Immigration and migrants

Elless

Can I ask Cossy what part of the country do you live?

Yes of course, I live in Essex, about 37 miles from London. In a large seaside town, so we have more than our fair share of homeless, addicts, some asylum seekers, many nationalities. My own children’s primary school has 30+ languages and was a school governor there for many years. I worked as a front facing civil servant from 2009 to 2022 and for many of these years was front facing in several different job centres across Essex and for over four years was attached to the local authority working with vulnerable groups, including asylum seekers and care leavers, so I do speak from some position of knowledge.

Rise above it Cossy: the other thread you allude to has, as does often happen when there is a long lasting thread, to repetition,

and sometimes deliberately provocative remarks, which are designed to throw off topic by personalising matters.

A lot of people are glad you have started this thread, as I've said several times, best to try and stay on topic.

What it boils down to is that if you present reason and facts you are virtue signalling. However if you comment on the basis of rumour, biased reporting and supposition you have seen the light Cossy. There are plenty of us with you, Virtue Signallers United if that is how others wish to portray it.

Good question Elless.

I’m not talking only about the Clapham attacker, but of the growing trend to be baptised purely in order to be granted asylum. It is a disgraceful practice and makes a mockery of the Christian religion.

Primrose53

It is virtue signalling. Look how great I am, I have compassion, I am not nasty or bigoted or ignorant like you lot! That’s how it sounds.

I could write a book about several years I spent in the early 70s working with Ugandan Asians who were thrown out by Idi Amin and arrived with a small suitcase and a few quid. Now I’m getting accused of having no compassion! I loved working with them and presumably they thought I was OK because they invited me to weddings and other family occasions and some still keep in touch.

They came here legally as most had British passports and they worked extremely hard, often 7 days a week, in order to provide for their families. Some of them are now the wealthiest businesspeople in the country.

There is a massive difference between people like them getting kicked out with just a few days notice and freeloading, mainly fit young men, who see us as the land of milk and honey. They don’t want to work because they know our benefit system will pay them not to. They could be anybody and we can’t do a thing about it.

I think your comments about me are very unfair and quite rude, but I accept this is the way you feel.

I have not, not never would, personally accuse you of bigotry or called out anyone else and targeted them personally.

The tone of some posts though does smack of bigotry.

That’s how they sound to me, just as my original post to you sounds like I’m “bigging” myself up, which I can assure you I’m not.

Can I ask Cossy what part of the country do you live?

Germanshepherdsmum

I wonder what Cossy thinks of those asylum seekers whose applications are refused but who are then advised to get themselves baptised in order to succeed on appeal? Can any decent person condone the abuse of the Christian religion in this way? The Clapham attacker was one such - already a convicted sex attacker and described by neighbours as ‘a good Muslim man’.

I can tell you exactly how I feel about this particular case, and the few others like this, I thinks it’s utterly awful and would in no way condone this act nor want ANY criminal element living here irrespective of their nationality. I think you know this though,

Many feel hostile towards this never-ending uncontrolled of people. And we are all entitled to express our opinions.

Wyllow, setting up legal routes is pointless. Those refused entry, or unwilling to wait for their application to be processed, will come here on boats.

I may be wrong but I saw this thread, Namsnanny as a way to balance the rather unpleasant thread loosely on the same subject.

I think Cossy was trying to start with a clean slate and encourage informed chat/debate rather than the hostility that permeates the other thread. Sorry if I have misinterpreted this.

Unfortunately it seems to have started to spill over here too.

I was grateful for a new place to talk.

Just saying.

In the times I have been to the UK recently I have travelled on my Australian passport. They are not super welcoming when you arrive and I have been warned that I can only stay 6 weeks. If I came on a nasty little boat I guess I could have stayed as long as I liked and then get a trip to some other country, all expenses paid. Time it was sorted isn’t it ?

Germanshepherdsmum

I wonder what Cossy thinks of those asylum seekers whose applications are refused but who are then advised to get themselves baptised in order to succeed on appeal? Can any decent person condone the abuse of the Christian religion in this way? The Clapham attacker was one such - already a convicted sex attacker and described by neighbours as ‘a good Muslim man’.

Well, of course not. but the danger is generalising outward from one bad apple, and I suspect once of the reasons for setting up a dialogue on the terms of the O/P.

1. We need to give migrants a chance for legal routes, biglouis. Ie processing centres before they reach the UK. Without that, few have little choice.

It's been suggested so many times but the government seems intransigent - end result, boats or lorries only option.

2. We need to involve ourselves in European wide discussions on migration patterns and solutions/policing particularly better investing in policing and information sharing. Like Europol.
For example we no longer have access to under the European Criminal Records Information System (ECRIS) post Brexit.

I wonder what Cossy thinks of those asylum seekers whose applications are refused but who are then advised to get themselves baptised in order to succeed on appeal? Can any decent person condone the abuse of the Christian religion in this way? The Clapham attacker was one such - already a convicted sex attacker and described by neighbours as ‘a good Muslim man’.

My views on illegal immigrants (whatever they call themselves) are well known. If they arrived by a non legal route then they are criminals. They should stay in their own countries and work or fight for better conditions. I agree with GSM and others that we do not have the resources to house and look after these people already here.

It is virtue signalling. Look how great I am, I have compassion, I am not nasty or bigoted or ignorant like you lot! That’s how it sounds.

I could write a book about several years I spent in the early 70s working with Ugandan Asians who were thrown out by Idi Amin and arrived with a small suitcase and a few quid. Now I’m getting accused of having no compassion! I loved working with them and presumably they thought I was OK because they invited me to weddings and other family occasions and some still keep in touch.

They came here legally as most had British passports and they worked extremely hard, often 7 days a week, in order to provide for their families. Some of them are now the wealthiest businesspeople in the country.

There is a massive difference between people like them getting kicked out with just a few days notice and freeloading, mainly fit young men, who see us as the land of milk and honey. They don’t want to work because they know our benefit system will pay them not to. They could be anybody and we can’t do a thing about it.

Thank you for your post Cossy. I agree with every word.

growstuff

Oreo

People entering our country in this way via the boats are unknown to authorities here, frequently lie about who they are and where they come from and why they left.We have no idea if either only a few are criminals or a lot.No idea at all.

If we have no idea, you can't claim that these people frequently lie. You can't know one way or the other.

Immigration officials have said so.Some destroy all ID and spin a tale.

No time Lizziedrip
Entrenched views on what? Having different opinions to you perhaps?
Sometimes a short pithy post is better than a long rambling one.

Thinking of the many O/P's we've had expressing a strong political POV.
I honestly can't see why this one is regarded as virtue signalling any more than many others.

Best way to signal disapproval or disagreement is to address the matters at hand?

Wow!

Where is the post where I call you ignorant and bigoted ( they are your own words) or nasty?
You do sound intransigent tho, and not accepting of other views.
I can certainly agree to disagree with your comments, without fake grins or bunches of flowers.

LizzieDrip

Oreo ^We’re not in an Oxford or Cambridge debating society, it’s a forum to dip in and out of.
Virtue signalling describes the OP quite aptly.^

This comment has made me smile because it perfectly sums up the Adam Smith article regarding virtue signalling. You might learn something if you read the article … but then, you might not wish to interrogate your own entrenched views.

www.adamsmith.org/blog/stop-saying-virtue-signalling

Oreo

People entering our country in this way via the boats are unknown to authorities here, frequently lie about who they are and where they come from and why they left.We have no idea if either only a few are criminals or a lot.No idea at all.

If we have no idea, you can't claim that these people frequently lie. You can't know one way or the other.

Oreo 👍
Easybee 👍

I'm wondering if you are being a bit too combative cossy?

Your posts seem to be encouraging people to get upset with you?

A bit counter intuitive if you truly want people to
stop blaming
stop believing the media, who are 'pretending'
stop swallowing
To think and research

So, I still think it must be a slow day for you and your looking to liven it up a bit.😄

There are better ways to entertain oneself.

I find knitting surprisingly good.

Oreo

People entering our country in this way via the boats are unknown to authorities here, frequently lie about who they are and where they come from and why they left.We have no idea if either only a few are criminals or a lot.No idea at all.

I would wager that we all probably have “no idea” who in our neighbourhood are “criminals” or within our working lives whether some of them are “criminals”

Call me naive, if it makes you feel good (& somehow superior), but I tend to judge as I find, and most people I’ve come across in my 65 years of living, working and mixing with people of all nationalities, have been pretty honest decent people and (as far as I know) don’t have criminal tendencies.