Britain needs to do more with the Mediterranean Refugee crisis

Yes- more needs to be done and the UK needs to do more. But its better if we act not from isolation. If being in Europe isn't about being part of a pan-country union that can effectively co-ordinate responses to this type of crisis then I don't know what the point is.
But yes. We need to do more and Im aghast at the venom across someparts of social media- a certain KH in particular(not a MNer; I dearly hope anyway)

mamabear35 .... re your "I hear a lot of complaining isitme and scare mongering but you're not offering any solutions."

"The first article you threw up is over two years old and the second article is "predicting" a possibility in 2050... Not sure even you are clairvoyant."

Well do you CURRENTLY see or project a slowdown on EU citizens, their own economies still pants, slowing down, when we CURRENTLY have 1.9 million families needing social housing and everyone saying our housing stock, NHS, education and other services are rubbish COMPARED to most other similar sized economies in Europe - the refugees are passing through?

My solutions:

1. As we were the largest provider of aid to the regions refugees, first up for Ebola crisis type event and for 12-years (as their right) we have had the poorest and jobless EU citizens coming here - as there are another 27 countries in this EU, based on the pressures on OUR systems they don't have - this time let the UK stand back and let them take all 23 million Syrians if they want to, they have the room and services, while we CONTINUE to take in the EU's problem/economic migrants.

1. Get the rich Sunni Muslim Arab States (G.C.C.) currently bombing Syria, take refugees in, as the majority of Syrians want to go back home, they can stay 'local' not crossing dangerous seas - and as their 'human rights' are usually strictly religious related - know the 'kin religious rules of the country you are visiting/living and won't fall foul.

No they do not have the Human Rights of the UK, but then again, nor does anyone else I can see.

1. President Assad in Syria who only controls about 20% of Syrias land can NEVER be a legitimate leader again, as only represented 18% of the Alawite population, while trying to kill the other 75% of Sunnis, so they will never accept him - while ISIS wants to kill anyone who does not 'assimilate' into their Islamist brand.

Within that scenario there are 23 million Syrians destined to be nomads across the world, so this HAS to be sorted by international forces, as leaving both Assad and ISIS 'to get on with it' was a dumb-shit decision - as clearly THEY ARE and after 4-years since Assad started murdering his own citizens the aftermath of our (and subsequent U.S.) decision NOT to help them 2-years ago - can no longer be confined to the Middle East/North African regions.

Thank you mamabear. I am so sad and appalled at the heartlessness of some who can watch men, women and children dying and think it's nothing to do with them.
How dare we be so blind. I don't care how rich we are, we are human and we simply must help.
We cannot stand by, turn our backs and say 'oh well, other people should do something not us'.

Also this argument of not enough social housing keeps cropping up & I just wanted to add that asylum seekers coming into the UK get placed in private accommodation paid for by the government and not in social housing.

LightningOnlyStrikesOnce I signed that too because I aggree something has to be done now. Earlier the photo of a catastrophy was shown in a Greek online paper: two boats today capsised as they sailed off for Kos, 11 drowned but the waves and winds threw the dead to the Turkish coast. There are very strong winds in the Aegean that start in September and crossing is perilous.

I'm sure you have two balls isitme, neither of which are Crystal.

Protecting your own interest is a mainstream centre-political agenda.

True revolution for equality will come from the rise of the actions of the poorest 75% and forgotten billions. It is inevitable and unstoppable.

.

Don't have any easy solutions, but the refugee crisis is horrific. There's a similar petition on change.org calling for immediate sanctuary while their future is decided if anyone's interested (just so's you know, there's a picture of a drowned child at the top). www.change.org/p/rt-hon-theresa-may-mp-no-more-drownings-immediate-sanctury-for-those-fleeing-from-war

mamabear35 ... I am not angry, just frustrated that so many people when giving out 1% figures on the worlds refugees, chose to forget that the UK for the past decade has become the home of the EU's poor and unemployed - as a condition of our EU Membership - and no one knows how many EU citizens (as their right) will follow them for years to come.

Currently we have a population of 64.6 million, and even up to recently (as the figures within the link below shows) our net inflows were far higher than the largest countries/economies in Europe - so I don't understand why refugees fearing their own non EU region governments, have to pass over those other EU countries to add to our net inflow of EU citizens - when it is the UK with a housing crisis.

Aug 2013; ”Now we are 63.7m: UK had biggest population growth in Europe over past year”
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/now-we-are-637m-uk-had-biggest-population-growth-in-europe-over-past-year-8751929.html

So you don't try to put any shame on me, as you know NOTHING about my current circumstances, as I know nothing of yours e.g. if you will be affected in any way if tens of thousands Africans, Syrians or Afghans settle here and put pressure on UK homes/services, as the poorest in our society surely will.

Immigration is only part of the UK issue, we also have a high birth rate, and already this relatively small UK within decades will be more populated than a honking great country like Germany.

Aug 2015; ”UK to be EU’s most populous country in just three decades, due to immigration”
www.rt.com/uk/313929-uk-immigration-eurostat-germany/

”If current immigration and birth rate patterns continue, the United Kingdom will overtake Germany to accommodate a population of over 75 million people by 2050, which will continue soaring, while the rest of Europe stabilizes. The projections have been published by the official EU body Eurostat.”

P.S. At what stage does a refugee well away from the likes of Assad and ISIS, who won't register in the country they are in as want to travel across Europe, become an economic migrant and similar to all those within the EU who came here seeking a better life?

Signed
Thanks mamabear for the link. I ll tell my family.
Whatever you believe, these people need a place under the sun now. I see on the photograophs the eyes of their children and I cry.

Signed.

Simple answer - anyone should be allowed to sponsor a migrant, they just have to guarantee their behaviour and ensure that they are funded for 10 years. Any conviction for a crime resulting in more than a 3 month sentence results in both the immigrant and the sponsor serving the sentence. Any default on funding means the migrant is deported and the sponsor suffers confiscation of goods. If the migrant gets a job then the sponsors liability reduces. If the sponsor dies then the migrant is given leave to stay.

Any volunteers?

FYI should the economically struggling world seriously contract around regional trading or other blocks, I reiterate the Gulf countries I mentioned also have an insatiable need for migrant labour, from labourers to professional and administrators - so why not those from their own region looking for a temp or permanent home?

Sure it means they'll have to PAY them better, but its not as if they haven't got the money TO pay people needed to maintain their societies and own small indigenous populations.

Only in your sad/closed mind, sweet cheeks.

Ok sorry. While your whole argument rings a bit like "They should stick to their own kind"
Hands up, it's out of line to call people racist.

Would you, as a Christian Syrian want to be forced to live in Sharia Law Saudi Arabia and be forced to wear a head scarf?

I think your understanding is limited at best. Racist at worst.

squidzin . have YOU heard of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the seven emirates that make up the United Arab emirates, Oman, Qatar - where all the fecking money is 'people' think is in the UK, that for several decades employees half of the Indian sub continent - but could now support their own region?

They are not refugees.

Didn't you notice that the Middle East is where all the wars are. That's why refugees are escaping the Middle East.

The UK is NOT a rich country, it is the 5th largest economy in the world, has around the 17th largest gold reserves in the world and NONE OF THAT means we have enough homes in the UK for the indigenous population – never mind the annual net INCREASE in our population – as the UK economy is a magnet for the poor within the rich and poorest EU nations, to come here as a condition of EU membership.

And if expected the UK decides its future is to stay within the EU, how many more from an EU population of over 400 million (as excluding the UK), will want to take advantage of EU membership and migrate to find a new like for themselves here?

So it does not matter how anyone labels new citizens to the UK, we have to pragmatically look at the problems of physical UK accommodation now, and understand that the homes shortage will remain for years to come.

Has it escaped anyones attention when mentioning a country's wealth that there are far richer nations than the UK WITHIN THE MIDDLE EAST with loads of land they can reclaim if currently not enough - where the transition for Syrian or other regional refugees on social, climatic and religious customs to their new homes - would be no problem at all?

Why is this not a greater Middle East regional problem with the wealthiest nations with much greater per capita wealth than the UK, stepping up?

And the journey to freedom would clearly be far less hazardous.

in the space of 7 replies the refugees become 'migrants'

Appalling and depressing. There isn't any relation to the two things.

A migrant choses to relocate for economic advantage (which is their right, and one we would each defend as our own right too, no?).

A refugee is risking their life, and their childs' life, to escape war, famine, poverty and persecution. A refugee is willing to put their child in a rubber dinghy in the dead of night facing death with their child in their arms in the hope that they will have a chance of something better on the other side.

I came on mumsnet today with the intention, like mamabear, to rally support and see what the collective power of mothers could or would like to achieve to help others who - but for the grace of god - are suffering in ways we cannot imagine. I'm disgusted that this is the reaction on here.

If we can organise a christmas gift appeal for each other that touches hundred of lives every year, can we not make a similar effort for families like us who have nothing? Who are traumatised beyond repair?

IF something more positive is being posted on here please point me in that direction...

I think that as one of the richest nations we should certainly be paying more to help the refugees and migrants.
But I also think that we have had such a rapid rise in our own migration figures that it's fair to limit how many new migrants we take.
There's a very interesting article in The Guardian here that talks of how many European countries need young people to avoid an ageing population catastrophe down the line.
Wouldn't it be much more sensible as a pan-European solution to encourage the African refugees and economic migrants to move to areas in Europe that need young people? And for the richer countries to pay new homes/roads/schools (or whatever is needed) so creating jobs too?

Apologies, before I get accused of lying the above figures for empty homes are more like 1/10 of all homes worth £1m and up. Concentrated in areas like Islington, K&C, Docklands (30% or so) and thtoughout the rest of the UK it is something like 600,000 homes total.
I know some individual councils were discussing fines for this specific problem but I dont think any legislative law has changed.

If our lame in-bed-with-the-bankers government actually did something about the number of homes bought up by investors which are deliberately left unoccupied (something like 1/10 of all British homes) and they did something about selling off all social housing to private lanlords, there wouldn't be so much of a housing crisis. There is lots of space in the UK.

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