Can we discuss the migrant crisis in a sensible and humane way?

The reason why it’s mostly young men-
Young men are prepared to make the perilous journey, which can take many months and cost ££££s. Many women and children would not attempt this ( some do of course) and culturally is is seen as the man’s job . The hope is for the men to find a safe country where they can establish themselves and then they hope the women can legally and more easily join them.

libra10

Most of those crossing the channel are young men. If they are fleeing from war-torn countries, why are they leaving their womenfolk behind to deal with the chaos?

Most of the young men are single desperate for a better life and willing to take the risk, it’s a dangerous journey for a young woman likely with children, they will be in refugee camps or with family, as safe as they can be.

Coco51

The problem is exacerbated by the lack of infrastructure. How can we house thousands of refugees in decent and affordable homes when there is a crisis in social housing and the poorest have to tolerate uninhabitable properties? When we wait upwards of 5 weeks for a GP appointment how can we offer decent healthcare to additional individuals and families? Schools are so radically underfunded, that ESL support is not adequate. Many refugee children are severely traumatised yet our child mental health services are overwhelmed by existing needs. I’m sure there is an image in refugees minds that all will be well if they reach Britain, but the reality is quite different, and why should they want to come to our overcrowded little Island when they are already in a safe country - France?

Maybe they have family in the UK and can speak English. there's no reason they should have to stay in France.

If they had family living legally in the UK, it’s not too difficult to get a visa but I’m sure most crossing the channel in dingys have a contact, probably not legal.

The French don't exactly welcome refugees do they?

They house them in tents, we offer 3 or 4 star hotel accommodation, with pocket money.

No wonder they love the UK.

paddyann54

Maybe ban the use of "illegal" immigrant and just call them people.No one is "illegal" .Using that term is ramping up the bias.People have always left their country of origin and looked for a better life ,in war and in peace .
Many of those arriving will be valuable citizens and contribute to communities around the 4 nations IF we find the way to incorporate them into society instead of making them live in detention centres barred from working for a living .
I was appalled at the opinions on teh Jeremy Vine show yesterday by people who you would think had a brain,,,but it seems the NIMBY is alive and well in 2022 .
Put yourself in their shoes before judging these desperate folk

I think that the best solution would be for the UK coastguards instead of picking them up and bringing them ashore would be to pick them up and take them straight back to France. Illegal immigrants are supposed to stay in the first safe country they get to which is not the UK. We are a small country and we are full up. We do not have a problem with the NHS or a housing shortage or a lack of school places, we just have too many people. I worked for 56 years and paid all my tax and insurance to this country and now because we have hundreds of thousands of extra people the services cannot cope. 400 illegal immigrants arrived in just ONE DAY recently, they all have to fed and clothed etc at our expense. It would be interesting to see how many do-gooders are going to take, usually fit young Afghan men into their homes.

libra10

The French don't exactly welcome refugees do they?

They house them in tents, we offer 3 or 4 star hotel accommodation, with pocket money.

No wonder they love the UK.

The French don't exactly welcome refugees do they?

What rot.

France also grates at moral lectures from Britain; 83,000 asylum applications were lodged in France over the past year, compared with only 31,000 in the UK. In 2020, the UK registered 5.78 asylum seekers and refugees per 10,000 inhabitants, compared with 16.93 for France, 19.52 for Germany and 60.57 for Greece.

Rights of asylum seekers in France: domasile.info/en/what-social-rights-do-i-have-as-an-asylum-seeker-in-france/#housing

ajswan

paddyann54

Maybe ban the use of "illegal" immigrant and just call them people.No one is "illegal" .Using that term is ramping up the bias.People have always left their country of origin and looked for a better life ,in war and in peace .
Many of those arriving will be valuable citizens and contribute to communities around the 4 nations IF we find the way to incorporate them into society instead of making them live in detention centres barred from working for a living .
I was appalled at the opinions on teh Jeremy Vine show yesterday by people who you would think had a brain,,,but it seems the NIMBY is alive and well in 2022 .
Put yourself in their shoes before judging these desperate folk

I think that the best solution would be for the UK coastguards instead of picking them up and bringing them ashore would be to pick them up and take them straight back to France. Illegal immigrants are supposed to stay in the first safe country they get to which is not the UK. We are a small country and we are full up. We do not have a problem with the NHS or a housing shortage or a lack of school places, we just have too many people. I worked for 56 years and paid all my tax and insurance to this country and now because we have hundreds of thousands of extra people the services cannot cope. 400 illegal immigrants arrived in just ONE DAY recently, they all have to fed and clothed etc at our expense. It would be interesting to see how many do-gooders are going to take, usually fit young Afghan men into their homes.

What do we do about this? No matter how many times people are told that what they think is the case is just plain wrong, we get the same tired old comments, again and again.

Let's just do this one.

Illegal immigrants are supposed to stay in the first safe country they get to which is not the UK.

That's not the case. That was the case when we were in the EU and party to the Dublin agreement, but now there is no obligation for an asylum seeker to seek asylum in the first country they arrive in. That went when we "Got Brexit Done", I'm afraid.

I suppose, in the end, it doesn't matter where they may or may not be obligated to claim asylum.

This will be settled on whether this country (the government), feels any obligation or willingness to allow them to stay here.

No doubt the Court will sort that out, at the Judicial Review.

Raab says he is unsure what the result will be:

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/rwanda-asylum-seekers-courts-raab-b2102366.html

Don’t fret all coming to a neighbourhood near you soon then let’s hear you saying oh the poor single young illegal migrants men then. Village not far from me 700 ppl live in it and up to 1500 single men are moving their real soon and don’t think I own my home won’t affect me. Because ppl that live there do. Beautiful village about to be ruined. No mention of the 16 that got here on boats and disappeared into cars and yes we don’t take as many has other countries but we an island not as big. But no we put them in 4 star hotels and I’ve witnessed with my own eyes so don’t give me oh no we don’t because we do. What you want to be asking yourself is why most are young fighting age men.

Deciding whether people are granted asylum is a whole different thing to deciding whether to deport them to Rwanda, though.

Nannashirlz

Don’t fret all coming to a neighbourhood near you soon then let’s hear you saying oh the poor single young illegal migrants men then. Village not far from me 700 ppl live in it and up to 1500 single men are moving their real soon and don’t think I own my home won’t affect me. Because ppl that live there do. Beautiful village about to be ruined. No mention of the 16 that got here on boats and disappeared into cars and yes we don’t take as many has other countries but we an island not as big. But no we put them in 4 star hotels and I’ve witnessed with my own eyes so don’t give me oh no we don’t because we do. What you want to be asking yourself is why most are young fighting age men.

This is just rambling.

I expect they are young fighting age men becuase there is a plot to infiltrate the UK and take it over from within, then we'll all have to wear burkas and stay at home all day.

Good God. I know we should be understanding of people's worries about immigration, but sometimes it all just gets too much to deal with. ?

@volver
Regarding applications, France is 2.5 times the size of the UK; Spain twice as big; Germany 1.5 times the size of our country.
Like @ajswan says - our infrastructure is overloaded, we cannot cope with all these people.

It’s simple those who come to the UK with a Visa are legal, those who arrive without a Visa are illegal.

They may well claim asylum or we may rescue them for humanitarian reasons. If we can identify them they are sent back.

I will continue to use illegal because until they are proven refugees that is what they are.

When you compare stats of how many refuges apply and are granted asylum in each country do we needs to take into account land mass,population, and birth rates as just a start in considerations. For example Germany is aprox 1.5 times bigger than UK and France 2.5. While Greece is about 1.9 times smaller and has a very small population 10.7 million. Greece however has a very low birth rate and high ageing population they really need immigrants. My question is what is the criteria for any country in determining how many immigrants they choose to accept, because I haven’t a clue

libra10

@volver
Regarding applications, France is 2.5 times the size of the UK; Spain twice as big; Germany 1.5 times the size of our country.
Like @ajswan says - our infrastructure is overloaded, we cannot cope with all these people.

It was applications per head of populations.

Doesn't matter how big your country is. You can't make people live at the top of an Alp or in a desert. Although I'm sure that would be popular with some people on here.

Greenland now. That's very big.

Why don't they take more refugees, that's what I'd like to know.

Just to stir it up - asylum seekers having reached eg France have reached safety and isn't that what seeking asylum is all about, safety, free from persecution. Why are asylum applications not made in France then EU citizenship before then applying to live in UK. A lot of the meaning of asylum seems to get lost when someone is already in a safe country. Yes some will have families in various countries, may not speak various languages but are these really barriers to seeking asylum in the first safe country an asylum seeker arrives in.

volver

libra10

@volver
Regarding applications, France is 2.5 times the size of the UK; Spain twice as big; Germany 1.5 times the size of our country.
Like @ajswan says - our infrastructure is overloaded, we cannot cope with all these people.

It was applications per head of populations.

Doesn't matter how big your country is. You can't make people live at the top of an Alp or in a desert. Although I'm sure that would be popular with some people on here.

If a country is already overpopulated then how does it make sense to have applications per head of population? That just makes it more overcrowded.

Is the UK meant to cover every inch of green space and farming land with housing? Because that is where it will end if people keep arriving at the rate of sometimes 500 per day. We also have mountains, forests and moorland to take into account, and there's not really much space is left when you see how our towns are increasing in size.

What's "overpopulated"? I wonder how people in Gaza manage.

It’s not rambling it’s actually fact and you know nothing volver just look at our schools our nhs our housing. Read attached

Because that is where it will end if people keep arriving at the rate of sometimes 500 per day.

It would take 36 years for the UK population to double at that rate - and even then the country wouldn't be "full".

Nannashirlz

It’s not rambling it’s actually fact and you know nothing volver just look at our schools our nhs our housing. Read attached

But more people = more people producing = more people paying taxes = more money to build schools and hospitals. Simples!

Taxes do not fund spending

Are some people for real we are not Gaza and I couldn't care less if its over populated or not what a ridiculous statement.

We are a small Island what should we do, let all and sundry in that's Labour and Lib Dems stance, keep building houses for them all never mind some British people have been waiting years for a place to call home. Then when we have no land left to build homes on and house people what then when they are still coming?