Simran Johal

By Simran Johal THE number of small boat crossings has been rising rapidly, data from the ministry of defence suggests. Up to March 2022, the number of boats was 141, almost double that of the same period in 2021 at 74 showing that the number is already higher than that of the previous year. The average number of people per boat has reached 32 up to March 2022 which is already higher than 2021’s average. Data implies that the numbers don’t show any sign of slowing down.

Like so many people, class didn’t exist for me (insofar as I didn’t really think about it or, perhaps, tried not to) until I was much older. But once I started to consider it properly in my 20s, everything came back to me. I remembered that I was nine when a girl came round to my house after school and next thing I knew, there was a rumour going around school: "Simran must be poor because she has no toys." I remembered that I was 16 when I went on my first ever family holiday abroad to America.

Photographed by Fernanda Liberti Like so many people, class didn’t exist for me (insofar as I didn’t really think about it or, perhaps, tried not to) until I was much older. But once I started to consider it properly in my 20s, everything came back to me.