Country Quote by Sajid Javid
“A question has to be asked: if you are a genuine asylum seeker, why have you not sought asylum in the first safe country that you arrived in? Because France is not a country where anyone would argue it is not safe in any way whatsoever, and if you are genuine, then why not seek asylum in your first safe country?”
About This Quote
Source Speech: Press conference, UK Home Office, 2022
The speaker questions why genuine asylum seekers would bypass the first safe country, implying France is unquestionably safe.
In simple terms: Why not seek asylum where you first feel safe?
Key Takeaway
Consider the logic of safe‑country choice.
Themes
asylum policy
legal reasoning
ethics
migration
politics
Mood
critical
analytical
Type
policy
legal
When to use this quote
- immigration interviews
- policy debates
- human rights assessments
Key Concepts
refugee law
country‑of‑origin principle
burden‑sharing
Questions to Reflect On
- What defines a “safe country” in practice?
- How do political narratives shape asylum decisions?
![“That country [Carthage] was rapidly sinking into the state of barbarism from whence it had been raised by the Phoenician colonies and Roman laws; and every step of intestine discord was marked by some deplorable victory of savage man over civilized society.” quote by Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/70c/edward-gibbon-710_barbarism_that-country-carthage-was-rapidly-sinkin_393.jpg)
