Why British lifeboat volunteers are being accused of treason

Barry Williams/PA Wire

Early September can be a challenging period for Britain’s coastguards as beachgoers try to stretch out the last days of the summer season.

But this year an unlikely new obstacle stands in the way of lifeboat volunteers working along England’s southern coastline: the far-right .

Volunteers from the UK’s Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), a largely donation-funded charity, have faced a torrent of abuse in recent days, as well as allegations of treason, after helping migrants to safety over the weekend amid major anti-immigration protests .

The backlash comes as anti-immigrant sentiments bubble to the surface in some parts of the country – despite the number of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats falling to its lowest level since 2020, according to the Home Office.

Hundreds of balaclava-wearing protesters clashed with police on Sunday night in the coastal city of Portsmouth, southern England, after a small boat carrying migrants was brought into Langstone Harbour.

A similar protest unfolded in Dover on Saturday, with groups of masked men dressed in black shouting “stop the boats.”

In Portsmouth, a group of far-right agitators first attempted to stop lifeboats from bringing the migrants onshore before seeking to block buses from taking the asylum seekers to a processing facility.

The protest appeared to be organized by a group called the Patriot Platform, led by Daniel Thomas, a former associate of the anti-Islamic, far-right political activist Tommy Robinson .

British Policing Minister Sarah Jones said Monday that the RNLI acted “under the direction” of the British coastguard to meet the boat, which was carrying approximately 120 people, and take it into the Portsmouth area.

“A group of more than 200 protesters arrived at the harbour, intending to block three coaches which were due to take the arrivals for processing,” Jones said.

As a result of the RNLI’s involvement, its staff have faced a wave of online abuse and, in the worst cases, physical abuse, according to the organization, with posts on social media calling them “traitors.”

“These two helped facilitate the invasion of Britain last night,” one social media user posted on X, while sharing images of RNLI volunteers. “I don’t know how they can look themselves in the mirror.”

Rumors are also being spread that asylum seekers are being housed on RNLI premises, something the organization has dismissed as “completely baseless and untrue.”

Why are far-right masked men protesting at British ports?

Peter Sparkes, the organization’s CEO, said such abuse was “wholly unacceptable in a civilised society,” and vowed to continue helping “whoever needs our help” despite the threats.

“Recent events have generated deliberate misinformation and a misunderstanding about the RNLI – our purpose, our tasking, and particularly our lifesaving work in the Channel,” he said in a statement.

Volunteers have been told they can choose not to wear RNLI branded clothing when representing the charity in public if it makes them feel safer, according to the BBC.

A very small percentage of RNLI’s total rescue work is focused on the English Channel, Sparkes said, with most migrants rescued in the area picked up by the UK Border Force.

“Illegal immigration is a political issue; the RNLI exists to save lives at sea,” he said on Tuesday. “We will always answer the call, whoever needs our help.”

CNN’s Kara Fox contributed reporting.

巴里·威廉姆斯/PA Wire

9月初对于英国海岸警卫队来说可能是一个充满挑战的时期，因为海滩游客会试图延长夏季的最后几天。

但今年，在英格兰南部海岸线上工作的救生艇志愿者们遇到了一个意想不到的新障碍：极右翼势力。

英国皇家国家救生艇协会（RNLI）是一个主要依靠捐款资助的慈善机构，该机构的志愿者在周末大规模反移民抗议活动中帮助移民脱离险境后，近日遭到铺天盖地的辱骂，并被指控犯有叛国罪。

尽管英国内政部表示，乘坐小船穿越英吉利海峡的移民人数已降至 2020 年以来的最低水平，但随着反移民情绪在英国部分地区抬头，反对声浪也随之而来。

周日晚间，在英格兰南部沿海城市朴茨茅斯，数百名头戴巴拉克拉法帽的抗议者与警方发生冲突，此前一艘载有移民的小船被带入朗斯通港。

周六，多佛也发生了类似的抗议活动，一群戴着面具、身穿黑衣的男子高喊“阻止船只”。

在朴茨茅斯，一群极右翼煽动者先是试图阻止救生艇将移民送上岸，然后又试图阻止公共汽车将寻求庇护者送往处理中心。

这场抗议活动似乎是由一个名为“爱国者平台”的组织发起的，该组织由丹尼尔·托马斯领导，他曾是反伊斯兰极右翼政治活动家汤米·罗宾逊的同伙。

英国警务部长莎拉·琼斯周一表示，皇家救生艇协会（RNLI）“在英国海岸警卫队的指示下”采取行动，迎接这艘载有约 120 人的船只，并将其带入朴茨茅斯地区。

琼斯说：“200多名抗议者抵达港口，意图阻拦三辆即将运送入境人员进行处理的大巴。”

据该组织称，由于 RNLI 的介入，其工作人员面临了一波网络辱骂，在最严重的情况下甚至遭受了人身虐待，社交媒体上的帖子称他们为“叛徒”。

一位社交媒体用户在X上发帖称：“这两个人昨晚协助入侵了英国，我真不知道他们怎么好意思面对镜子里的自己。”帖子中还分享了RNLI志愿者的照片。

还有传言称，寻求庇护者被安置在 RNLI 的场所内，但该组织驳斥称这是“完全没有根据的，不真实的”。

为什么极右翼蒙面男子会在英国港口进行抗议？

该组织首席执行官彼得·斯帕克斯表示，这种虐待行为“在文明社会中是完全不可接受的”，并誓言尽管受到威胁，仍将继续帮助“任何需要我们帮助的人”。

他在一份声明中说：“最近发生的一些事件造成了蓄意散布的虚假信息，并造成了人们对英国皇家救生艇协会（RNLI）的误解——包括我们的宗旨、任务，尤其是我们在英吉利海峡开展的救生工作。”

据英国广播公司报道，志愿者们被告知，如果穿着带有 RNLI 标志的服装能让他们感到更安全，那么在代表该慈善机构公开露面时，可以选择不穿 RNLI 标志的服装。

斯帕克斯表示，RNLI（英国皇家救生艇协会）的全部救援工作中，只有很小一部分集中在英吉利海峡，该地区获救的大多数移民都是由英国边境部队接走的。

“非法移民是一个政治问题；而皇家救生艇协会的存在是为了在海上拯救生命，”他周二表示。“无论谁需要我们的帮助，我们都会响应召唤。”

CNN的卡拉·福克斯对此报道亦有贡献。