The Refugee Ship

Joseann

I live in a coastal town not a million miles from Weymouth. The vast majority of the population in these places are White British and often elderly.
Ethnic minority groups make up a tiny proportion, probably around 1 - 2% of the local population. From my observations, unfortunately they stand out like sore thumbs. I'm guessing this is the same in very White Welsh Llanelli.

Coming from London as I do, and living there a lot of my life, I think that in comparison the refugees would be better swallowed up in a city where ethnic minorities make up around 20 - 25%
and they would also feel more comfortable and less obtrusive.
Where they could be accommodated though would be a major problem.

So cling , form communities together, within a community. Bring your home culture with you, completely. Don't bother integrating with the majority,dont, bother learning English, multicultural ism does not work. When my sister moved to Germany , very little of the language spoken, now more German than English in some ways, she integrated, we laugh about this. You can't keep dumping people into a city, just because it's the easiest thing to do. Keep your own culture, but embrace the new one you have chosen to come to. I forget how many times I've had to employ a translator, very expensive,out of NHS funds,because people have not bothered to learn even the basic .English, although been here for years. In Spain you have to pay. I remember one colleague, fluent French speaker, stayed behind after her shift ended, to help this woman from Africa , could only speak French she intimated. Turns out she spoke good English. Manipulative or what. They also bring their culture wars with them to ours homes. We don't want it or need it.

Where else do you suggest they go if they have to be accommodated somewhere in the UK though? There isn’t an available accommodation for 80,000+ placements of 1000+ asylum seekers per site in a city. Much as I disagree with the government’s handling, oppose the stupid Rwanda plan and believe there could be a lot less people waiting for decision than there are now, I don’t see an alternative while we are in the position we are. It’s all very well being a NIMBY, but what is the answer currently?

In the deprived north east and west, we have many refugees as well as white British from London shipped here because rents are cheap.
My town has a growing African community, we had very few ten years ago

I wonder why they can't go straight to family members in this country who would be responsible for housing and feeding them whilst their applications are processed. It's unlikely anyone would abscond from their own families. Money saved could be used for more rapid processing and then they could start working if they are given that status

I couldn’t agree more Joseann. Exactly the same difficulty with putting them in rural Essex.

I live in a coastal town not a million miles from Weymouth. The vast majority of the population in these places are White British and often elderly.
Ethnic minority groups make up a tiny proportion, probably around 1 - 2% of the local population. From my observations, unfortunately they stand out like sore thumbs. I'm guessing this is the same in very White Welsh Llanelli.

Coming from London as I do, and living there a lot of my life, I think that in comparison the refugees would be better swallowed up in a city where ethnic minorities make up around 20 - 25%
and they would also feel more comfortable and less obtrusive.
Where they could be accommodated though would be a major problem.

That’s what many young families are seeking, a better quality of life, definitely Oreo. It’s amazing how much more freedom to live where you want has come with working from home.

Callistemon21

Casdon

Glorianny

The UK population is still growing but much more slowly. Scotland and Wales will experience population decline without migration.

I don’t think in all fairness that’s true Glorianny- we might in Wales if English people didn’t keep deciding they like it better here and moving - the population is rising, particularly since lockdowns have meant more people can work from home, we’ve had so many families where I am moving in that the schools and housing market are struggling. I imagine Scotland is the same, people want to live in beautiful places if they can find work.
One of the challenges for immigrants though is that they want to maintain social connections with people from the same background, as we all would if we moved to a different country. They find it hard to settle in rural communities with rubbish public transport and very little suitable work, no local religious centres, poor access to the food they are used to, etc. so they gravitate to cities where all those things are available. I was involved to a small degree as the NHS rep on resettlement schemes, and that was one of the major headaches.

we might in Wales if English people didn’t keep deciding they like it better here and moving

I know that's true but it did make me laugh, Casdon 😁

Cheap houses and slower pace of life in countryside?

There simply will not be enough full time jobs for all these people. They will not all be doctors, dentists, engineers and the like. And where will those granted asylum live? We don’t have sufficient decent affordable housing for people born in this country, and that’s unlikely to change any time soon. Medical care is stretched to the limits already. Any ideas, anyone?

Blinko

Biscuitmuncher

It's like modern day slavery, there's big money being made by bringing all this cheap labour in, and no one wants to stop it

Not sure how it can be ‘slavery’ if they’re not permitted to work…

They abscond at the earliest opportunity, and look for work in the black market, . Earlier this year asylum seekers found working illegally in a car wash,travel to and from on their tax payer funded bikes. The Polish owner pleaded ignorance.

Casdon

Glorianny

The UK population is still growing but much more slowly. Scotland and Wales will experience population decline without migration.

I don’t think in all fairness that’s true Glorianny- we might in Wales if English people didn’t keep deciding they like it better here and moving - the population is rising, particularly since lockdowns have meant more people can work from home, we’ve had so many families where I am moving in that the schools and housing market are struggling. I imagine Scotland is the same, people want to live in beautiful places if they can find work.
One of the challenges for immigrants though is that they want to maintain social connections with people from the same background, as we all would if we moved to a different country. They find it hard to settle in rural communities with rubbish public transport and very little suitable work, no local religious centres, poor access to the food they are used to, etc. so they gravitate to cities where all those things are available. I was involved to a small degree as the NHS rep on resettlement schemes, and that was one of the major headaches.

we might in Wales if English people didn’t keep deciding they like it better here and moving

I know that's true but it did make me laugh, Casdon 😁

Dickens

^No country can cope with a huge influx of ½ million people coming in each year.^

Which is, roughly, the equivalent number of people in the UK who die each year (the most up to date figures indicate the death rate is higher). The population doesn't live forever.

But of course, no country can take in an unlimited number of immigrants haphazardly.

However, the civilised world will have to ultimately get to grips with the fact that people will continue to emigrate from countries that are embroiled in both civil and foreign wars (some of which the civilised world has actively participated in); they will also emigrate from poverty and climate disasters. Some will obviously go through the legal channels and others might not have any legal channels left open for them to access.

It's a problem that isn't going to just go away, and if the 'world' shuts its collective doors - we will end up ultimately with gangs of marauding 'pirates' roaming the seas and invading their next door neighbours, and the world will become a very unsafe and unstable planet. We, the civilised world, are not entirely innocent when it comes to the impoverishment of various nations - commercial exploitation has also also played a part in that impoverishment.

As for the UK looking after its own people - it could do just that, if it wanted to, regardless. But it would need a government that wanted to invest in public services, and the wellbeing of the whole nation. And that is not the government we have or have had for the last 13 years.

Immigration and the asylum of refugees has been weaponised and is being used as a political tool. It will not solve the problem which can only be dealt with by a world-wide integrated policy and properly funded and staffed government agencies to deal with it.

Which is, roughly, the equivalent number of people in the UK who die each year (the most up to date figures indicate the death rate is higher). The population doesn't live forever

That assumes that no-one is born to replace the population.

In 2021 there were 586,334 deaths in the UK.
In 2021 there were 694,685 births in the UK.

Grantanow

The cost of hiring and training temporary civil servants to assess asylum claims must be far less than the annual cost of hotels, barracks and barges so I think Braverman is deliberately keeping the assessment slow so as to have lots of unprocessed refugees to play the anti-immigrant card for electoral purposes. Of course Brexit is a contributory factor as leaving prevents the UK returning people to EU countries. Rwanda looks to be a distant dream.

The cost of hiring and training temporary civil servants to assess asylum claims must be far less than the annual cost of hotels, barracks and barges
I agree, Grananow

I think Braverman is deliberately keeping the assessment slow so as to have lots of unprocessed refugees to play the anti-immigrant card for electoral purposes.

However, I'm not sure about that- if the electorate think the Tories are not getting to grips with the situation they may not vote them back in again.

By-elections today!

I would be very interested to know more about the qualifications and skills migrants have. I'm not aware of any audit taking place which would establish whether some have abilites which would be an asset to our country. Many of them may be eager to work/make a contribution to their community, but they are prohibited.

And, why assume, without evidence, that the young men who will be housed on the barge will automatically be a danger to women and children?

Sorry, should read hospitable

I think in the main we are hospital as a county to those who are in genuine need, we have welcomed and helped many in the past, most recently from the Ukraine.
We are a small island and there are limits to how many people we can realistically absorb and cope with.

No country can cope with a huge influx of ½ million people coming in each year.

Day after day we see this, how does that make those who are struggling to make ends meet, whether they are families, singles, or pensioners, living in poor conditions yet knowing no matter how bad your situation is these boat people will be fed & housed as soon as they get to the UK. All very well being eager to welcome any and all if you are living in a leafy suburb in your own house, maybe a car, a good bus service & lots of local amenities.

We do need people to come and work and live here but it has to be controlled immigration not what we have now, totally uncontrolled.

I thought it wasn’t far - I’m assuming most of the places they have chosen are similarly placed, but that’s a guess. I know the one in Llanelli, which has a population of about 50,000 I think is causing controversy for the same reasons. It’s very unsatisfactory for the migrants themselves too, they just need to be sorted out now.

Casdon

I thought the Essex airfield they are using as a detention centre was near Braintree, which is a big place, have I got that wrong?
I think everybody who lives near a detention centre is concerned, they certainly are in Llanelli, but if the government would only sort out the backlog of asylum seeker applications since 2018 there would be much less need for them.

Wethersfield Airbase is 6 miles north of Braintree, in the middle of the countryside.

10:00westendgirl

And there is the root of the problem, Casdon.The huge backlog.Also there seems to be so much mis information floating about, mostly I believe spread by the extreme right wing

What misinformation please tell

And there is the root of the problem, Casdon.The huge backlog.Also there seems to be so much mis information floating about, mostly I believe spread by the extreme right wing .

Even if they sort out the backlog and all are allowed to stay here, where are they all going to live. If the boats don't stop coming thousands more will be arriving, where are they going to live. It's never ending are we to take everyone who wants to come here?

I thought the Essex airfield they are using as a detention centre was near Braintree, which is a big place, have I got that wrong?
I think everybody who lives near a detention centre is concerned, they certainly are in Llanelli, but if the government would only sort out the backlog of asylum seeker applications since 2018 there would be much less need for them.

I have been pondering the current refugee/asylum situation and have come to a conclusion that the U.K. had sympathy with the Ukrainian refugees as they were mostly women, children and the elderly who fled whilst all men (and some women) of fighting age have remained to fight for their Country.

The small boats we see arriving daily are filled in the majority with young men of fighting age.

In my opinion it’s all to do with the optics worrying for some folks who do not look beyond the optics

(Sorry for being a bit convoluted and garbled I am rushing)

Overall, doesn't France accommodate more refugees than the UK anyway - along with Germany and Sweden?

Why do we keep comparing ourselves to other countries when Britain is a fraction of the size? We can't save the whole world.

Primrose53

Freya5

4allweknow

There was one, may still be there on the Clyde (Glasgow) for 1000 Ukraine refugees. No complaints raised then, why now all of a sudden. Whilst there will be genuine asylum seekers amobgst those to be housed on a boat, there will be many economic migrants purporting to be a refugee. Where else can they be housed? Sure the government would appreciate constructive suggestions. Long term UK residents are finding it hard enough to get suitable housing here. Yes the system can probably be improved but again the volume and the cost of verifying every application has to come from somewhere, the taxpayer. Sorry but if I was a genuine asylum seeker fleeing for my life, I think I'd find a boat moored in safe waters to be a haven.

Yes if it was good enough to house rig workers, it's good enough for ? asylum seekers.

Have you seen the conditions the Royal Navy live in? We watched a programme recently and were shocked. Submariners get even worse. Our neighbour served on a submarine and we heard lots of stories about the conditions.

Really, equating our submarines and its living quarters, like that for a reason, to a massive refurbished barge. Sorry but you can't pick and choose, and our brave sailors understand and accept it as condition of their service. Other people should be grateful.