Children’s Asylum Centre ‘too welcoming’ 😢

Germanshepherdsmum

A bit of sensationalist reporting, one side only.

So why isn’t Jenrick defending himself? It’s quite simple.

Germanshepherdsmum

As I understand it, the staff painted the murals without permission and he said it was a law enforcement centre.

Is that you Mr Jenrick?

NanaDana, spot on! I can't help thinking that some politicians are playing to a certain (ignorant, tabloid reading) audience - those they hope will vote for them.

Forget the abysmal 'government' we've suffered, the underfunding of public services, the poor state of the NHS and education, the strikes for decent wages, the cost of living - etc. - let's just concentrate on getting tough with migrants - the root of all evil. Pathetic, just pathetic.

the top and bottom of the issue is the shameful Home Office decision to paint over murals, painted by caring volunteers and designed to cheer up a centre, the purpose of which is to receive unaccompanied child asylum seekers.

It is indeed indefensible, and shaming.

Well said Nanadana. I think you have summed up the original post very well indeed.
Perhaps the naysayers could spend a little time considering your words.

The original post is not about the rights or wrongs of asylum seekers coming to the UK. Neither does it reference how they get here via some imagined, comfortable Cook's Tour type journey through so-called "safe" European countries where they could have simply chosen to break their excursion, rather than dare to break into "fortress Britain". It's not about people smugglers either. It is purely and simply about how those vulnerable children should be treated once they are here and in our care. The idea that they somehow deserve cruel treatment in order to demonstrate that they are unwelcome is a vile, heartless concept, Should they also be fed on bread and water and forced into hard labour? That would really get Jenrik's message across wouldn't it? The total lack of humanity and compassion evident in attempts to justify this shameful episode is truly loathsome. As has so accurately been emphasised before, the top and bottom of the issue is the shameful Home Office decision to paint over murals, painted by caring volunteers and designed to cheer up a centre, the purpose of which is to receive unaccompanied child asylum seekers. Everything else is just an attempt to make diversionary noise. Indefensible.

I think there are separate issues here. I’m not sure anyone is advocating uncontrolled immigration . I would like to “ stop the boats” but it seems this government’s weak policies have made the problem worse. Painting over a mural will not make a jot of difference.

My life is fine too thanks Granniesunite.

I am blessed with a nice family, loads of friends many of whom date back to primary and grammar school and fairly good health for my age.

I just bump along nicely and don’t feel unhappy. However, I do like to keep up with what’s going on outside my little bubble and I am genuinely concerned about the number of people arriving here on rubber boats. 12,500 so far this year!!! Costing us millions every day to look after. Look at the staff (nearly 100) all losing their jobs in a hotel because it is needed for immigrants. How can that be right when they’ve worked and paid their taxes and have rents and mortgages to pay. I don’t hear any of you jumping up and down about them!

TBH I couldn’t care less whether people call me unkind, lacking compassion, unhappy or anything else because I know I am none of these.

Maybe you don’t welcome people who come on boats. No one is saying we should encourage dangerous boat crossings. But do we really feel brightening up a detention centre is going to “stop the boats”? We don’t have the prison capacity to lock them all up or and we can’t send them all off to Rwanda. Brexit has meant we can’t return them to Europe. So there has to be a better policy. Cooperate with the EU to smash the criminal gangs many of whom are operating out of the U.K. Set up safe and legal routes via our embassies abroad and process asylum claims within a reasonable time - say 6 months instead of 6 years. Employ more staff to do this and train them properly.

Granniesunite

Not matter what you say or how you say it it still comes across to most people as something else.

I do believe you must find everyday life difficult and unhappy.

Me? What a strange comment. My life is good thanks.

I loathe this ‘we are an island so people can only get here on small boats so let’s criminalise and humiliate them.
I don’t understand the suggestion refugees stay on the first ‘safe’ country they land in. Greece/Italy - you’re on your own. If these asylum seekers reach France - doubly on your own, just don’t try and get to the uk. We have jenrick and Braverman. Be afraid

Not matter what you say or how you say it it still comes across to most people as something else.

I do believe you must find everyday life difficult and unhappy.

I absolutely agree. I don’t welcome people of any age arriving here without permission. They are coming from countries which are safe.

My son suggested that maybe the mural was painted over because Mickey Mouse should be wearing high heels and a dress and Minnie should be wearing trousers and a flat cap. 🤣

Callistemon21

None of this has anything to do with the Home Office painting over murals designed to cheer up a centre, the purpose of which is to receive unaccompanied child asylum seekers.

Yes it does because I am trying (as I believe is GSM) to reply to comments which suggest that people who think like us lack compassion and are unkind.

I believe in controlled immigration and believe until we sort out our own problems we should not be allowing thousands of boat people in who we know nothing about.

Mallin

Callisetc. Not smack his smarmy silly face? Oh dear. Reminds me of the T shirt I saw on the mother of 5 under 7’s
“I may have the look of a placid kind mother on my face but inside I’ve smacked three of you already “

I am a pacifist 😁

Callisetc. Not smack his smarmy silly face? Oh dear. Reminds me of the T shirt I saw on the mother of 5 under 7’s
“I may have the look of a placid kind mother on my face but inside I’ve smacked three of you already “

Nannashirlz

I think media aren’t reporting it correctly because anything to bash the tories they will do no doubt the truth will come out soon because I’m sure he’s got kids and wouldn’t do that but as others have said staff painted it over and maybe they thought Micky being black was racist 🤣 who knows how ppl think nowadays

You’re joking

ixion you will also be delighted to know that lots of info is on separate excel spreadsheets too - downloadable but hard to cross reference.

None of this has anything to do with the Home Office painting over murals designed to cheer up a centre, the purpose of which is to receive unaccompanied child asylum seekers.

Who pays the smugglers? Someone is responsible.

Primrose53

Cossy

foxie48

Primrose53 many refugees are well educated with skills, they have often had a good standard of living in their own country, want to work and create a new life for themselves. Most wish their own country was a place they could stay. Another way of looking at it is to consider that once refugees have leave to work they are actually adding something valuable to this country and unlike "homegrown" workers we have not had to nurture or educate them. I think it's sad that there is such a misunderstanding, spread by racists in the main, I'm afraid, that refugees are coming here to "milk" our society. It really isn't true.

I did outreach work and worked both inside a jobcentre and seconded to an LA and I worked with several migrants and care-leavers, some of whom arrived in this country as unaccompanied minors - a very small percentage of those purporting to be under 18 clearly were over 18. However on the whole refugees, whatever route they took to gain entry to the UK are desperate people, lots of them were well educated and spoke English well. Please remember there is a huge difference between a refugee, an economic migrant and travelling romanies - we have all three in this country

I also have vast experience of working with people entering this country when Idi Amin threw them out of Uganda. Hundreds of them! I went into local high schools to talk to the kids, I interviewed people for jobs, I found jobs for people, I helped collect furniture and other basics for families who were moving into houses with nothing.

I visited them in their homes, ate with them, helped with form filling etc and made some friends who I am still in touch with today over 50 years later!

The difference is almost all of them held British passports and came here legally. They were well educated and many had professional jobs in Uganda. They literally came with a suitcase and a few quid, everything else was stolen from them before they left. They certainly could not have found sums like 15,000 € to pay people smugglers. As they had passports and ID and qualification records they were able to find work fairly soon AND we knew who they were and something about their backgrounds.

Ugandan Asians are some of the most successful business people in this country and worked hard from the day they set foot here.

None of this has anything to do with the Home Office painting over murals designed to cheer up a centre, the purpose of which is to receive unaccompanied child asylum seekers.

What you describe in your post is a failure of the British Government to deal with asylum seekers arriving here.

Yes, I have friends who arrived here from Uganda, some with their families, and one dear friend who arrived on his own.

They've all contributed immensely to this country in many ways.

Germanshepherdsmum

Marthjolly1

GSM. I am absolutely horrified by your total lack of understanding of the plight of these poor souls who are fleeing the worst of atrocities imaginable. You are beyond pompous

Has it occurred to you that people stopped fleeing when they reached a safe country? After passing through several safe countries why are they still described as desperate?

One of the reasons children come here is because they have family members already here. Sadly some of them are also exploited and ill used by family members and others. They also become deeply ashamed of their origins and try to conceal it. Even the most successful do this. Mo Farah for example en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Real_Mo_Farah
Thanks are due to the teachers and school who sorted out British citizenship for him-no matter how they did it.

I couldn’t agree more. You can’t compare them with people coming here on dinghies, many of whom don’t speak English and have no intention of contributing to this country but every intention of taking from it. Explain otherwise the group of migrants I have already described encountering, demanding benefits in a police station.

Cossy

foxie48

Primrose53 many refugees are well educated with skills, they have often had a good standard of living in their own country, want to work and create a new life for themselves. Most wish their own country was a place they could stay. Another way of looking at it is to consider that once refugees have leave to work they are actually adding something valuable to this country and unlike "homegrown" workers we have not had to nurture or educate them. I think it's sad that there is such a misunderstanding, spread by racists in the main, I'm afraid, that refugees are coming here to "milk" our society. It really isn't true.

I did outreach work and worked both inside a jobcentre and seconded to an LA and I worked with several migrants and care-leavers, some of whom arrived in this country as unaccompanied minors - a very small percentage of those purporting to be under 18 clearly were over 18. However on the whole refugees, whatever route they took to gain entry to the UK are desperate people, lots of them were well educated and spoke English well. Please remember there is a huge difference between a refugee, an economic migrant and travelling romanies - we have all three in this country

I also have vast experience of working with people entering this country when Idi Amin threw them out of Uganda. Hundreds of them! I went into local high schools to talk to the kids, I interviewed people for jobs, I found jobs for people, I helped collect furniture and other basics for families who were moving into houses with nothing.

I visited them in their homes, ate with them, helped with form filling etc and made some friends who I am still in touch with today over 50 years later!

The difference is almost all of them held British passports and came here legally. They were well educated and many had professional jobs in Uganda. They literally came with a suitcase and a few quid, everything else was stolen from them before they left. They certainly could not have found sums like 15,000 € to pay people smugglers. As they had passports and ID and qualification records they were able to find work fairly soon AND we knew who they were and something about their backgrounds.

Ugandan Asians are some of the most successful business people in this country and worked hard from the day they set foot here.