Would you fly a flag for your country?

That should say that the German Government have been returning unsuccessful Afghani Asylum seekers back to Afghanistan since 2024.

As The Taliban is Afghanistan, they must be communicating with them.

MayBee70

He wants to negotiate with the Taliban so all the Afghan people who are fleeing Afghanistan because they helped us can be sent back for punishment. Will any country ever trust us again if that happens. Bad enough that we neglected those people in the first place.

Incorrect.

We are NOT the German government!!!!

GrannyGravy13

That should say that the German Government have been returning unsuccessful Afghani Asylum seekers back to Afghanistan since 2024.

As The Taliban is Afghanistan, they must be communicating with them.

Only two flights, the second, of 81 people was in July, all of them had a criminal record, each returnee is given €1000 so they will not be totally destitute

To clarify, the UK also already returns asylum seekers who have criminal convictions to Afghanistan though?

Sorry what is wrong with the Germans now? It is hard to keep up with who are the bad guys these days.

GrannyGravy13

MayBee70

He wants to negotiate with the Taliban so all the Afghan people who are fleeing Afghanistan because they helped us can be sent back for punishment. Will any country ever trust us again if that happens. Bad enough that we neglected those people in the first place.

Incorrect.

Please could you clarify what exactly Farage is advocating re asylum seekers from Afghanistan.

As far as I can tell, Farage has stated that he would attempt to return all Afghans - he hasn't limited them to criminals. The Taliban has said it would be delighted to have people back - even those with a legitimate claim for human rights abuse. The Taliban has also said it would accept Iranians and Pakistanis for a payment.

Maybe I've got that wrong, so I'd be grateful for a well-sourced contradiction.

I’m totally ashamed of the way this country treated the Afghan people and, imo this is just adding insult to injury. Just remember, if a politician can do that to other people he’ll happily do it to you and me and our families, too. Especially as he is a Trump mini me.

growstuff

GrannyGravy13

MayBee70

He wants to negotiate with the Taliban so all the Afghan people who are fleeing Afghanistan because they helped us can be sent back for punishment. Will any country ever trust us again if that happens. Bad enough that we neglected those people in the first place.

Incorrect.

Please could you clarify what exactly Farage is advocating re asylum seekers from Afghanistan.

As far as I can tell, Farage has stated that he would attempt to return all Afghans - he hasn't limited them to criminals. The Taliban has said it would be delighted to have people back - even those with a legitimate claim for human rights abuse. The Taliban has also said it would accept Iranians and Pakistanis for a payment.

Maybe I've got that wrong, so I'd be grateful for a well-sourced contradiction.

So, is Farage including in that all the Afghans now in the UK who helped the British while our troops were in Afghanistan and whose details have been made public in a number of data breaches?

MayBee70

I’m totally ashamed of the way this country treated the Afghan people and, imo this is just adding insult to injury. Just remember, if a politician can do that to other people he’ll happily do it to you and me and our families, too. Especially as he is a Trump mini me.

Latest figures show that between 36,000 and 39,000 Afghan nationals who assisted the British have been relocated to the UK.

Some Afghans who were on our side were also on The Taliban side, not an easy job working out who was legit.

From what I can gather from various sources Nigel Farage wants anyone arriving here by boat or other irregular means will be returned.

As will any asylum seeker who has been granted leave to stay and then commits an offence will be deported.

If I have got this wrong, I apologise.

(Currently avoiding going back to a building site which is my home)

In all honesty, if I in my terraced street suddenly put up a flag pole and the England flag, right now, what am I signifying?

Love of my country, enthusiasm for a sporting event or something a lot more sinister.

Why is any of this "hilarious". It's frightening.

No way. I wouldn’t want people thinking I was a little englander.

I’m actually ok with bunting. I like bunting. There’s a cosiness about it. But I somehow think that the macho flag flyers who are going round with their red and while spray cans spraying shops, zebra crossings etc wouldn’t be.

Isthepopecatholic

No way. I wouldn’t want people thinking I was a little englander.

I wouldn't want people thinking I had spare cash to spend on nonsense.

GrannyGravy13

From what I can gather from various sources Nigel Farage wants anyone arriving here by boat or other irregular means will be returned.

As will any asylum seeker who has been granted leave to stay and then commits an offence will be deported.

If I have got this wrong, I apologise.

(Currently avoiding going back to a building site which is my home)

Does that include Afghans who have worked with British armed forces?

growstuff

GrannyGravy13

From what I can gather from various sources Nigel Farage wants anyone arriving here by boat or other irregular means will be returned.

As will any asylum seeker who has been granted leave to stay and then commits an offence will be deported.

If I have got this wrong, I apologise.

(Currently avoiding going back to a building site which is my home)

Does that include Afghans who have worked with British armed forces?

The Labour Government closed the ARAP on 1st July this year, as far as I know they have no intention of reopening it.

ARAP was the Afghani resettlement programme.

I've just caught up with this thread and I've only read the first two pages and the last one so I might be repeating something that's already been said.

We've started with a thread about the George Cross flag and ended up with Reform UK and immigration. I remember many years ago the George Cross flag being appropriated by skinheads and the National Front who caused a lot of division in the community. It now seems to me that the rise of far right thinking has brought this symbol back due in part to nasty keyboard warriors who can now marshall the old racists and recruit a new generation. The odious Farage has of course tapped into this and can sow the seeds of what he referred to yesterday as social unrest in order to further his own ambitions. It's not just flags on flagpoles, it's George crosses being painted on zebra crossings and islands in the road.

History tells us that in order to thrive, the far right needs someone to blame and we can now see this happening again. Farage has no other policies other than immigration and whilst he talks about illegal immigration, his rhetoric is now leading people to racism becoming mainstream and directed at people whose parents and grandparents were legal immigrants.

Some of the comments on the Daily Mail regarding the Notting Hill Carnival were horrific but those who wrote them forget that the Windrush generation were invited here by our government to rebuild Britain. In effect they're saying "your grandparents came here legally but they've all retired so you can all clear off back to where they came from".

In Wolverhampton this week 2 elderly Sikh taxi drivers were seriously assaulted by youths at the railway station and these types of situations are increasing.

Scary times.

Scary times

Apparently not, it's hilarious. Something akin to a giant street party.

MaizieD

growstuff

GrannyGravy13

MayBee70

He wants to negotiate with the Taliban so all the Afghan people who are fleeing Afghanistan because they helped us can be sent back for punishment. Will any country ever trust us again if that happens. Bad enough that we neglected those people in the first place.

Incorrect.

Please could you clarify what exactly Farage is advocating re asylum seekers from Afghanistan.

As far as I can tell, Farage has stated that he would attempt to return all Afghans - he hasn't limited them to criminals. The Taliban has said it would be delighted to have people back - even those with a legitimate claim for human rights abuse. The Taliban has also said it would accept Iranians and Pakistanis for a payment.

Maybe I've got that wrong, so I'd be grateful for a well-sourced contradiction.

So, is Farage including in that all the Afghans now in the UK who helped the British while our troops were in Afghanistan and whose details have been made public in a number of data breaches?

But Mr Farage told the Mail that those who had served alongside UK and US forces in their home country would be spared deportation.

'There were brave Afghans who supported the British forces and American forces during that 20-year war, who of course, absolutely, of course, deserve recompense for the enormous risks they took,' he said.

Thousands have arrived from Afghanistan since then by small boats and, like other asylum seekers, should be processed and, if necessary, given refugee status.

Not all Afghans who have arrived since those invited worked with British Forces.
Those who did have been welcomed here and helped by local people , the younger ones attending schools here.

Those who arrived here previously have a legal right to remain under the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Programme (ARAP), before being resettled into more permanent homes.
These individuals, including interpreters and mechanics, were granted the right to permanent residency in the UK, not as asylum seekers, but for their crucial support of British operations.

I think racism has now become mainstream politically since Brexit and Farage’s involvement in shaping the political narrative.
Of course we have a problem with illegal immigration but no political party, including Reform, are coming up with workable long term solutions. All we have are knee jerk reactions aimed at keeping those who vote based upon their prejudices on side.

Sadly it was such an undignified scramble to leave Afghanistan that many Afghans were treated shamefully despite their years of service to the British. The accidental release of data compounded the issue and frankly if things had been handled properly no Afghan people,who worked for us, should have had to walk long distances and risk their lives in small boats. It's been a disgraceful mess.

foxie48

Sadly it was such an undignified scramble to leave Afghanistan that many Afghans were treated shamefully despite their years of service to the British. The accidental release of data compounded the issue and frankly if things had been handled properly no Afghan people,who worked for us, should have had to walk long distances and risk their lives in small boats. It's been a disgraceful mess.

I wasn't aware any "Afghans who worked for us" came in the illegal migrant route. Have you got evidence of this?

CariadAgain

foxie48

Sadly it was such an undignified scramble to leave Afghanistan that many Afghans were treated shamefully despite their years of service to the British. The accidental release of data compounded the issue and frankly if things had been handled properly no Afghan people,who worked for us, should have had to walk long distances and risk their lives in small boats. It's been a disgraceful mess.

I wasn't aware any "Afghans who worked for us" came in the illegal migrant route. Have you got evidence of this?

Do you have evidence that they haven't?

On the other hand, we have this BBC story, from May of this year, which doesn't seem to have attracted much attention but has the makings of a scandal:

A UK Special Forces officer personally rejected 1,585 resettlement applications from Afghans with credible links to special forces, newly released documents say.

The files, disclosed by the Ministry of Defence in court on Thursday, show the unnamed UKSF officer rejected every application referred to him in the summer of 2023, in what was described as a "sprint".

The MoD told the court that the officer may have been connected to matters under examination by the ongoing inquiry into alleged war crimes committed by the SAS.

In other words, these people were blocked because of their potential to give damaging testimony against sections of the British army.

I could see that these Afghans might well try their chances on small boats.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cev40r9yve4o