Migrants, where do they go?

HeidiHoNeighbour · 2021-07-20T07:44:43+00:00

Watching the news this morning and a dinghy with migrants is being live broadcast. I wondered where do they go? When they reach shore? How do they manage? You have enough problems getting any form of help (benefits, housing) even if you do have the paperwork. I’m not even thinking about the things they’ve left behind or how desperate they must be to risk lives.

purpledagger · 20/07/2021 09:04

I guess they will all be id'd and given accommodation and food. I think some will stay in the system and others may just drop off the system and stay illegally.

Original poster

HeidiHoNeighbour · 20/07/2021 09:10

@purpledagger
Thats if they are caught surely?

I mean if they aren’t caught.
Is being homeless and begging (I assume) better than whatever situation they’ve come from?
It must have a financial cost to be able to be ‘smuggled’

OP posts:

fairgame84 · 20/07/2021 09:13

Some of them will already be in touch with friends/family in the uk and will go to them. They will work cash in hand.

I knew an illegal that worked cash in hand at corner shops and car washes. He was kurdish and worked for kurdish bosses. He was in relationship with an English woman and had 2 children with her. He wasn't entitled to anything because he was staying under the radar but he's been here for years. Lovely family actually, I felt bad for him, it's a crap situation.
But on the other hand we've jumped through hoops and spent thousands for my husband to come here legally and it's frustrating that those doing it illegally are making it more difficult for those of us doing it properly.

Moonmelodies · 20/07/2021 09:13

Things in France must be pretty grim to risk everything to get away.

Orf1abc · 20/07/2021 09:28

Things in France must be pretty grim to risk everything to get away.

They are. I'd encourage people to follow Care4Calais for an insight into the situation there. But that's not the only reason people make the journey to the UK, people do so because of family connections, speaking the language, every person seeking asylum will have their own personal story and reasons for the journey they take.

Also have a read about Napier Barracks, where male asylum seekers have been housed in downright dangerous conditions.

Jellycatspyjamas · 20/07/2021 09:34

They present to the authorities and seek asylum, they’ll be given somewhere to live (hostel or designated housing - usually both very poor and cramped) and a subsistence level income (currently around £40 a week for all food, clothes, toiletries and living costs). They’ll have access to emergency health care. Their asylum claim will then be processed which can take years during which time they are not allowed to work. If they refuse housing they won’t be given any financial support.

If their claim is accepted they’ll be given refugee status and will have 28 days to find somewhere to live, find a job and/or apply for benefits, at which time their housing and asylum allowance will be stopped. If their asylum claim is rejected they will have no access to housing or financial support.

purpledagger · 20/07/2021 09:36

Oh, sorry.

If they aren't caught/don't register themselves, I guessing many of them will have family or friends in the UK and will get support that way.
Accommodation - think of all those illegally converted properties that you see on those slum landlord tv show. Old storage sheds behind shops, or houses where landlords cram 15 people into a 2 bed terrace.
Work - many will work in the gig economy or illegally for cash. It doesn't have to be low paid - I know of a builder who worked illegally and made a decent living.

Jellycatspyjamas · 20/07/2021 09:39

I think some will stay in the system and others may just drop off the system and stay illegally.

It’s not illegal to seek asylum or to refuse the very limited support offered by the government, someone becomes “illegal” if their asylum application is rejected and they don’t leave the country, but there’s a long drawn out appeals process which means someone could live here for many years legally as an asylum seeker, and find themselves having to rebuild their lives again.

Imagine how bad things have to be for you to decide that crossing open sea in a rubber dinghy is the best choice for you and your children.

Samcro · 20/07/2021 09:43

why are things so bad in france? I don't mean at the border.as surely the people there have already decided the UK is where they want to be. but why so many people not stopping in france, risking everything to come to the UK.

Iggly · 20/07/2021 09:46

@Samcro

why are things so bad in france? I don't mean at the border.as surely the people there have already decided the UK is where they want to be. but why so many people not stopping in france, risking everything to come to the UK.

Because they may have connections here??

Imagine, being that terrified and desperate, that you would risk your life and your children’s lives on the open sea. If you’re going to do that, you’d go somewhere which has some familiarity/connection.

These people are humans, like yourself. Sometimes, I swear, people can’t imagine having to seek asylum - which is what they are doing by the way - so they don’t compute that they’re human beings too.

saraclara · 20/07/2021 09:51

I knew an illegal

No you didn't. You knew a person who was here without documentation.

Please don't call refugees and asylum seekers 'illegals'.

Jellycatspyjamas · 20/07/2021 09:54

why are things so bad in france? I don't mean at the border.as surely the people there have already decided the UK is where they want to be. but why so many people not stopping in france, risking everything to come to the UK.

Things are bad everywhere for asylum seekers, including and especially the U.K., but navigating the system if you have a bit of the language, or some connection here is a bit easier. They may, mistakenly, think they have a chance at a better life here.

They’re certainly not coming to plunder our benefits system or knacker the nhs despite what the Daily Mail might have you believe - given how very little support is actually given to asylum seekers.

saraclara · 20/07/2021 09:55

@Samcro

why are things so bad in france? I don't mean at the border.as surely the people there have already decided the UK is where they want to be. but why so many people not stopping in france, risking everything to come to the UK.

Lots do stay in France. And other countries on the way. The UK takes far fewer refugees and asylum seekers than other European countries. Don't fall for the racist right wing fake news.

These people have nothing but the clothes on their backs. They're going to head for where they have family or friendship connections who will support them. It might be France, it might be Germany (which takes more than any other country), it might be the UK.

fairgame84 · 20/07/2021 09:55

@saraclara he was an asylum seeker or a refugee. He wasn't claiming any of those, he was living here under the radar. I know that for a fact because I was their family support worker while they were going through child protection procedures. Luckily they managed to turn things around but he didn't want to claim asylum or refugee status and we couldn't force him.

fairgame84 · 20/07/2021 09:56

Obviously that should say wasn't not was.

saraclara · 20/07/2021 09:57

[quote fairgame84]@saraclara he was an asylum seeker or a refugee. He wasn't claiming any of those, he was living here under the radar. I know that for a fact because I was their family support worker while they were going through child protection procedures. Luckily they managed to turn things around but he didn't want to claim asylum or refugee status and we couldn't force him.[/quote]
He's still not 'an illegal'.

SteveyWeevey · 20/07/2021 09:57

They pay a fortune to smugglers to get them over. They usually don't put enough fuel in boats to get them right across so they have to be rescused. The boats are seriously overloaded and very dangerous
. I think boat crossings may have increased since lorries were heavily fined (even if they didn't know) they had stowaways on board,
Napier barracks had millions spent on it to accommodate migrants, it wasn't a slum
Apparently paperwork is distroyed so they have no medical records or any way of finding out who they are
These people are promised the golden land but the reality is totally different
The only winners here are the people they paid
This has been happening for years. People are used to them coming ashore all the time

Original poster

HeidiHoNeighbour · 20/07/2021 09:58

I can’t even begin to imagine what sort of life they have left behind.
It’s obviously horrendous to want to put their lives at a very real chance of death trying to get to another country.

It’s swapping inhumanity for another type of inhumanity.

OP posts:

pinkflask · 20/07/2021 09:59

I’ve travelled to France - I speak good French and still found the language thing trickier than many other countries as the French are not very accommodating to those with less than brilliant language skills. Most migrants won’t speak French - those who do will usually stay in France. Far more people have some grasp of English just because it’s so ubiquitous- it’s also easier to find ways to learn it and there are more welcoming communities speaking their homes languages in this country too. Language is a massively important issue and makes a huge difference in your ability to make a new life.

Dazedandconfused28 · 20/07/2021 09:59

@Samcro

why are things so bad in france? I don't mean at the border.as surely the people there have already decided the UK is where they want to be. but why so many people not stopping in france, risking everything to come to the UK.

Having done some medical work in the camps in France, I can safely say the conditions are horrifying, the racism & hostility is awful.

Equally for many - English is their second language, and they have family connections - so the only way they can see to forge a life is to come to the UK

Jellycatspyjamas · 20/07/2021 10:00

I’m pretty sure you shouldn’t be sharing information gained in your professional capacity, especially given your role was in child protection. I’d also hope you would have a good understanding of the complexities of seeking asylum in the U.K. and the reasons why someone, by definition, persecuted by authorities in their home country wouldn’t want to engage in formal processes here. The correct term is undocumented, not illegal.

Dazedandconfused28 · 20/07/2021 10:00

I should add that I'm not convinced that they will have a much better time in the UK sadly, but at least they stand a better chance of navigating the system

saraclara · 20/07/2021 10:04

@SteveyWeevey

They pay a fortune to smugglers to get them over. They usually don't put enough fuel in boats to get them right across so they have to be rescused. The boats are seriously overloaded and very dangerous . I think boat crossings may have increased since lorries were heavily fined (even if they didn't know) they had stowaways on board, Napier barracks had millions spent on it to accommodate migrants, it wasn't a slum Apparently paperwork is distroyed so they have no medical records or any way of finding out who they are These people are promised the golden land but the reality is totally different The only winners here are the people they paid This has been happening for years. People are used to them coming ashore all the time

Maybe you'd like to argue with the Chief Inspector of Prisons who stated that the conditions at Napier barracks were "unfit for habitation" - a fact made more troubling when those housed at Napier are not criminals, but are awaiting the verdict on their claims as refugees.

He and his team have been there. You, presumably, haven't.

fairgame84 · 20/07/2021 10:05

@Jellycatspyjamas I don't work in that role anymore, it was years ago and if you can figure out the family from the information I've shared then you need to be working for MI5.

SteveyWeevey · 20/07/2021 10:29

@saraclara your assumption is wrong then
I have every sympathy but don't believe everything you read