Migrants - just curious......

[sunshinewithrain]

Are they genuinely so desperate that they will get in a rubber dingy to cross a dangerous sea to get to England?
OR
Are they 'sold' a dream?
OR
A mixture of both! And we don'it understand it properly .......
It's so sad all these people dying trying to cross the sea in such a dangerous way ......

To clarify. My grandparents crossed legally on a bigger boat than a dinghy. And 80 years on they never recovered from it.

A lot come here because they speak the language. As English is the most spoken language. So they are more likely to get jobs. Or they have family here already. You have to be pretty desperate if you feel safer getting into a rubber dinghy than stay in your home country. It's no different to when we took people in during the troubles in Ireland. Only they didn't have to risk death to get here.

@Dweetfidilove the poverty in Britain is nothing like the poverty in some other countries. £400 might seem like nothing to you, but some of these people are used to having literally nothing. Even working people in those countries may not be able to afford to purchase life's essentials. A free roof over their head of any description and however awful could easily be seen as a luxury. An additional £400 can go quite far if you're used to being very very frugal and doing without all kinds of basic things. To some £400, free housing and free medical care will seem like riches. Depending on costs in their own country, if they're sending even a small amount back home it could make a difference. What about those TV appeals imploring people to sponsor a child, saying that £2.50 can feed them for a month and £10 can send them to school etc? Someone scraping by here and sending £40 back home each month could be make-or-break for their family. Some may be working illegally as well as claiming unemployment benefits too.

There is a very clear upsurge in migrants arriving in my area. It seems to be loads all at once, and if I'm going to be brutally honest, it's exasperating and worrying. There's already a lack of resources / two week waits for GP callbacks / lack of housing. Not only that but as Starmer keeps warning there's going to big changes / cutbacks in the next budget.
Inevitably it will be a sure fire recipe for social disaster and unrest but no-one seems to want to do anything or listen.

What my grandparents did is irrelevant to you. But if you want to know more. Here goes.

My grandparents crossed in the 1930s when Spain was in the grips of a civil war fuelled by Hitler and Mussolini - pre Second World War.

My grandmother was 5 and my grandfather was 8. Their parents were fighting against Franco’s army and were given the opportunity to put a few of their children (not all) on boats to somewhere safe. They didn’t know where the boats where going.

As it turned out that boat went to England. The others went to Mexico and Russia. I don’t know a lot about my Spanish heritage. But I do know that after my great grandfather was killed in a firing line by Francos army, my great grandmother and her remaining children lived in a refugee camp for 30 years (so until the 1960s) in France.

My grandmother was a translator for Lloyds Bank and my grandfather an architect. They brought a lot to their home country. They couldn’t have done that from a refugee camp in France and made a great impact to the U.K.

My point. If we give refugees a chance, they can achieve great things that benefit us all.

PS - the Spanish civil war is one of the biggest genocides of modern history. Go read about it before you take your next holiday.

Sorry. This was in response to @NattyAzureHiker

Tbh I see a lot of refugees in Uk not worth of that trust.

Are your grandparents brother and sister?

What makes them not worthy of that trust? Everyone deserves a chance.

Most aren't fleeing war or persecution, most are seeking the economic benefits available here. Large numbers of Albanians are arriving at the moment, there is no war in Albania.

So just open the boarders for everyone. Provide housing and benefits for anyone asking?

Europe can't keep up with refugees - most of them cost more than they will ever bring to local economy. We can't afford it.

could we have the security services in charge of our boarders ?

The reason we have a shite NHS is nothing to do with migrants. More to do with the previous government who gave their mates dodgy contracts.

Same for local councils, education and much more.

Don’t blame people who are trying to stay alive. At the end of the day the only thing that differentiates me and you from a migrant is where we’re born.

Have worked in this area for decades.

Of course the vast majority of this migration is for economic reasons. Anyone arguing otherwise is deluded. It’s big business and the communication made possible by the internet has helped set up a process that will never stop.

Define desperation. A person would be desperate to complete their very expensive journey and start their new life. Desperate to make a future for themselves somewhere with jobs and education and good quality of life. Doesn’t mean they are in fear of their lives at home. Migrants will repeat their rehearsed story to anyone ‘official’ though.

It’s an investment in a future that is increasingly considered as an option by the youth of poorer countries. About half of young Pakistani males for example according to a BBC article. The economics eventually works for most and the danger of the journey is not in the internal travel in Europe.

The final leg of the boat crossing isn’t something the migrants get time and information to consider. The traffickers will gather them at short notice and try and cram as many in as possible. It’s not like there’s a Tripadvisor and choice of vessel and timing.

I don’t blame any of the triers. Humans will act like humans and travel for a better life. It’s how the world was built. The current process is also not sustainable. The responsibility of the West to house and support all arrivals will eventually go. It will change the West.

A lot aren't trying to stay alive but hunting for an easier and better life moneywise.

It has changed the West. Not to the better and most likely it will only get worse.

A small percentage of people is not why our NHS is on its knees. It’s on its knees because our previous government took the mick to secure private contracts.

Vast majority, like my grandparents who made a positive impact to the country, are good people who want to be safe. Can you honestly begrudge that?!?

WTF. Of course they’re not. 3000 refugee children were sent to England from northern Spain.

But they are spending the £400 in the UK, which buys precious little.

The £2.50 in tv appeals may feed someone in one of these countries, but it won't feed them here anymore than £10 will send them to school.

They are here working so they can send money home, send for their families to join them here, educate themselves and/or their children to improve their circumstances etc. None of which you can do with £400.

Where you'll find them is running cabs, risking their lives (and ours) on scooters doing delivery, in the booming black market employment and other such places. They haven't crossed the seas to live on benefits.

But you say everyone deserves a chance?
We can't even afford to run UK now so how can UK be run with open borders for people hunting a better life based on economy - and it's a lot of people! It's naive (and stupid tbh).