made use of their resources from nothing. "What they go through, the families, what they eat... we helped them cook and they were cutting meat up with their toes," she said. "I was amazed by them, an eight-year-old girl was showing me how to cut, it's incredible how they manage with nothing." Recalling what she has taken away from the show, she said: "I don't care where you're from, just be respectful." Go Back To Where You Came From continues on Monday at 21:00 GMT on Channel 4, with the full series available to stream on demand. Students upset by sea deaths learn how to rescue migrants Girl, 7, among five dead on Channel migrant boat BBC sees people struggling on migrant boat before five died
Yahoo
09-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Virgin River' Actor Issues Statement After Mother, Stepfather Discovered Dead At French Home
Scottish actor Callum Kerr has issued a statement following the shock death of his mother alongside her husband in France. UK media previously reported that the bodies of retired fraud investigator Andrew Searle and his wife Dawn were discovered Thursday at their home near Villefranche-de-Rouergue in south-west France. More from Deadline Channel 4 Distances Itself From Tweets Branding European Jews "Lying Scumbags" Posted By Contestant On New Reality Series 'Go Back To Where You Came From' Channel 4 Boss Warns Against UK "Sliding Into American News Swamp" BBC Apologizes After Investigation Finds LA Staff "Joked" About Russell Brand Exposing Himself To Woman In Bathroom It was later confirmed that Dawn Searle was the mother of actor Kerr, who played PC George Kiss from January 2020 to April 2021 in Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks. He also had a recurring role in Fox musical drama Monarch, and appeared in Netflix drama Virgin River. As a musician, he has released a number of country songs. He shared a statement on social media Sunday, saying: 'At this time, Callum Kerr, Amanda Kerr, Tom Searle & Ella Searle are grieving the tragic loss of their mother and father, Dawn and Andrew Searle. No family member is available for media interviews or comments. 'We kindly request that their privacy be respected during this difficult period. We will provide updates as appropriate.' The Guardian newspaper quoted local media reporting the body of Dawn Searle was found first outside the property, surrounded by jewellery. When emergency services were called, they discovered her husband also deceased. BBC News reported the public prosecutor confirming: 'Both died violent deaths, but I cannot establish that either was a homicide. All hypotheses remain open.' Autopsies on the deceased couple will begin Monday. Best of Deadline 2025 Awards Season Calendar: Dates For Oscars, Spirits, Grammys, Tonys, Guilds & More 2025 TV Cancellations: Photo Gallery 'The Apprentice' Oscar Nominees Sebastian Stan & Jeremy Strong On Why It's 'More Of A Horror Movie' With "Monstrous Egos"
