Go Back to Where You Came From: documentary reviewed by a Pakistani refugee
“As a Muslim activist, refugee and advocate for asylum seekers, I am really happy Channel 4 took the initiative to make a documentary series on the reality which many asylum seekers face when coming to the UK.”
Illustration by Sadia Sikandar
By Sadia Sikandar
As a Muslim activist, refugee and advocate for asylum seekers, I am really happy Channel 4 took the initiative to make a documentary series on the reality which many asylum seekers face when coming to the UK.
In Channel 4’s new documentary, Go Back to Where You Came From, six ‘opinionated Brits’ are sent on a journey through some of the most dangerous asylum routes to experience refugee life up close in some of the world's most dangerous places.
Unfortunately, because many countries in conflict and war have no safe routes, many asylum seekers and refugees have to endure these dangerous journeys to arrive in the UK.
In 2018, I flew to the UK with a visa. I have not faced this initial struggle which a lot of asylum seekers face. But, during my six years in the UK, I have seen so many hateful words and headlines in different newspapers about migrants.
The worst we have seen were the various riots that in some places became violent and aggressive during July 2024. It was quite an alarming situation for all of us with lived experience of seeking asylum, especially ethnic minorities and even those who are living in this country as 3rd generation migrants.
In the documentary, Bushra Shaikh spoke about her experience of being bullied in the UK and hearing racial slurs from her peers. This is a common experience and has continued from generation to generation. During the riots, we heard some of these slogans from the far right protesters: “go back where you come from”, “they took our jobs” and “they are illegal.” Many immigrants often hear these anti-migrant insults.
On their journeys the participants on the show explored the reasons why people left the country which they journeyed to, highlighting some harsh realities often underreported in the British media. They met different families in Somalia and in Syria, asking several questions to understand their challenges while living in ruins, derelict houses and temporary camps.
Although immigration is always a hot topic in the media, the families opened up about the reasons why they left their country, something which western news channels and journalists have largely failed to address.
I loved the part in the documentary when Jess, one of the ‘opinionated Brits’, sits down with a Somalian family. The Somalian woman in the family talked about really difficult things, which often occur, like forced marriage, rape and female genital mutilation.
Many women who seek asylum are often the victim of gender-based violence, domestic abuse, human trafficking, sexual exploitation or torture. They have often fled persecution, war, forced marriage, or other forms of oppression, seeking safety and protection.
Jess apparently doesn’t want to see her front garden full of immigrants. She later revealed at the age of 16 she was sexually assaulted. Because of her past trauma, she claims she is terrified of seeing immigrant men living in hotels near her house.
I have huge solidarity with every woman who has been through this but it doesn’t mean immigrants are to blame for what happened in her past.
In the episodes exploring Syria, during their conversations the Brits discovered that 96% of people live below the poverty line with no running water, electricity and houses in horrific conditions, with many people in Syria earning the equivalent of $1 a day.
Can any British person survive on $1 earnings a day? This is equivalent to 78p.
This revelation shocked the British participants of the show, who, while they slept, were woken up because they felt their lives were in danger there.
But the documentary failed to highlight that, for the normal Syrian, they might not wake up the next day, they may even end up in the hospital, shaken by bombs rather than woken by bird song.
The Brits thought Syria was scary. Syria is not scary, the international countries involvement and their greed made this country scary.
They also showed how Syrians are living in Lebanon, and how, if they go out after 8pm, they are at risk of getting robbed or killed. Or how, if the Lebanon government found anyone without papers, they would be deported.
This is the harsh reality which many Syrians go through before arriving in the UK. They have no choice left but to take dangerous routes to safety.
We have also seen very strong Islamophobic rhetoric from people like Chloe, who travelled from the UK to Syria. Chloe, when openly expressing her dislike for Muslims, took particular issue with the hijabs and burqas often worn by Muslim women. She apparently does not want to see the streets full of burqas and hijabs in the next few years.
I felt sorry for her after hearing this. She failed to understand that the hijab is not just a representation of Muslims, religious head coverings have a history of being used in many religions and different cultures including Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism.
Chloe’s interactions in the series stayed with me, especially the part when they were in the hospital watching the current victims of an attack get treatment. She had no shame, having racist conversations in the middle of the hospital corridor. I would think most people there understand some English even though it’s not their first language, and to think they were hearing her controversial opinions as they lay suffering in a hospital bed, is upsetting.
For many refugees it’s life and death, between the mountains and crossing the channel, Chloe was enjoying it like she was on vacation. That’s how most people looked at the asylum seekers’ journeys. They thought refugees were on a world tour.
While recording these episodes the Brits had a medical team, security guards, food and transport to connect them and keep them safe. Most refugees travel without basic medicine, food, money, or even proper shoes and appropriate clothing for the weather.
They put their last will in their pockets in case they die during the journey to the UK so that someone can inform their family or relatives that they have passed away.
One major point of contention for people, which Channel 4 failed to highlight, is the belief that asylum seekers and refugees are living the luxury life in hotels. I know many new refugees living in hotels whose basic needs are not met.
I would advise whoever makes a new documentary on asylum seekers and refugees in the future, to please have a conversation with new and experienced asylum seekers in the UK to make documentaries more close to reality.
However, I am really looking forward to the future. Channel 4 could critically examine the UK’s asylum policies. The real issue lies in the systemic injustices of the asylum process: indefinite detention, inhumane hotel accommodations, the threat of deportation, and the dehumanisation of those seeking refuge.