The Refugee Ship

Well different from the practising Christians I know, but each to their own.

Quite easily thank you,

They are not, as far as I’m concerned, welcome and I frankly couldn’t care less about those who disagree.

How do you square that with your Christian faith?

I hope those decisions will be challenged by the government Glorianny.

We don’t have the resources to cope with all these people and we have to take whatever measures are available to prevent yet more coming here. They are not, as far as I’m concerned, welcome and I frankly couldn’t care less about those who disagree.

toscalily

If you are the proprietor of a hotel, B&B, holiday home, small business in a seaside town your customers, and therefore your income will be mainly during the summer you might be accepting of some immigration into your town but when you start getting cancellations as people decide it is not a safe/comfortable place to take a holiday, when you see your livelihood going down the drain you may start to feel less welcoming.

And, I can see that providing buses several times an hour isn't going to go down too well either when you may only get one a day if you are lucky in a rural area. The infrastructure is just not there to accommodate such large groups of men and I do not think it is scaremongering to be voicing these concerns.

And what will these - mainly young men so people say - actually do when they are in town?

What is there for them to do? They don't have much money, only sufficient for basic toiletries, etc. Apart from sitting on the beach in a seaside location, there doesn't seem much they can do.

It's not healthy - not for anyone let alone asylum seekers - they need to be doing something. Maybe something useful for them as well as their host... like improving their living conditions by painting, decorating, or even mowing the grass (if there is any) and creating a sports pitch, or even a flippin' garden area... I dunno, but wandering around aimlessly in an alien location, in an alien culture, with nothing to do, and repeating the same procedure the next day - or stay on-site, is IMO inviting trouble. There really should be a way of giving work to those of them who can and want to work - surely it's possible to devise a scheme, even if it's only to be involved in the running and maintenance of the camp they are in.

And we certainly need to be part of Eurodac again.

Germanshepherdsmum

I trust it won’t be too long. In the meantime more barges.

Liverpool, Edinburgh and London have all refused permission for the ships to dock. Yet another inadequate and ill thought out plan! www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/barges-asylum-seekers-refused-berths-small-boats-b1095189.html

Iam64 that elusive magic wand is desperately needed pronto!

Casdon

I have.
The UK needs to rejoin Eurodac, so we can identify people from the information they provided when they first entered the EU. It includes fingerprinting so there will be positive identification.
The Home Office needs good leadership politically, more staff, trained appropriately and supervised to process the backlog of applications, and most importantly to chase up information with other countries where it is missing. There’s a whole complex process that can’t be operated adequately by an understaffed and demoralised service.
Legitimate asylum seekers who are already in the system should be supported to remain and work in the UK
We should open a mechanism for people to apply legitimately for asylum so that entering the country through a dangerous sea route isn’t the only option they have to get here.
Finally and probably most importantly we should own the issue. If I hear one more person say they are France’s problem but not ours I think I’ll scream.

I agree with this.
I accept our public services/nhs are overstretched and that we have a housing problem. Im ok with the idea of utilising unused military basis.
We should not only allow but encourage asylum seekers to work.
We need to build more social housing with fair rents. A building programme will aid the economy and should encourage companies to train apprenticeships.
I’m no expert but it needs a positive, joined up approach. What we have currently seems to me to have a government determined to fuel a climate of fear if an invading army

Climate change, wars etc will add to the huge numbers seeking refuge, it needs an international response. Yes Saudi, Russia, China and more, that needs to include you. Magic wand anyone

If you are the proprietor of a hotel, B&B, holiday home, small business in a seaside town your customers, and therefore your income will be mainly during the summer you might be accepting of some immigration into your town but when you start getting cancellations as people decide it is not a safe/comfortable place to take a holiday, when you see your livelihood going down the drain you may start to feel less welcoming.

And, I can see that providing buses several times an hour isn't going to go down too well either when you may only get one a day if you are lucky in a rural area. The infrastructure is just not there to accommodate such large groups of men and I do not think it is scaremongering to be voicing these concerns.

Germanshepherdsmum

The trouble with using disused airbases and barracks is that they tend to be way out in the countryside, as with the one in Essex. The men are bussed to the non-cosmopolitan local towns. People in the locality, especially women, are fearful. The property market drops like a stone. Is that acceptable?

I’ll be honest, I don’t see the difference between that and siting them on a ship in a port where they have to be bused in to the nearest place?

Germanshepherdsmum

I trust it won’t be too long. In the meantime more barges.

There is room for three on the river outside westminster. Won`t happen, just dump them anywhere, except London

The trouble with using disused airbases and barracks is that they tend to be way out in the countryside, as with the one in Essex. The men are bussed to the non-cosmopolitan local towns. People in the locality, especially women, are fearful. The property market drops like a stone. Is that acceptable?

Callistemon21 I am all for repurposing unused military bases.

Having been on many both here and abroad the rooms are a generous size, many with en-suite facilities.

Cheap houses and slower pace of life in countryside?
Well, I wouldn't say housing is that cheap in many areas and an influx of people has meant a huge increase in traffic, Oreo

Casdon

It’s much cheaper to use disused airbases though surely?

Disused airbases and barracks will have accommodation that has been considered suitable for our own Armed Forces so it should be ideal for single men.

Joseann

eazybee

As a Londoner have seen for myself how hostile Devon and Dorset can be towards incomers of all sorts

Perhaps that was because of your condescending attitude, Joseann; 'stuck in the mud people', a bench of old grannies' conflict and resentment between old and young.'
I have lived here for thirty six years and never encountered hostility as an incomer.
Try walking round parks in the Midlands and see who is commandeering all the benches.

Oh dear, I'm not doing very well here today, am I.
The stuck in the mud and old grannie comment was ME, I am both. I have lived on and off in Devon since 1985, so 2 years more than you, eazybee! My children are married to Devonians, my best friends are Devonian, they have every right to worry about Londoners turning up and buying houses here. Same with the Bretons, incomers from Paris are not welcome with open arms. People everywhere are protective of their territory, wary of strangers and scared of change.
Apologies if a condescending attitude was what came across.

When I moved to Devon, aged 21, I was called a "furriner", told to go back where I came from and to stop trying to take a job from local people.
That was by the man in charge of Personnel, the Eatablishment Officer at a large Council.
A lovely welcome.

I decided to by-pass him and applied for jobs directly and was offered three.

It’s much cheaper to use disused airbases though surely?

Yes, rooms would have to be gutted. Remember how cruise liners were requisitioned as hospital ships when we were at war? It would be very costly but so is putting people up in hotels. We just can’t continue as we are.

The solution for all the unprocessed asylum seekers (91,000 at the end of March 2023, more now and increasing ) in the UK, currently in hotels and other facilities would entail 1000 ships, unless two people occupy a double bed or rooms are gutted if big enough and two beds provided. How many cruise ships are there in the world, and what would incentivise private companies to lend them to the UK - and where would they be moored. Sorry, it’s not going to work.

eazybee

^As a Londoner have seen for myself how hostile Devon and Dorset can be towards incomers of all sorts^

Perhaps that was because of your condescending attitude, Joseann; 'stuck in the mud people', a bench of old grannies' conflict and resentment between old and young.'
I have lived here for thirty six years and never encountered hostility as an incomer.
Try walking round parks in the Midlands and see who is commandeering all the benches.

Oh dear, I'm not doing very well here today, am I.
The stuck in the mud and old grannie comment was ME, I am both. I have lived on and off in Devon since 1985, so 2 years more than you, eazybee! My children are married to Devonians, my best friends are Devonian, they have every right to worry about Londoners turning up and buying houses here. Same with the Bretons, incomers from Paris are not welcome with open arms. People everywhere are protective of their territory, wary of strangers and scared of change.
Apologies if a condescending attitude was what came across.

Who is suggesting 1000+ cruise ships? Repurposed cruise ships could each accommodate thousands of people. Without repurposing cruise ships can hold between 2000 and 4000 people. That number can be increased and they can sit offshore. Better facilities than many British people have,

GrannyGravy13

Casdon

I have.
The UK needs to rejoin Eurodac, so we can identify people from the information they provided when they first entered the EU. It includes fingerprinting so there will be positive identification.
The Home Office needs good leadership politically, more staff, trained appropriately and supervised to process the backlog of applications, and most importantly to chase up information with other countries where it is missing. There’s a whole complex process that can’t be operated adequately by an understaffed and demoralised service.
Legitimate asylum seekers who are already in the system should be supported to remain and work in the UK
We should open a mechanism for people to apply legitimately for asylum so that entering the country through a dangerous sea route isn’t the only option they have to get here.
Finally and probably most importantly we should own the issue. If I hear one more person say they are France’s problem but not ours I think I’ll scream.

I agree that there should be a way to apply to enter the country by legitimate routes, which would put out the people traffickers out of business.

I also agree that the H O should have sufficient staff in order to speed up applications.

Not totally up to date with other methods of identifying people other than Eurodac, other than that we have U.K. liaison officers based in Europol’s HQ.

Even if your ideas were out into plan immediately they do not cover housing, schooling (where applicable) and many of the U.K.’s overstretched infrastructure. The building of new social housing and schools, expanding the health service will take many many years, the Conservatives are not moving quick enough on these and from what I have heard from Labour they will be dragging their heals also.

My understanding regarding Eurodac is that until the end of 2020 the UK had access to the Eurodac system, but from 2021 access has been limited to transfer requests made prior to the beginning of 2021. This really needs to be sorted out urgently.

I personally think the only option the UK has until the necessary actions to bring control of the process in again is to suck it up. That does mean that all over the UK unsuitable accommodation will be used and communities will be affected, but there is no other realistic choice - certainly not 1000+ cruise ships moored offshore as being suggested by others. This is going to continue for months at best.

foxie48

One thing that doesn't work is spreading fear and hatred. Migration is a problem which we need to solve by working together not by setting groups of people against each other. Sadly, often the people who leave their country are the ones who could (perhaps) help to solve the problems that make them leave but they need help and support. This govt has cut overseas aid and is using over a third of what is left to fund these inhumane schemes. This doesn't make sense to me and I endorse what Casdon says.

Definitely agree spreading hate and fear, is not going to help the situation.

Quite simply we can’t accommodate so many people arriving without visas, and immigration has to be controlled. It will take years, and Lord knows how much taxation, to provide housing, healthcare and education for such a huge influx of people - and that doesn’t take account of the very real needs of our own people who have in many cases paid into the system for years,

The people who arrive in boats (other than economic migrants) may have been desperate and fleeing war or persecution once but that ceased to be the case once they arrived in Europe. Yet still there are so many references to desperate people - desperate for what exactly which the UK offers but Europe doesn’t?

I think that pending being able to send people to Rwanda the government should consider two things:

A judicial review of the refusal of port authorities to allow barges to moor.

Chartering ocean liners which have all necessary facilities on board and can weigh anchor and be re-supplied as necessary in the same way as oil rigs. Liners can be repurposed to accommodate more people.

One thing that doesn't work is spreading fear and hatred. Migration is a problem which we need to solve by working together not by setting groups of people against each other. Sadly, often the people who leave their country are the ones who could (perhaps) help to solve the problems that make them leave but they need help and support. This govt has cut overseas aid and is using over a third of what is left to fund these inhumane schemes. This doesn't make sense to me and I endorse what Casdon says.