So-called ‘migrant crisis’

Where's my offence ?
Or is it because you don't like opposition ?

Ah Well, I guess I have been made a fool but never mind life goes on .

GabriellaG54, I did realise my mistake but couldn't edit it.

This thread has so many insults.

Just said in News, police have arrested two men , one British, one Iranian involved with smuggling people in.

If in fear for your life and flee your country , I do wonder why after arriving in a safe country with your children you risk life by crossing the channel.

Is this what you want?

annie
Exactly what many of us are saying.

I am shocked by the level of hatred and xenophobia too Iam64 and I’m not even a Christian. It is so sad that some cannot find it in them to understand the plight of these people.

Anyone who reaches the UK in a dinghy or in the back of a lorry are here illegally, therefore have to be treated well but investigated and either granted leave to stay or deported back to their country of origin.Many are not at all poor and have paid thousands of pounds to get here, and have passed through various EU countries, all of which are safe havens for true refugees wanting asylum.
It’s not unkind, it’s the system that most countries operate to avoid illegal immigrants slipping in by the back door.
Stop insulting other members on here because you don’t happen to agree with their thoughts on the matter.

Every society has its yobs. Look at these clearly white youths attacking pensioners playing bowls...not a refugee or asylum seeker amongst them

White Yobs attack Pensioners at Bowling Club

I fear increasing the number of patrol boats in the Channel will make matters worse. Traffickers will use it as a reason to press for even higher payments for an unseaworthy boat.

It's not the Mediterranean - it's a short journey and they know that with more patrols there will be a better chance of sinking dinghies being spotted.

In other words, 'It's not dangerous. You WILL be rescued!'

That was in response to GG’s sad little post ???

The concept of 'do as you would be done by' has been around for much longer than the Charles Kingsley 'Water Babies' story. There's an Egyptian fable which concludes: "That which you hate to be done to you, do not do to others." The ancient Greek Epictetus said: "What thou avoidest suffering thyself, seek not to impose on others." The converse is Kingsley's 'Mrs Be-Done-By-As-You-Did' who taught the golden rule of civilisation: if you don't or wouldn't like it yourself, then best not do it to someone else.

During conflicts around the world, in many different cultural settings, we know that people have stood up against injustice at great cost to not only themselves, but also their communities. Surely, as individuals and as a caring society, we have a moral duty to supply aid at the time and place of need. The world is changing at a great pace, is it getting to be an uncomfortable place for us in the west now that our comforts are possibly being encroached upon by others? Maybe it's time to share a little more with those who, through an accident of birth, have not had the advantages we take for granted here in the UK.

The argument about housing our own homeless population is for another thread, but maybe just ponder the fact that in this country, according to the government's own figures the number of empty homes in England in October 2017 stood at 605,891. Of these, 205,293 were classed as long-term empty properties (empty for longer than six months).

Chewbacca Wed 02-Jan-19 20:26:50

You have made some good points, Chewbacca. There does need to be some regulation and organised resettlement programmes for asylum seekers who are claiming refugee status. As I posted above, people fail to recognise the difference between migrant, asylum seeker and refugee.

Why, when I've visited my family in Australia, do I always need a visa then pay an arm and a leg for health insurance
Some may criticise Australia but they accept refugees under the UNHCR system and also award visas under their Humanitarian Programme, so their system is well-regulated, as is their whole system of entry to Australia for anyone.

Jalima1108
Are we all supposed to wear sackcloth and ashes? We can't help EVERYONE and beat ourselves with sticks to empathise with others in those situations.
Should we wail and cover our heads instead of enjoying the life we have?
That would be tantamount to spitting in the face of our parents and their parents and our country who have/ which has nurtured and educated us and given us advantages not found everywhere in the world. We give millions of billions in aid to countries ruled by despots, the vast majority of which is creamed off before the dregs arrive at the target.
Should we therefore still support people from countries whose own governments fail their populations despite taking our money?
Religion and hatred begets war and wars will continue to the end of the world. Mark my words.

The seven categories (or criteria) used by UNHCR to select refugees for resettlement include:
Legal and/or Physical Protection Needs of the refugee in the country of refuge (this includes a threat of refoulement)
Survivors of Torture and/or Violence, where repatriation or the conditions of asylum could result in further traumatization and/or heightened risk, or where appropriate treatment is not available
Medical Needs, in particular life-saving treatment that is unavailable in the country of refuge
Women and Girls at Risk, who have protection problems particular to their gender
Family Reunification, when resettlement is the only means to reunite refugee family members who, owing to refugee flight or displacement, are separated by borders or entire continents
Children and Adolescents at Risk, where a best interests determination supports resettlement, and
Lack of Foreseeable Alternative Durable Solutions, which generally is relevant only when other solutions are not feasible in the foreseeable future, when resettlement can be used strategically, and/or when it can open possibilities for comprehensive solutions

We do need to have compassion for those who have suffered, and we also need to provide sufficient resources to be able to sensitively process asylum seekers. The system is under-staffed and inefficient at the moment.

X post with Gabriella, it was not in reply to your post - I am not sure why you have addressed that to me?

If we have enough 'yobs' here why would we want more?

Jalima1108
My response at 22:43 was in reply to your comment at 21:42 re the disparity of two Christmases with the photos.

Ah!
Well, I am sure that very many Syrians would like nothing better than for their own country to be at peace and for help to rebuild it. That is why the people in the camps in Northern Syria and just over the borders in Turkey etc are not attempting the crossing over to Europe.

But if you can look at those photos and remain unmoved about their plight, then it helps us all on here to understand your views.

I should say that I have hesitated before joining in this discussion because for me it's personal. I have three young Afghan foster sons who have made a wonderful life for themselves in this country and have studied, worked long hours, paid taxes and are just about to buy a business here. According to the UN, more than 10,000 civilians were killed or injured in Afghanistan in 2017 and it is expected that this number will be exceeded in 2018. As a family living in Afghanistan wouldn't you urge your young people to flee to safety? I would.

I speak about Afghanistan, but other countries are equally volatile and dangerous and, having lost a close relative to war, I know I would do anything I could to get my own family to a safe haven.

If we have enough 'yobs' here why would we want more?

This little girl has a question too, GabriellaG:

If I cannot do anything about it...what would worrying being sad, wailing or praying (if I was a believer) do?
This is the tip of the iceberg.
Poverty and dismal living conditions have been going on for thousands of years. Remember Biafra? One of too many areas in crises past and present, to mention.
I can't spend my life being upset and 'moved' by situations outside my control. That would be foolish and a waste of the life my parents gave me.

Ask the politicians. I don't run the country (ies)

I don't think anybody's asking you to "weep and wail" Gabriella. I suspect there's no chance of that anyway, judging by your contributions to this and other threads.

What I, and I suspect others, find unacceptable is the scathing generalisations you make about people whose lives and experiences you know nothing about.

The Trump like attitudes shown by many on this thread make me despair.

That is a desperate and very silly jibe.

People not in favour of ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION are in my view, showing some common sense in the face of all embracing liberal stupidity - very evident on this thread.

People have compassion but they also have a right to ask why people with no papers are creeping into the UK , via the channel, in the dead of night. Is that not a fair response or does only the "hug an illegal immigrant no matter who he is or what he has done" fit the bill?

Do we offer the hand of friendship to all, with no expense spared, with no questions asked?

Imagine that scenario, worldwide. Global anarchy.

Does common sense ever prevail in the heads of the liberal elite who find condemnation of anything - even illegal immigration - unthinkable?

'Never condemn' is their byword, unless it's not in keeping with their all-embracing, liberal philosophy, and please do not attempt to scale their moral high ground. That is the liberal left sub-text. It is laughable. I think it is also anti-establishment and anarchic at heart - a bid to see the established order toppled.

Those who express understandable concern regarding ILLEGAL immigration are according to the self-righteous posters, "not like Jesus" and "Trump-like". It's pathetic and given the current climate of atrocities around the world, alarming that such dangerously liberal attitudes are held.

Corbyn sees terrorist Hamas as 'friends'. I suppose it's to be expected that his followers also hold out the hand of friendship to anyone entering the UK illegally.