Page 3 | The immigrant barge - what’s actually wrong with using it?

NC523 · 2023-08-08T17:16:44+00:00

Educate me! I looked at pics from the inside, it all looks very much like standard student accommodation to me, including common rooms/relaxation areas/health support on board. Residents can go on & off the boat, it’s passed fire etc safety and been used to house people in lots of other situations. I don’t understand why people think it’s not ok. Can anyone explain please?

MrsMarzetti · 08/08/2023 18:50

Nevermay · 08/08/2023 18:21

It has been furnished to house over twice the number of people it was built for, there is no way the communal areas are adequate for 500 people, and no, they can't come and go as they please, there is one bus an hour from the barge going basically nowhere, and they will need to queue for it, and might or might not get a space on it - the bus is the only route out of the fenced in dock.

It is basically a prison ship, and if one person starts a fire, there is nowhere for the other 499 to go.

Students are generally not squeezed two each into tiny rooms with only a bunk bed a wardrobe and one chair in. Students generally have access to medical care and educational facilities. Students are generally free to come and go as they please, they have privacy, they have enough toilets, they have somewhere to sit EACH, ie, they can all sit down at the same time!

Have you seen some of the accommodation our Service men and women pay to live in ? I don't see many outraged on here for them.

Pamalot · 08/08/2023 18:51

Why are there so many men in their late teens to late twenties? There are no elderly people and few women and children. They have chosen to leave their families behind.

Nevermay · 08/08/2023 18:51

drinkuptheezider · 08/08/2023 18:45

If it gets scrapped as a immigration barge, maybe they can offer it to Dorset street homeless people. I'm sure some would prefer it to under bridges and car parks, particularly over winter. 🤔

Do you know what a SWEP notice is? Your Dorset street homeless are offered similar during the winter, and if they are still out on the street, it is because that is the BETTER option, safer, freer, more comfortable than a prison like this

bellac11 · 08/08/2023 18:53

Pamalot · 08/08/2023 18:51

Why are there so many men in their late teens to late twenties? There are no elderly people and few women and children. They have chosen to leave their families behind.

Elderly people, women and children dont tend to be targeted by military regimes and sent off to fight/rounded up

EducatingArti · 08/08/2023 18:54

FanFckingTastic · 08/08/2023 18:40

Aside from the Goverment clearing the backlog, what is the solution for the large amount of people (young men?) that are waiting to have their claims heard? Where should they be housed whilst they wait, and what are the cost implications? Also, what is plan for if / when they are given asylum status? Do they get given a council house, and what about the people that are already waiting for one?

The whole thing feels like a mess and there's more than just the one issue here. I can see why it's very emotive on lots of fronts.

Many men who are actually granted asylum end up homeless and on the streets. As soon as their asylum is granted, they are made to leave the asylum seeker accommodation and told to present to the council as homeless.

They are then told by the council that as single men below retirement age, they are very low on the list for housing and nothing is available and they end up on the streets. They are people where it has actually been proven that they are in danger of their lives in their home country. Many of them are traumatized. They get no extra consideration for housing.
I know all of this because I was talking to the manager of a local mens' homeless hostel and he was saying many of the men who end up at his door have had this experience!

Nevermay · 08/08/2023 18:54

Pamalot · 08/08/2023 18:51

Why are there so many men in their late teens to late twenties? There are no elderly people and few women and children. They have chosen to leave their families behind.

This barge is specifically for men, and the media portray the problem as being almost all asylum seeking men, but that is not true, there are many elderly, women and children too - one reason they are not seen is because children are deliberately hidden from the media for fear of attracting traffickers'

I escorted a van load of baby clothes to Sangatte refugee camp once, in spite of being told there were no children there. There were so many babies that we had to ration to two babygros each

PinkFrogss · 08/08/2023 18:55

Even besides the living conditions etc it’s quite literally a massive piece of evidence the government is not doing its job, and their incompetence is costing the tax payer.

All these sun standard hotels being contracted out at ridiculous costs would be completely unnecessary if the government got on top of asylum claims. Wouldn’t surprise me if it was their mates benefitting from the contracts.

Add in the fact that the majority of claims are successful, so over half the people on the barge/in the hotels could be working and contributing. Which is what I imagine they’d much rather be doing than stuck in what is effectively a prison.

Redrunnynose · 08/08/2023 18:56

But if they are asylum seekers they're seeking asylum from a country they fear for their lives and do not feel safe in. They are here, fed, have shelter and most importantly are safe, I don't see the problem with the barge. It won't be forever, once they have all the paperwork done they will be entitled to work and to start earning a living and making a life here. The refugee camps abroad are no better, where they live in tents. It's costing millions to keep the asylum seekers here living in hotels, I think they should be greatful.

user1471453601 · 08/08/2023 18:56

@LauraNorda France is at war???? Who with??? Why didn't I know this??

But, seriously, this country needs working age people. Just ask the hospitality industry. We have an aging population. There are thousands of working age people sat around doing nothing because it suits a certain ideology to keep them down.

In this ideology, while ever there is a group who can be "othered" (immigrants, trans people, bent lawyers, just stop oil, Greenpeace take your pick) those pushing it think the majority of us will not see reality and simply blame those who've been "othered" for our woes. And the actual culprits, those who push this wicked ideology, think they'll get clean away with it.

I'm frightened that they will.

TheThingIsYeah · 08/08/2023 18:57

Pamalot · 08/08/2023 18:51

Why are there so many men in their late teens to late twenties? There are no elderly people and few women and children. They have chosen to leave their families behind.

They come over later once asylum granted to the first claimant in the family.

Nat6999 · 08/08/2023 18:58

Can anyone imagine if something like Covid breaks out on there? Guaranteed deaths, that's before if a riot breaks out & someone starts a fire.

BarelyLiterate · 08/08/2023 18:58

Nothing at all. I lived in far worse accommodation when I was a student. The men are not prisoners, they don’t actually have to live there (although they may not in practice have other options) and they are free to come & go as they please.
The ‘controversy’ which is all over the media is entirely disproportionate & not representative of majority public opinion. It comes from activists who support completely open borders with zero restrictions on who, or how many, people are allowed to come & live in the U.K.

Nevermay · 08/08/2023 18:59

Nat6999 · 08/08/2023 18:58

Can anyone imagine if something like Covid breaks out on there? Guaranteed deaths, that's before if a riot breaks out & someone starts a fire.

covid, or flu, or DandV, or chickenpox, or anything at all really

PinkFrogss · 08/08/2023 19:00

BarelyLiterate · 08/08/2023 18:58

Nothing at all. I lived in far worse accommodation when I was a student. The men are not prisoners, they don’t actually have to live there (although they may not in practice have other options) and they are free to come & go as they please.
The ‘controversy’ which is all over the media is entirely disproportionate & not representative of majority public opinion. It comes from activists who support completely open borders with zero restrictions on who, or how many, people are allowed to come & live in the U.K.

Where do you suggest they live then? I don’t think they were given a brochure and this was their top choice

BarelyLiterate · 08/08/2023 19:00

Nat6999 · 08/08/2023 18:58

Can anyone imagine if something like Covid breaks out on there? Guaranteed deaths, that's before if a riot breaks out & someone starts a fire.

Nonsense. These are healthy young men, most of whom were fit enough to travel thousands of miles by whatever means possible to get to northern France. Covid is zero threat to them.

MintJulia · 08/08/2023 19:01

@LauraNorda 'Weren't you one of the ones griping about a medical appointment or operation getting cancelled due to lack of staff?'

Not that I'm aware of. No.

Nevermay · 08/08/2023 19:01

Did anyone watch the "Years and Years" series? Deliberate government policy was to house asylum seekers in such overcrowded conditions that they were relatively confident that infectious disease would reduce the problem for them......

Kweeky · 08/08/2023 19:02

I know someone who lived on it whilst working offshore -apparently quite roomy though they were1to a room.

jgw1 · 08/08/2023 19:02

FanFckingTastic · 08/08/2023 18:40

Aside from the Goverment clearing the backlog, what is the solution for the large amount of people (young men?) that are waiting to have their claims heard? Where should they be housed whilst they wait, and what are the cost implications? Also, what is plan for if / when they are given asylum status? Do they get given a council house, and what about the people that are already waiting for one?

The whole thing feels like a mess and there's more than just the one issue here. I can see why it's very emotive on lots of fronts.

The government has worked out the solution.

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1687901561282772992.html

Thread by @lizziedearden on Thread Reader App

@lizziedearden: Exclusive: Rishi Sunak has been accused of “cooking the books” to cut the asylum backlog as thousands of claims are removed from the system following his pledge More than 6,000 people were wiped off ...…

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1687901561282772992.html

Sandjune · 08/08/2023 19:02

If it stuck to capacity and the same fire safety and prevention procedures are put in place as have been for its other uses in other countries where its been used for the exact same purpose or for workers then I don't see the issue.

it is because that is the BETTER option, safer, freer, more comfortable than a prison like this

I have worked with homeless people for many years, the reasons many remain on the streets is far more complex then they don't wish to go aboard accommodation such as this.

Have you seen some of the accommodation our Service men and women pay to live in ? I don't see many outraged on here for them.

Some is absolutely dire isn't it, no one cares though sadly, usually people are told to just leave if they don't like it, and people are so we have the smallest military in centuries. How the government get away with it I'll never know, its not just inadequate accommodation on base but family accommodation is dangerous. People don't care about that though, far more points for being outraged for other things- shame really as military cannot strike or openly speak or challenge this, I have been campaigning for years but not getting anywhere.

Nevermay · 08/08/2023 19:02

BarelyLiterate · 08/08/2023 18:58

Nothing at all. I lived in far worse accommodation when I was a student. The men are not prisoners, they don’t actually have to live there (although they may not in practice have other options) and they are free to come & go as they please.
The ‘controversy’ which is all over the media is entirely disproportionate & not representative of majority public opinion. It comes from activists who support completely open borders with zero restrictions on who, or how many, people are allowed to come & live in the U.K.

If you lived in worse accommodation as a student, then you were free to complain to the local housing officer and have your landlord taken to court.

AdamRyan · 08/08/2023 19:03

PinkFrogss · 08/08/2023 18:55

Even besides the living conditions etc it’s quite literally a massive piece of evidence the government is not doing its job, and their incompetence is costing the tax payer.

All these sun standard hotels being contracted out at ridiculous costs would be completely unnecessary if the government got on top of asylum claims. Wouldn’t surprise me if it was their mates benefitting from the contracts.

Add in the fact that the majority of claims are successful, so over half the people on the barge/in the hotels could be working and contributing. Which is what I imagine they’d much rather be doing than stuck in what is effectively a prison.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/family-firm-profiteering-misery-providing-30584405

Firm 'profiteering from misery' by providing migrant barges donated £70k to UKIP

The Langham family, owners of Langham Industries, is now set to profit from an 18-month contract with the Home Office to let the Bibby Stockholm berth at Portland, Dorset

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/family-firm-profiteering-misery-providing-30584405

PinkFrogss · 08/08/2023 19:04

For those talking about accommodation for service men, and why no one is talking about that. Please PM me a link to your thread about it and I’ll happily comment to boost it

HamBone · 08/08/2023 19:04

Pamalot · 08/08/2023 18:37

My guess is it is a deterrent like Rwanda. To try and stem the numbers. There is a difference between genuine asylum seekers and economic migrants which I guess is causing the problems. Also the number of solicitors making a fortune through it all. Perhaps the Government should make a decision as to who can and cannot claim asylum.

I agree, @Pamalot, it’s a deterrent.

I saw the news tonight and I was confused when the reporter said that the people they spoke to had left wives and children behind. I appreciate that men are rounded up for military service- but if the country is so dangerous, surely you’d bring your family with you?

It may be my lack of understanding, but I couldn’t see DH leaving us behind.

notgettinganyyounger · 08/08/2023 19:08

You don't see hundreds of thousands of young Ukrainian men coming here. They are back home fighting for their country and homes. The women and children are here for safety. Why is this not the case with other countries. They should take a leaf out of the Ukranians book.