Refugees migrants, would you give a room in your home?

[Bubbles]

.

[ippy]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-34150371


How do you feel about opening up our borders and allowing all the refugees in?

Are people here prepared to share their houses with refugees?

The pictures of the small boy who drowned was very sad and people reacted emotionally to the situation and we now have some  celebs claiming our refusal to let them all in, is racist and based on the colour of there skin ( which I think is rubbish)

But can Britain cope? And what about the 13000 homeless people on bristols housing waiting list, that already exist among the people who already live here?

Is it racist to consider the effect on your fellow countrymen?

Why does it cost £50,000 for each unaccompanied child refugee? Most of us don't even earn that much, so our children have to make do with less.

What should we be doing in your opinion?

I'm torn between thinking we can't take large numbers and it isn't fair on people who already live here, and the humanitarian situation.

I think we have t grasp the nettle, all of those poor devils all they want to do is live a normal, whatever that may be, life.

It hurts me to see the predicament they're in, we all have our struggles here in the UK, but when compared to the dark place these Syrians are in at the moment.

ippy

[dadvokat]

I have to agree with you Julie. In these times of austerity with 1.8 million people unemployed, food banks, severe shortage of housing and school places and pressure on NHS, is it really prudent to allow tens of thousands (possibly) more people into this country? Also I m having trouble in working out what the difference is between an asylum seeker and an economic migrant. All those tens of thousands of people who have travelled from Turkey to Greece and then to Hungary, Austria and on their way to Germany are economic migrants surely? Although I have great sympathy for the father of that young Syrian boy who drowned, I do blame his father partially for leaving a safe heaven Turkey where he had lived for 3 years and putting his family at risk by trying to reach Greece on his way to Germany with his eventual destination of Canada.

In my view what we are witnessing is a mass movement of people not just from Syria but also Afghanistan and Eritrea, Somalia and Sudan who are trying to get to Europe for purely economic reasons. Don't let anyone try and put a total figure of 800,000 and that's it because that's just bellecks. This is likely to carry on for years.

[dadvokat]

According to this the UK has only taken 215 Syrian people between June 2014 and June 2015.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/02/refugees-welcome-uk-germany-compare-migration

I thought we had taken far more than that, I suppose that's legal immigrants as opposed to illegal ones that slip in.

I believe 5000 Syrians have already been granted asylum in the UK.

[Gonnagle]

Dear Rose,

Bob Geldof has it right, a failure of new politics, we are reaping what new Labour and the Tories have sown.

Cameron is a reactive instead of a proactive Prime Minister.

Gonnagle.

[Walt Zingmatilder]

Dear Rose,

Bob Geldof has it right, a failure of new politics, we are reaping what new Labour and the Tories have sown.

Cameron is a reactive instead of a proactive Prime Minister.

Gonnagle.

Sorry, But I can't see Blair or Brown running into the same difficulties as Cameron over refugees and/or immigration.

[Gonnagle]

Dear Rose and Vlad,

First of all, the other Thread is suppose to be about how we can help.

New Labour and Tory failure regarding oversea budgets used properly, failure to address housing shortage.

Actually maybe I have the whole Tory plan wrong, what they really want is war, send in the troops, that will take our minds off austerity, food bank and unemployment.

Gonnagle.

[Sriram]

Hi everyone,

There are no easy solutions or 'correct' views on this. Choosing between...'service above self'...and... 'charity begins at home' ...is difficult.

Taking in refugees temporarily from war torn areas or drought or flood hit areas is one thing. But taking in migrants who are running away from poverty and are looking for a better life is another thing. The second situation is more permanent  and is likely to affect the citizens of the host country dramatically in the long run.

Poverty is everywhere and will only grow in coming decades. Should everyone become equally poor? Is that the only morally correct solution? I am not sure.

Cheers.

Sriram

[ippy]

Hi everyone,

There are no easy solutions or 'correct' views on this. Choosing between...'service above self'...and... 'charity begins at home' ...is difficult.

Taking in refugees temporarily from war torn areas or drought or flood hit areas is one thing. But taking in migrants who are running away from poverty and are looking for a better life is another thing. The second situation is more permanent  and is likely to affect the citizens of the host country dramatically in the long run.

Poverty is everywhere and will only grow in coming decades. Should everyone become equally poor? Is that the only morally correct solution? I am not sure.

Cheers.

Sriram

I suppose there's nothing like stating the obvious.

We're very comfortable here in the UK I'm happy in these circumstances to give up some of my comfort, quite a bit of my comfort, to accommodate these exceptionally needy people in trouble mostly through no fault of their own. 

They need open hands now, let's sort out the practicalities in due course.

ippy 

[john]

What we need on this issue is leadership by example.

Bob Geldorf has offered to take some refugees into both of his homes, I presume he will also be buying their food, clothing, medical and education fees. Good for him presumably he can afford it. And that his surrounding infrastructure (schools, hospitals, etc) can cope without putting other local people at a disadvantage. 

But what about the queen surely she could take on thousands in Buck Palace, Balmoral, Etc.
Chequers too has lots of spare rooms there and left overs from banquets, etc.

But personally living on our pensions in our tiny little house where we sometimes have to accommodate grandchildren short term my wife and I can't help I'm afraid.

AND of course the more we take the more will come!

[Shaker]

One part of me doesn't want all these people who once they find their feet might become a threat to our way of life

Why?

[jeremyp]

One part of me doesn't want all these people who once they find their feet might become a threat to our way of life

Why?

Because these people will come in with their new culture, language and food and they will sully our pure Celtic-Saxon-Danish-Norman-Indian-West-Indian-African-Pakistani-Vietnamiese-Chinese-Polish culture just like all the other immigrants did.

Actually, I'm quite excited about the idea.

[trippymonkey]

The Pakistanis of MY area in north west Lancs are cacking themselves over the POLISH in our area, as it is ?!!?!? LOL

[Keith Maitland]

Rose,

My sympathies are with the people who are trying to escape the brutalities that are happening in the Middle East. I cannot imagine living under such chaos. However, no one can expect the other countries of the world to absorb the great numbers of people fleeing. It is time that the people of the Middle East say, "Enough".

It is time they learned to face the danger, pick up arms and put themselves on the front lines to fight their oppressors.

Almost every country has had to fight for its freedom at some point in time -- many times, in some countries. No one can expect others to lay down their lives for them or take care of them forever. We have seen the United States spend money and lives attempting to train fighters, only to have those trainees turn and run in battle or just give up. We cannot do this forever, nor can any other nation. We as a nation have given so much to others, including our life's blood, and have many times been slapped in the face in return. It is time for these refugees to stand up and help themselves by bearing arms and fighting back.

[jeremyp]

It is time for these refugees to stand up and help themselves by bearing arms and fighting back.

Unfortunately, the problems in Syria are partly due to the refugees standing up and fighting back.

[Shaker]

Hand-waving.

Why might the people we welcome into the country as refugees end up as a threat to our way of life? Be specific.

[ippy]

One part of me doesn't want all these people who once they find their feet might become a threat to our way of life

Why?

It's to do with psychology!

And their history, situation and experiences.


http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2014/04/10/children-who-view-domestic-abuse-more-likely-to-bully-fight-lie-cheat/


Very often the children have experienced far more awful traumatic things which are going to need a lot of resources to sort out, than just " domestic violence".

If you don't deal with it, and it won't be easy, it may well come out in adult life in ways that are antisocial.

It isn't just a matter of giving them somewhere to stay, we also have to deal with children that have been tortured, watched their friends and family murdered callously in front of their eyes.

If we don't give them full support, we will pay for it later, when they have difficulties as adults.

These people have never lived in a democracy.

To integrate them into our society, we need to give them more than  just somewhere safe to stay.

To deny this is to deny the trauma they have suffered.

Read this, it is heartbreaking.

https://www.savethechildren.org.uk/sites/default/files/images/untold_atrocities.pdf

It isn't that I don't want to help or give them a safe place.

But the scale of the help they really need and I feel if we take them in, we are duty bound to give.

These people have never lived in a democracy.

I feel if we don't give huge resources into helping them, and especially the children, we are storing up problems for ourselves.

The damage done to the children is enormous and I don't feel the people who want tens of thousands in perminantly have really though about the amount of help they actually need.

I'd rather have less, and do a better job.

It concerns me that these people don't have our values, because they have had to fight for everything and in a way they are damaged and conditioned by their experiences, they can't help that.

It concerns me that too many people think it is just a matter of supplying food and shelter and safety and leaving them to get on with it.

It isn't, their lives have been shattered, children are not going to grow up "normal" unless they are fully supported.

It isn't an isolated incidence the children have suffered, but is probably in some cases all they have ever known, some being Kurds and having suffered prejudice.

Some of the children have been tortured and witnessed awful things.

They cannot just be imported enmass and just suddenly  be expected to carry on as if they were British children who haven't experienced that.

If we don't help them cope, our society will suffer for it, when they become adults.

We don't expect soldiers to cope do we?

Some of these children have seen worse.

One part of me doesn't want all these people who once they find their feet might become a threat to our way of life

Why?

Because these people will come in with their new culture, language and food and they will sully our pure Celtic-Saxon-Danish-Norman-Indian-West-Indian-African-Pakistani-Vietnamiese-Chinese-Polish culture just like all the other immigrants did.

Actually, I'm quite excited about the idea.

No that isn't the problem.

I like different cultures.

Where I live has a high number of ethnic groups and sometimes I am the only white face in my local butchers, I am used to that.

So these poor devils have to sit around while you or more like people like you make up your minds, it's good to see someone having these deep and considered  thoughts before putting out their hand to save the drowning person.

ippy

[dadvokat]

S times reports that Cameron has decided to accept 15000 Syrians. Is that too many, too few or about right? A poll in one of Sunday papers shows that 3 in 10 people do not want ANY Syrians to be allowed in. And of course the election wasn't too long ago where 4 million people voted for UKIP and Cameron and the Tories promised to cut immigration to tens of thousands. Should those people who voted for the Tories sue them for breach of contract?

[Nearly Sane]

Only if they are too stupid to not understand that refugees and immigrants are not the same thing under international law.

[dadvokat]

International law v election pledge? Net migration of a third of a million people last year added to scores of illegal migrants who make their way into the UK daily and unrecorded student and visitor overstayers and add another 15000 plus more asylum seekers. How long can the numbers be sustainable? And of course the vast majority of these choose to live in England esp the south east. Cameron is a buffoon. Is there a single policy he hasn't done a u turn on?

[dadvokat]

Although I do think that picking and choosing x number of Syrians from United Nations camps and bringing them over and offering sanctuary and international protection is a far better option then opening the doors to those who have entered Europe clandestinely and who have refused to be documented or fingerprinted by Hungarian and Austrian authorities.

[Sriram]

Well....look at what Sarah Palin is saying. and...she is probably right.

http://us.cnn.com/2015/09/06/politics/sarah-palin-diversity-spanish/index.html

**************************************************************************

"It's a benefit of Bush to be able to be so fluent, because we have a large and wonderful Hispanic population building America, and that's a great connection he has with them," Palin told CNN's Jake Tapper in an interview that aired Sunday on "State of the Union."

 "On the other hand, I think we can send a message and say, 'You want to be in America, A, you'd better be here legally or you're out of here. B, when you're here, let's speak American. ... Let's speak English, and that's a kind of a unifying aspect of the nation is the language that is understood by all."

**************************************************************************

A problem that might become more pressing in European countries in the years to come given the migrant situation.

[Udayana]

Palin has an ability to always be wrong about anything. There is no requirement to speak English in America and there are a large numbers who do not speak English (including what seems to be the majority of NY cab drivers!).

Why would there be a similar "problem" in Europe where most nations already have multi-cultural populations using multiple languages?

[dadvokat]

I have yet to read of news reports about Saudis, Oman, UAE accepting a SINGLE Syrian migrant. It's not about those countries being too poor. Is it because the Syrians are the wrong type of Muslims or is it as a reporter opined that Saudis want to preserve their identity. If that is the case, why has there been opprobrium heaped on Hungarians for talking about preserving European Christian identity?

[Nearly Sane]

The Saudis are wrong, so are the Hungarians imo. Condemning one doesn't mean that one doesn't condemn the other. As I posted on thread about 'The Great Migration', govts support of regimes like Saudi which acts like a sanctioned ISIS, is part of the reason for the problem as it supports the very thing it seeks to condemn.