The Economist - UK (2022-03-26)

The Economist March 26th 2022 Britain 23

Religiouscongregations

Prayers answered

W

heninhabitantsofSutton,thena
parish  of  Surrey,  gathered  for  the
opening  of  Trinity  Wesleyan  Church  in
1907,  they  surely  never  imagined  that  a
century later its pews would be filled by co­
lonial  subjects  from  the  Far  East.  They
would  have  been  baffled  by  sermons  in  a
strange  tongue,  and  texts  in  a  foreign
script.  But  “everything  is  guided  by  God”,
says  Jimmy,  one  of  the  new  worshippers.
“He led us to settle down here.” 
Jimmy is one of around 300 Hong Kong­
ers who have recently joined the congrega­
tion  of  what  is  now  called  Trinity  Church
Sutton. Last year nearly 100,000 visas were
granted  for  the  British  National  Overseas
(bno)  immigration  route  for  residents  of
the  territory  opened  in  January  2021.  Sut­
ton, now a London suburb, has been a pop­
ular destination: Hong Kongers are attract­
ed by the low crime rates and local schools.
Although  only  16%  of  Hong  Kongers  are
Christians,  the  share  among  bno arrivals
seems to be higher. One survey by ukhk, a
faith­based  project  set  up  to  welcome
them,  suggests  that  nearly  half  are  Chris­
tians,  mostly  Protestants  (the  sample,
reached via ukhk’s website, may have been
biased towards believers).
The  new  arrivals  have  been  a  boon  for
Britain’s  churches,  which  were  struggling
to  recruit  new  members.  Between  2009
and 2019 attendance at Church of England
services  fell  by  15­20%.  But  most  Canton­
ese­speaking  congregations  in  Britain
doubled or trebled in size last year, accord­
ing to the Chinese Overseas Christian Mis­
sion, a charity based in Milton Keynes. One
congregation, the Manchester Chinese Al­
liance  Church,  has  quadrupled  in  size  to
600 worshippers.
Christians are particularly likely to feel
persecuted  in  Hong  Kong.  Although  there
is  still  more  religious  freedom  than  in
mainland  China,  restrictions  on  worship
are only likely to tighten. Many Christians
were vocal in support of the pro­democra­
cy  movement  that  preceded  the  Chinese
Communist Party’s crackdown on the city.
After  the  introduction  in  June  2020  of  a
draconian  national­security  law,  which
has been used to punish people retrospec­
tively for their involvement in the pro­de­
mocracy  protests,  they  feared  that  they
would  be  in  trouble,  says  Richard  Choi,  a
community organiser in Sutton. 
Churches are hoping that their embrace
of Hong Kongers can make the new arrivals

feelmorewelcomethanpreviouscohorts

of immigrants. ukhk has worked with

hundredsofchurchestohelpmakethem

“HongKongready”,forexamplebyrecruit­

ingCantonese­speakingvolunteers. This

wasinpartmotivatedbya desirenottore­

peatthe“terriblejob”thatchurchesdidin

welcoming the Windrush generation—

peoplefromtheCaribbeanwhocameto

Britain from the late 1940s—says Krish

Kandiah, ukhk’s director. The influx of

formercolonialsubjectsfromHongKong

wasa chancetoensurethat,whenitcame

tooffering help,Christianswouldbe“at

thefrontofthequeue”.

That help has manifestedin various

ways.TrinityChurchnowholdsservicesin

Cantoneseoncea fortnight;nearbyHope

Church isoffering English­languageles­

sonsspecificallyforHongKongers.Segre­

gatedservicesmeanthattheTrinitywor­

shippershaveyettointegratefullywiththe

widerChristiancommunity.Butservices

intheirowntonguearemuchneeded,says

Stephen Lam, another Trinity member

who arrivedfrom Hong Kong lastyear.

“Youuseyourheart’slanguagetopray.”n

S UTTON

Hong Kongers are boosting Britain’s

church numbers

Covid-19inprisons

Close quarters

W

hen covidhit,  Britain’s  ageing  pri­

sons  could  have  been  sites  of  mass

infection and death. Many of the 118 in Eng­

land and Wales were built during the Vic­

torian era and are poorly ventilated. Seven­

ty­two  were  holding  more  prisoners  than

their  theoretical  maximum  capacity.  Pris­

oners were often doubled up in cells meant

for one—typically three metres by two me­

tres.  A  trend  towards  longer  sentences

meant a growing number of inmates were

older, and therefore more at risk of severe

illness.  Officials  estimated  that  without

rigid anti­infection measures, most of the

83,000  they  held  might  catch  the  disease,

and more than 2,000 could die. 

Prisons  immediately  locked  down.  For

the early months of the pandemic, prison­

ers spent an average of 22 and a half hours

per day in their cells. Gym sessions, in­per­

son education, worship and libraries were

halted. Family visits were suspended.

As far as limiting infections and deaths

was  concerned,  the  lockdowns  worked.

The most recent figures, published in Feb­

ruary, show that only 189 prisoners died for

reasons  related  to  covid.  Over  35,000  had

tested  positive.  But  even  as  Britain  re­

opens, prisoners’ lives are not back to their

pre­pandemic  normal.  In  some  facilities,

says Charlie Taylor, Chief Inspector of Pri­

sons, they are still in their cells for up to 22

hours each day. 

The  Ministry  of  Justice  now  permits

prisons  to  remove  all  but  the  least  intru­

sive covid restrictions—quarantining new

arrivals, separating the most vulnerable in­

mates from the rest of the population and

limiting  mixing  in  large  groups.  But  by

March 7th just two adult prisons had done

so.  The  rest  were  still  operating  restric­

tions  that  complicated  access  to  educa­

tion, gyms, worship, libraries or family vis­

its,  either  because  some  facilities  were

closed  or  because  of  limits  on  how  many

prisoners could use them at one time. 

Many  prisoners  without  a  cellmate

have  just  spent  two  years  in  de  facto  soli­

tary confinement. The harm done to men­

tal health can be permanent after just two

weeks locked up alone, says Peter Dawson

of the Prison Reform Trust, a campaigning

charity.  And  the  continuing  restrictions

make  it  less  likely  that  prisoners  will  re­

ceive family visits, which are known to re­

duce recidivism. According to research by

the  Ministry  of  Justice,  prisoners  who  are

visited by their family are 39% less likely to

offend again.

Many  prisons  installed  in­cell  tele­

phones  and  provided  video  calls  for  in­

mates  during  the  pandemic—both  wel­

come upgrades. But they are no substitute

for an in­person visit, says Mr Taylor. And

where restrictions make visits more incon­

venient—some prisons allow them only on

weekdays, when working family members

or  schoolchildren  cannot  come—prison­

ers have missed out. A troubling pattern is

developing  of  visitor  slots  going  empty,

says Mr Taylor, possibly because of incon­

venience or because families have lost the

habit of visiting.

Austerity measures under the coalition

government of 2010­15 saw the number of

prison staff fall from nearly 25,000 to a to­

As Britain reopens, prisoners are still

spending too long in their cells

That little tent of blue