At the close of the previous year, two individuals escaped from Iran, Aso and Baran*, who were initially strangers. Their narratives, though eventually diverging, highlight the harsh unpredictability of the UK asylum process, particularly the government’s contentious one in, one out policy.

Prior to his departure from Iran, Aso, aged 28, had converted from Islam to Christianity, which placed his life in severe jeopardy. “I had to conceal my conversion,” he explained. “If discovered, I faced the threat of execution by the Iranian authorities. In November, a relative I trusted arranged for smugglers to help me escape.”

Baran, 33, followed suit a few weeks later, fleeing at the end of December. He had been politically active against the Iranian regime, expressing fears of retaliation from the intelligence ministry. “I had previously been targeted by government forces, shot at with rubber bullets, and assaulted. One day, while I was away, intelligence officers raided my home and confiscated my identification. My relatives warned me not to return, and they helped me escape to another village, where smugglers facilitated my exit to Turkey.” Notably, a rubber bullet remains lodged in his body.

Both men made their way independently to northern France, where their paths would eventually intersect, though they had yet to meet.

In January of this year, Aso and Baran found themselves on the same small boat, attempting to reach the UK. Aso described the crossing as “terrifying.” He had been assaulted by smugglers the previous night and endured eight agonizing hours in the dinghy on his knees. “There was no space to sit, and the waves were crashing against us. It was the most frightening experience imaginable,” he recounted.

Upon their arrival, both were taken to a detention center, where they finally encountered each other. Aso noted that even in the harsh conditions of the facility—where they were confined to their cells for up to 12 hours daily and faced uncertainty about their future—Baran’s calm demeanor made him feel at ease. “Despite the stress, Baran was very composed, and I always felt comfortable around him,” Aso shared.

Their concerns about being sent back to France were justified. The UK government’s one in, one out policy, introduced last July by former Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer in collaboration with French President Emmanuel Macron, is currently being trialed until October 1st. This initiative is intended to deter individuals like Aso and Baran from crossing the Channel in small boats to seek refuge in the UK. Since its implementation, over a thousand asylum seekers have been randomly selected by the Home Office for return to France.

The policy dictates that for every person arriving in the UK via small boat, one individual is forcibly returned to France in exchange for another who has legally entered the UK from France. Those permitted entry are characterized by their lack of prior attempts to cross the Channel illegally. The objective is to render the UK an unattractive destination for refugees, compelling them to seek safety elsewhere. Consequently, individuals like Aso and Baran, who aspire to settle in the UK, are essentially used as unwilling barriers to protect the border from others in similar situations.

Currently, Baran resides on the outskirts of Lille, sleeping under a tree in a park. When I met him in the city center, he appeared to possess little more than his worn jeans, scuffed trainers, an old fleece, and a black plastic-wrapped package containing his Home Office documents. His curly hair was prematurely streaked with grey, and the scent of wood smoke lingered around him from his time spent by an open fire.

In January, upon realizing he was at risk of being sent back to France, Baran pleaded with the Home Office to refrain from deporting him. His detention notes, shared with the Guardian, document his “food and fluid refusal,” indicating a hunger strike, during which he told officials, “I would prefer death to returning to France.”

His appeals went unanswered, and he was returned to Paris in mid-February.