AIBU about the Calais migrants?

[Sunny67]

Having read another story today about the Calais migrants trying to get to the UK is it unreasonable to think that there are many safe countries before you get here?
Before anyone shouts racist, I'm not talking about people fleeing war zones and ending up it camps. I'm asking why people want to cross the channel and not stop in France or a previous country?

Bensam why do you seem to know more than the rest of us. The men storming the port were young men. I also speak as someone whose parents were not born in this country. They came in lawfully.

Guy so you think all of them are fleeing a terrible life? I think you are disillusioned. As someone mentioned earlier - many think the 'streets are paved with gold'.

Sorry Bensam, I completely misunderstood your post. Many apologies

There are billions of people who want a better life. Why wouldn't they. But saying they can all come here for that 'better' life just isn't possible

No problem handcream

Imperialist chickens coming home to roost, at least partly. There's a reason why these countries are so fucked up, and it has quite a lot to do with centuries of colonialism and exploitation.

So, what is the answer? Allow people who nearly died in a lorry to stay, what about the young men storming the ports. Should they be allowed to stay?

Guy so you think all of them are fleeing a terrible life?

I do.

I have a friend who was an asylum seeker from Cuba, he readily admits his claim was nonsense, he wasn't persecuted, he was just poor, all his family were poor, life was shit, he had very little opportunities for improving his lot. He is married now has children here and is a teacher in a state school, life is good. He was right about the UK, he says he's never experienced any racism, he has a good job, owns a house, sends money home. I think for him and his family he made exactly the right decision to come here. You might argue that it's not the right decision for the rest of the people in the country but do you make your life choices based on what's best for the nation?

I don't live in the uk, but I study alongside other immigrants, many of whom are refugees. I live in Sweden so you have to pass through many other countries to get here.

I have a friend from Syria, he walked the majority of the way from Syria to Sweden, it took him months. The reason he came to Sweden rather than the first safe country he came to because he has family here, I think that is a perfectly valid reason to go to a specific country.

As it happens I would much rather be a refugee in Sweden rather than the UK, I'm sure the UK has adequate support in place but by no means the best in Europe.

Why doesn't the government realise why people are actually leaving this country to create the net migration figure.

Arabella you sound like you blame them fr playing the system. Who wouldn't do the same? I wouldn't be happy to live in a country where I can't communicate and rely on charities for food would you? I'm not saying we should allow limitless immigrants to our country but blaming individuals for seeking a better life seems strange.

Sweden would be the last place I'd head if I was an immigrant.The far right is gaining in popularity and an anti immigration party is making great gains,school standards are slipping and the HFW programme on Sweden highlighted racism and how in limbo land immigrants feel.

We need an EU wide approach to handling asylum seekers. I feel that all EU countries should take a fair proportion of asylum seekers. A real asylum seeker would be happy with any EU country.

I feel that the calais migrants who break the law should be sent back to where they come from. If they are really in fear of their lives then they would be happy to accept living in Poland or even France

And if there are any, then why you think you had more right to them in the first place.

can't stop nodding in agreement

It does seem that AS are trying to pick and choose where they want to settle and will claim all sorts of reasons, the fact they throw their passports away is very telling. Surely if you are fleeing for your life you wouldn't do this.

The opportunities immigrants and refugees get given in Sweden are amazing, in my Swedish language class there is a mixture of nationalities but the majority are refugees, many have lived in Sweden for 2/3 years and they are now taking the Swedish equivalent of a-levels and will start university next year, all studying is free and you get given money each month that your studying you also have the option to take out a student loan but a part time job and the studying benefits is more than enough to live on.

Yes the far right are gaining popularity much like the rest of Europe but the standard right wing parties who have been in power in recent years are in my opinion much more left wing than labour.

Most of my classmates are positive about their lives in Sweden, it seems a lot more socially acceptable to be openly anti immigration/racist in the uk (just look at this thread!) but possibly I don't hear people's anti immigration views because I am an immigrant.

We do not have the most generous benefits system in Europe.

ROI, Norway, Sweden and Denmark are all far more generous!

Why don't they go there, if this is about benefits?

if I was seeking asylum ...ie fleeing in fear of my life I may very well throw away any evidence of my home country so I wouldn't be forcibly repatriated ...and you know die or be tortured

I think if I had to be a refugee, I'd try for Sweden. If I were black, then France is the last place I'd want to stay, I'm sorry to say.

Sorry, but fleeing your life means going to the nearest country not choosing where you would like to live

I expect that most migrants actually want to work rather than scrounge of anyone's benefit's system. England is popular as a lot of them know a bit of English. It would be pretty scary to move to sweden if you don't know a word of swedish.

no but you might just choose where you felt SAFE

It must be terrifying whichever country you find yourself in, but yes, terrifying to move to a country where the language is so obscure and also the weather is so extreme. I remember the first year I lived here and the first time it snowed, I was in a class with lots of Somalian people and they were so fascinated by the snow, then if didn't stop snowing for 6 months which was challenging for anyone but it must have been especially hard for people who come from countries that don't have seasons in the same way we do.

I totally agree that the EU should be tackling this problem in a united way, not just leave it up to individual countries.

What worries me most is the fact that so many of these people are getting here at the hands of traffickers. These are ruthless criminal gangs who exploit desperate (and sometimes not so desperate people). In many cases it is they who spin the stories of what a paradise the UK is, and charge huge amounts of money to get people into Europe. Illegals are also at a high risk of being exploited by these gangs once they get here too.

Someone up thread pointed out that the people at Calais are all young men. I think that there are many young women being trafficked here, but the gangs 'look after' them a bit better because they can earn more from them via prostitution.

After all, we have the room - We are one of the biggest countries in the world.
Just look at a map of the world

No we aren't. UK is the 11th largest country in Europe and the 73rd (out of 189) in the world.And much of the UK is environmentally fragile areas such as the Scottish Highlands, Border uplands, Yorkshire Dales, moorland throughout the UK etc which is not capable of being built on, has little if any infrastructure and could not possibly support a population increase.