Capsized boat in the channel - 30 to 50 on board

The majority of those saved were actually saved by a fishing boat which coincidentally happened to be nearby when the dinghy deflated.
news.sky.com/story/they-surrounded-our-boat-screaming-for-help-fishing-crew-saved-31-stranded-in-the-english-channel-12767879

People are either Asylum seekers or refugees they can’t be both.

Migrants are simply those entering a country for work. They are neither asylum seekers or refugees.

Confusing the terms doesn’t help to understand the situation.

Refugees are forced to flee to save their lives. A migrant chooses to move. These are migrants not refugees.

25Avalon

Refugees are forced to flee to save their lives. A migrant chooses to move. These are migrants not refugees.

How can you possibly know that yet? We don’t know their backgrounds, or what countries they came from?

They had £5000 each and were in a safe country ie France.

25Avalon

They had £5000 each and were in a safe country ie France.

You don’t know. They may be from a war torn country, with relatives in the UK and have scraped enough together by selling all their worldly possessions. You don’t know, you’ve made it up based on your own assumptions.

25Avalon

They had £5000 each and were in a safe country ie France.

For the n millionth time. Asylum seekers are not obliged to stay in any specific 'safe country'. This is International Law.

As for having the money to pay the traffickers, even if it hasn't been scraped together from various sources, it's still possible to be comparatively well off and still need to seek asylum. Your argument is completely specious.

Completely agree with jennifereccles and*25Avalon*...I'm not a hard hearted person but our NHS...Schools etc cannot cope as it is...

What a load of bull** I’m reading in some posts. Do you imagine for one minute that anyone, anyone? especially with young children would risk their lives crossing the Channel in a small boat, in December, if they were able to get here by other means.

No matter if you have the cash to buy an air ticket, a ferry ticket or a train ticket for the tunnel you cannot. Cannot!

Read the government’s own website.

Quokka
Yes I can understand that they would see no danger.
I would imagine that most of the migrants have no experience with the sea. If you stand on that stretch of coastline you feel you could almost touch the lights of Dover. The sea is like a mill pond, you see ( probably for the first time) this huge inflatable, powerful outboard is provided and, a life jacket.
What could possibly go wrong 😥

I turned off the radio in disgust after hearing the usual "My heart goes out to the families" from the likes of Suella Braverman. I don't believe she has a heart anyway, but I am sick of this hypocrisy which demands that every comment on any tragedy has to start with the "thoughts and prayers" stuff.

Sorry, rant over. And breathe.

Oh so 43 of them are being treated in hospital where my friends husband has been in A&E for 40 hours after having had a stroke.

farview

Completely agree with jennifereccles and*25Avalon*...I'm not a hard hearted person but our NHS...Schools etc cannot cope as it is...

So let the refugees work and pay tax and build more schools and hospitals. Some of them might even be teachers or medics.

Bignanny2

Oh so 43 of them are being treated in hospital where my friends husband has been in A&E for 40 hours after having had a stroke.

In Dover?

25Avalon

They had £5000 each and were in a safe country ie France.

How do you know?

25Avalon

Refugees are forced to flee to save their lives. A migrant chooses to move. These are migrants not refugees.

How do you know?

growstuff

Bignanny2

Oh so 43 of them are being treated in hospital where my friends husband has been in A&E for 40 hours after having had a stroke.

In Dover?

They won’t need hospital treatment unless they have hypothermia or were injured in transfer. I would guess most were checked over and have been moved to a migrant centre by now.

growstuff

25Avalon

They had £5000 each and were in a safe country ie France.

How do you know?

The ones who speak English told the fishermen who picked them up they had paid £5,000 for the trip.It was reported on Sky News. 40 in an inflatable at £5,000 each. It’s big money for the traffickers.

growstuff

25Avalon

Refugees are forced to flee to save their lives. A migrant chooses to move. These are migrants not refugees.

How do you know?

What are they fleeing from when they are in a safe country?

25Avalon

growstuff

25Avalon

Refugees are forced to flee to save their lives. A migrant chooses to move. These are migrants not refugees.

How do you know?

What are they fleeing from when they are in a safe country?

Let’s put it another way 25Avalon. The UK has a catastrophic disaster, and your brother lives in Australia. He offers you safe haven. To get there you have to go in two stages, with a stopover in Qatar. When you arrive at Qatar you are told that it’s a safe country, and refused the option of travelling to Australia because their government doesn’t want pensioners, they are a drain on resources. How would you feel?

25Avalon

growstuff

25Avalon

Refugees are forced to flee to save their lives. A migrant chooses to move. These are migrants not refugees.

How do you know?

What are they fleeing from when they are in a safe country?

How do you even know where they're from or anything about their background?

25Avalon

growstuff

25Avalon

They had £5000 each and were in a safe country ie France.

How do you know?

The ones who speak English told the fishermen who picked them up they had paid £5,000 for the trip.It was reported on Sky News. 40 in an inflatable at £5,000 each. It’s big money for the traffickers.

Aha! So they didn't have £5000 on them at the time. Have you thought that their families and friends might have clubbed together to find the £5000?

Coming to this late so apologies if someone has mentioned this but the government imo are going about this the wrong way in that they seem to be trying to target the gangs responsible when they should be removing the need for people to use these gangs. Which is probably far too compassionate and sensible for them.

I’ve thought of people in this country who couldn’t raise £50 or £500 yet alone £5,000. How do you know families clubbed together?

If I wanted to get to my brother in Australia and made it safely to Qatar I wouldn’t risk my life to get there by putting to sea in an unseaworthy vessel, especially not as the Australians would turn me away for doing so.

I'm horrified at (thankfully) a few comments on this thread that lack any empathy let alone grace

Those poor people, try to just think fir a moment, would you risk such a crossing if you felt safe and welcome?

These are human beings, someone's children, someone's grandchildren

Honestly die a little inside reading far too many awful comments lately by people who would cry "bully!" If I told them what their comments actually show the rest of us about them