Ascension Island: What to learn about potential migrant processing centre
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he Government is reportedly contemplating reviving plans to fly individuals who arrive to the UK by unauthorised means to Ascension Island.
Multiple reviews say ministers and officers are contemplating the island as a “plan B” if the scheme to ship migrants to Rwanda fails.
The small, volcanic island may host an asylum processing centre in an try to scale back the variety of small boats crossing the Channel.
– Where is Ascension Island?
Ascension Island is a British Overseas Territory, positioned about 4,000 miles from the UK and located within the South Atlantic Ocean.
It is east of Brazil and west of Angola.
The island is round 807 miles northwest of St Helena and slightly below 34 sq. miles in dimension.
– Who lives on Ascension Island?
There isn’t any everlasting or Indigenous inhabitants on the island, reasonably it’s made up of workers and their households who work on the island.
There are round 800 folks residing on the island at any cut-off date, made up of St Helenians, Americans and Britons.
– What facilities are on the island?
The island has two settlements, Georgetown and Two Boats.
It has two navy bases, that are house to the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the United States Air Force, together with an airfield and a BBC relay station.
Ascension Island has a handful of outlets, gyms and swimming swimming pools, and even a cinema and an array of out of doors actions.
– Who governs the island?
Ascension Island isn’t part of the UK, reasonably it has it’s personal Constitution that it shares with St Helena and Tristan da Cunha and is self-governing. The UK is chargeable for defence, worldwide relations and safety on the island.
Ascension Island has 5 councillors and the Governor of St Helena, Nigel Phillips.
The foreign money on the island is the St Helena pound which has the identical price because the pound sterling.
The island was used as a base by the US in the course of the Second World War and as a help base for the RAF in the course of the Falklands War.
– What is the atmosphere like on the island?
The temperature of the island ranges from 20C to 38C with a moist season throughout January to April.
The island has the Green Mountain, which has a peak of 859 metres, in addition to low coastal areas and an array of native wildlife together with turtles, seabirds and crustaceans.