Children’s Asylum Centre ‘too welcoming’ 😢

A law enforcement centre. Hmmm.

These are children whose parents have "broken the law" on their behalf, who have probably had frightening and traumatic journeys and who need to be cared for because their parents are absent/dead/missing.

I hope we might be able to show them humanity. Frankly, bugger the law. They are children - they have not chosen to be in this situation.

The Tories have shot themselves in the foot with this one.....

Baggs

*Whilst these innocents are waiting, they are held in the most unpleasant circumstances that this government thinks it can get away with. Presumably this includes painting out murals.*

So stories of asylum seekers/refugees being housed in designated hotels are bunkum?

I'm genuinely asking.

Oh baggs they have a room and bed but nothing else. The building may be classified as a hotel, but that is as far as it goes. The issue is that this government has nowhere else to house them. If they had been on top of the whole thing from day one as they should have been this would never be happening.

They have food to obtain, clothes to wash - well day to day living - they can’t work - they have no stability or certainty - the sheer boredom would be sufficient to drive me mad.

VioletSky

That'll fix it!

As soon as children hear there is no longer murals they won't get on the boats at all!

In fact, they will probably just stay in war torn countries and slowly starve if they can't come look at Mickey Mouse!

Quite.

Germanshepherdsmum

By the time my grandchild is of an age to discuss such matters I will be long gone westendgirl. I’m not interested in courting popularity. I don’t feel sympathy for people of any age who could stay in any of the safe countries they have traveled through but choose to pay thousands to people smugglers to come to the UK.

I don't know what to say to you that won't cause you to report me. I honestly don't know how you sleep at night. For someone who has told us all, at length, how hard you worked to become a property solicitor, what sacrifices you made, you seem unable to understand the ambitions of others to improve the life chances of their children. We have agreed on some subjects, disagreed on others, but I am truly shocked, and disappointed at your reaction to the kindness of a few people trying to make children happy.

Contrary to what some of the media wants us to believe, the UK takes a tiny number of refugees, other countries take many many more eg Turkey (3.65m), Germany (2.2m), Pakistan (1.3m), Bangladesh has a million stateless Rohihgyas. Many of the countries that take thousands of refugees are very poor, we are not and it is my belief that we should take our share and we should do it to the best of our ability. I think there are politicians who want to give us a "common enemy", just like Hitler did in Germany, so we focus on that rather than poor govt. We tell people they haven't got school places, decent homes, good services, etc because we have too many immigrants, yet so many of our public services are kept going by people who have migrated here. Have a look at the doctors and nurses in your hospital, who your pharmacist is, who drives your buses and trains, who looks after your old mum in the care home. Just look around you and tell me that we have not benefitted by welcoming refugees and migrants. It is poor policy and a lack of proper funding that creates problems, not people.

I am heartened by seeing how even GNetters who have admitted voting for the party which created a "hostile environment" see this as too hostile by far.

westendgirl

Ixion, why is their this fixation with age ?
Primrose we didn't all see or hear stories of bearded men/ladies. I didn't for one. Its like Suella Braverman saying she is doing what the British people want. Remember Question Time from Exeter ?
There wete two excellent documentaries recently on different channels , one called Evacuation and the otherInside the Iranian uprising which may have given posters an insight into the sheer desperation of people trying to get out.
I think that the British Public have more about them than the Government hopes and that Jenrick has shown us exactly what sort of people they are.
Also wondering if he isnt try to out cruel Cruella in view of murmurs that she is on the move list.Eye for the main chance ?

Well you must have been living in a cave because every news channel, every newspaper and every TV discussion covered the topic of grown men pretending to be children so they can get placed in foster care, get education, get healthcare etc.

My friend is a very experienced foster carer and refused to take a boy who it was claimed was 15 and having had 3 kids of her own and fostered countless teenagers she knew he was in his mid 20s. As she had 3 teenage girls living with her at the time plus female grandchildren visiting she refused.

www.migrationwatchuk.org/news/2021/12/27/surging-illegal-boat-crossings-drive-record-spike-in-asylum-age-fraud

Watch any footage of the daily boat arrivals and you will seldom see a small child. We just watched today’s arrivals and my son said “look at all those poor children.” I swung round to look and realised he was joking.

HPQ I have achieved nothing at the expense of the taxpayer unless you count a state education. I sleep very well thanks and always have. I don’t have sympathy with people who decide to leave a safe country to take advantage of the UK taxpayer and never will.

That's why we need to speed up the processes for checking asylum seekers, Primrose.

I have heard of a couple of cases of grown men pretending to be children and I'm sure it happens.

However, that is worrying if they are placed in an asylum centre like the one mentioned because there will be young, vulnerable children in the centres.

We're failing them.

Whitewavemark2

Baggs

Whilst these innocents are waiting, they are held in the most unpleasant circumstances that this government thinks it can get away with. Presumably this includes painting out murals.

So stories of asylum seekers/refugees being housed in designated hotels are bunkum?

I'm genuinely asking.

Oh baggs they have a room and bed but nothing else. The building may be classified as a hotel, but that is as far as it goes. The issue is that this government has nowhere else to house them. If they had been on top of the whole thing from day one as they should have been this would never be happening.

They have food to obtain, clothes to wash - well day to day living - they can’t work - they have no stability or certainty - the sheer boredom would be sufficient to drive me mad.

But surely even a very basic hotel accommodation is better than what they've fled from?

The lack of stability and certainty is certainly not good but many people born here don't have stability and certainty either.

I agree that what government has done and is doing is manifestly unimpressive but if it were easy we wouldn't be having this conversation on GN because all would have been resolved already both here and in other countries.

Primrose for many years we had teenage exchange students stay with us...usually boys .I well remember 14 and 15 year olds from Turkey who would pass for 25 ,a 15 year old from Portugal who was so sophisticated my 19 year old daughter asked to see his passport and he definately WAS 15 .There were several who had beards some who smoked a number who were used to wine with their meals .
I certainly had my eyes opened...they may LOOK older but its very often not the case

My friend has fostered child refugees for some years. The traumas they have suffered are unimaginable - seeing your parents shot in front of you eyes for one child.

I do not think there is a magic wand to solve the problem of more refugees than we are currently able to efficiently process (what a grim word) but I do not begrudge them Mickey Mouse, nor do I think removing him from a wall will change the situation one whit. We will simply be seen as inhumane.

I knew Jenrick was a smug, oily bastard but I wasn't expecting even him to sink this low. Does the moron really believe that people are saying "Ooh let's risk death in a rubber boat because there are cartoons when we get there" or is he just being gratuitously unpleasant? Probably the latter.

I do not begrudge them Mickey Mouse, nor do I think removing him from a wall will change the situation one whit

Quite.

I doubt that the reason young traumatised asylum seekers want to come here would be "We must get to the UK, they have paintings of Mickey Mouse on the walls there!"

I’ve worked with asylum seeking children who saw parents shot - their crime? Being opposition politicians.

As for the question about how unaccompanied children arrive, remember the kinder transport 1938-1940? Hundreds of unaccompanied Jewish children arrived in the UK. Their parents pooled resources to try and save their children. Imperial War Museum Manchester has a moving exhibition of those children, many now in their 90’s. I spotted a woman who’d been a mentor to me in the 80’s. Every single member of her family perished in the camps.

Bring on Banksy - where does the miserable Jenrick live?

I would be interested to know why the French authorities don't do more to help the young children. Surely they must be aware of their existence, or are they turning a blind eye to their situation?

mayisay

I would be interested to know why the French authorities don't do more to help the young children. Surely they must be aware of their existence, or are they turning a blind eye to their situation?

Why would you reach this conclusion? Why is it up tonthe French, who accommodate so many more than we do

Germanshepherdsmum

I know precisely what you’re getting at and won’t rise to the bait.

I am not baiting you. If I were, I would suggest you stop pretending to be religious because your views on humanity do not fit with any religion and I find them immoral

Callistemon21

That's why we need to speed up the processes for checking asylum seekers, Primrose.

I have heard of a couple of cases of grown men pretending to be children and I'm sure it happens.

However, that is worrying if they are placed in an asylum centre like the one mentioned because there will be young, vulnerable children in the centres.

We're failing them.

It’s a lot more than a couple! There were 1,100 up to Sept 2021, we have now had many thousands more to date to you could probably treble that figure of men claiming to be children.

I am sure the full story will come out soon.

How come we never see migrant women pretending to be children?

In reply to you, I am 64, the obvious answer is that France is a much bigger country than England, obviously. I live in Kent, and I can assure you that KCC has accommodated unaccompanied children for many years, not just recently, and at great expense, and are now at breaking point.
Is it humane to allow young, unaccompanied children to travel across the English Channel in small boats?

mayisay

In reply to you, I am 64, the obvious answer is that France is a much bigger country than England, obviously. I live in Kent, and I can assure you that KCC has accommodated unaccompanied children for many years, not just recently, and at great expense, and are now at breaking point.
Is it humane to allow young, unaccompanied children to travel across the English Channel in small boats?

No it’s not. France should keep them. We have paid them millions and they’ve done nothing but stand and watch the rubber dinghies depart their shores.

It’s just another nail in the Tory election coffin, maybe we should congratulate him on being such a bonehead that he didn’t realise how furious the reaction would be. I think they have a collective death wish for the party.
My money is on there being murals back there in a matter of weeks.

Look out for cartoons in the newspapers tomorrow.