‘Forced’ move: Rwandans grapple with own fears over UK asylum seeker plan

Amid high unemployment and a housing crisis, many in Rwanda are apprehensive about the $272m migrant deal with the UK.

Kigali, Rwanda – Lush hills draped in verdure belie the controversies surrounding two locations in Kigali that may soon host hundreds of people who had no plans of ever living in Rwanda.

In northern Kigali, Hope Hostel sits on a hill overlooking the capital.

Across town in the southwest sits the Bwiza Riverside Estate, where manicured greenspaces, fences and small plots of land paint a picture of a quaint neighbourhood – one that, despite its suburban charm, also feels sterile and artificial.

Rwanda’s government has earmarked the two sites to host asylum seekers expected to be sent from the United Kingdom as part of a 220-million-pound ($272m) deal to relocate refugees landing on British shores to the East African country.

After months of wrangling and concerns over the human rights implications of the deal, the UK’s parliament passed the bill late on Monday.