Yvette Cooper / Migrant Watch / Stopping The Boats

Callistemon213

^*We can't just stack them up in hotels, barges or army barracks and hope they go away or even worse*^

I'd just like to point out the "Army barracks" I know of, being sneered at on GN, consists of decent housing recently occupied by army families, now occupied by Afghan families.

Many British families desperately waiting for social housing would be thankful for them and I'm sure the Afghan families are thankful and relieved to be living here too. Local people have been generous and kind in helping them.

No sneer here about the accommodation, it's the time taken to process people that is the issue and the resulting backlog leading to people being unable to start making a contribution to our society that I posted about.

Mollygo

I didn’t say and I don’t think that they are mutually exclusive, even though that’s what you imply. But if that makes you happy . . .

I’d like to think you’re right about the people speaking up here for refugees are also helping, donating to or campaigning for people in need in the UK.

Well done Choughdancer, LizzieDrip and Wwm2
👏👏👏

Ah sorry Mollygo; I wasn't getting at you! I just used your post as an example of caring about both; apologies for any misunderstanding.

Chocolatelovinggran

People in my church are generous donaters to the local food bank.
A church member runs a weekly group in our church hall for English conversation which is well attended and supported by immigrants of many nationalities.
Compassion can, and does, take many forms.

And it is possible to care about more than one group of people.

Thankfully.

*We can't just stack them up in hotels, barges or army barracks and hope they go away or even worse*

I'd just like to point out the "Army barracks" I know of, being sneered at on GN, consists of decent housing recently occupied by army families, now occupied by Afghan families.

Many British families desperately waiting for social housing would be thankful for them and I'm sure the Afghan families are thankful and relieved to be living here too. Local people have been generous and kind in helping them.

Establishing safe and legal routes for refugees to settle in Britain will not deter those who are planning on crossing the Channel from doing so, and we know as much given that such routes already exist. Since 2015, the UK has resettled around half a million refugees into Britain using established safe and legal routes. These routes are intended to help those most at risk, and have therefore prioritised resettling those from areas of intense conflict such as Afghanistan, Ukraine, and Syria.

Yet despite the existence of these routes, irregular crossings across the Channel have consistently increased throughout this period, reaching almost 50,000 people in 2022 alone.”
(Migration Watch Website)

People in my church are generous donaters to the local food bank.
A church member runs a weekly group in our church hall for English conversation which is well attended and supported by immigrants of many nationalities.
Compassion can, and does, take many forms.

I didn’t say and I don’t think that they are mutually exclusive, even though that’s what you imply. But if that makes you happy . . .

I’d like to think you’re right about the people speaking up here for refugees are also helping, donating to or campaigning for people in need in the UK.

Well done Choughdancer, LizzieDrip and Wwm2
👏👏👏

👏👏👏

LizzieDrip

Spot on cloughdancer👏👏👏

Seconded

Spot on cloughdancer👏👏👏

Mollygo

*We can't just stack them up in hotels, barges or army barracks and hope they go away or even worse*

Totally agree. I’m looking forward to the solution which stops that.

It doesn’t stop me being concerned for the homeless, jobless and poor already living in this country.

Caring about refugees doesn't stop people being concerned about the homeless, jobless and poor in this country.

Many of my friends volunteer to feed people in need in my town and also support refugees. The issues are not mutually exclusive. I volunteer in a charity shop that helps refugees, and the people who run the shop and several of the volunteers also cook and/or serve weekly for a group that feeds people in need of a meal 365 days of the year.

This idea that you don't care about people in need in the UK if you care about people from other countries has, IMO, been promoted by the last government, to distract from their own lamentable record of failing both. 'A classic case of divide and rule'.

I don't know any Gransnet members personally, but I would not be at all surprised if the people speaking up here for refugees are also helping, donating to or campaigning for people in need in the UK.

Hear, hear Mollygo

We can't just stack them up in hotels, barges or army barracks and hope they go away or even worse

Totally agree. I’m looking forward to the solution which stops that.

It doesn’t stop me being concerned for the homeless, jobless and poor already living in this country.

Yes WW, I hope that too

MayBee70

LizzieDrip

Agreed foxie and Iam.

I will never forget the images of desperate people at the airport in Afghanistan holding aloft British passports and clinging onto the wings of the final plane to leave. Absolutely heartbreaking!

In a civilised world, these people deserve refuge.

We let those people down so badly didn’t we.

Yes it was quite dreadful, and I would hope that it is not who we are.

We did MayBee. It was a terrible blemish on us as a country.

LizzieDrip

Agreed foxie and Iam.

I will never forget the images of desperate people at the airport in Afghanistan holding aloft British passports and clinging onto the wings of the final plane to leave. Absolutely heartbreaking!

In a civilised world, these people deserve refuge.

We let those people down so badly didn’t we.

foxie48

What makes me very sad is that there is so much misinformation that feeds this horrible rhetoric about refugees. If you try to put the correct information, you are immediately accused of wanting to swamp the country with illegals which makes it hard to have a proper grown up conversation. Migration of all sorts is an issue for every country and if we want to remain a country with influence in the world we have to a) play by the rules, b) acknowledge our responsibility towards refugees who have a tie to this country and c) be prepared to put sensible efficient systems into place to deal with genuine and not genuine refugees. We can't just stack them up in hotels, barges or army barracks and hope they go away or even worse, use them as a means of garnering support.

Yep

What makes me very sad is that there is so much misinformation that feeds this horrible rhetoric about refugees. If you try to put the correct information, you are immediately accused of wanting to swamp the country with illegals which makes it hard to have a proper grown up conversation. Migration of all sorts is an issue for every country and if we want to remain a country with influence in the world we have to a) play by the rules, b) acknowledge our responsibility towards refugees who have a tie to this country and c) be prepared to put sensible efficient systems into place to deal with genuine and not genuine refugees. We can't just stack them up in hotels, barges or army barracks and hope they go away or even worse, use them as a means of garnering support.

Well said foxie48, LizzyDrip and Iam64.

Agreed foxie and Iam.

I will never forget the images of desperate people at the airport in Afghanistan holding aloft British passports and clinging onto the wings of the final plane to leave. Absolutely heartbreaking!

In a civilised world, these people deserve refuge.

Good post foxie. The majority of asylum seekers in my town are from `Afghanistan, they would have been eligible for asylum had the departure been properly managed. The second largest group is from Syria so highly likely to get refugee status.
The uk is not a soft touch. We take less refugees than Germany or France

nanna8

I feel sorry for the real refugees escaping persecution and wars. These blow ins are jumping the queue of people who really, really need help. The UK is obviously a soft touch and very attractive to the boat queue jumping people and the answer to that is blaringly obvious.

I also feel sorry for real refugees which is why we need a decent and humane way of processing legitimate claims. Unfortunately the Conservative government changed the law so anyone arriving without permission to claim asylum is illegal but to claim asylum you have to be on British soil. this makes it pretty impossible to claim asylum legally. eg We left lots of people in Afghanistan who would have been eligible for asylum without any means of legally claiming asylum and when they manage to find their way across nearly 6K kilometers escaping the Taliban, we say they are here illegally! Just disgraceful.

What is the answer nanna8?

I feel sorry for the real refugees escaping persecution and wars. These blow ins are jumping the queue of people who really, really need help. The UK is obviously a soft touch and very attractive to the boat queue jumping people and the answer to that is blaringly obvious.