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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think that the Calais migrants are economic migrants and should not be given asylum?

558 replies

cabbagesouppirate · 30/07/2015 08:57

All of the Calais migrants are young men. If they were true asylum seekers seeking safety from persecution they could have claimed asylum in a number of safe countries Western countries already, including France which is hardly a dangerous place. Instead they camp out in Calais, causing a nuisance, a mess, costing the UK and France a lot of money, making the lives of lorry drivers and tourists hell and the situation is becoming increasingly dangerous. I sincerely hope these people are not given asylum in the UK and any that have managed to reach the UK should be fast tracked out of the country and given economic assistance whilst they are here.

OP posts:
Original poster
cabbagesouppirate · 30/07/2015 08:58

Sorry, that should be given "no" economic assistance while they are here.

OP posts:
GarminGirl · 30/07/2015 09:46

Well yes. where are their families? Have they left the women children and older people abandoned?

DoeEyedNear · 30/07/2015 09:47

The situation at Calais is beyond ridiculous now. We need to be sending either police or military personnel over to help the French.

The80sweregreat · 30/07/2015 10:06

A lady on breakfast news said that a few are trying to get to families already living here. The rest, i assume, have left their families at home and would want them brought over to live once they are settled.

SideOrderofChips · 30/07/2015 10:09

Whilst the conditions in the countries they are coming from are very sad and awful, i don't know really how much more the uk can take. Most interviewed don't say they are coming to work but that they are coming 'because britain takes care of people like us'.

I don't live on the mainland anymore and where i live you don't get anything until you've paid into the system for 5 years. But if the young men get in then the families will come too and it just makes me wonder.

The French don't seem overly bothered by the migrants as they don't want to stay in France anyway!

ghostyslovesheep · 30/07/2015 10:13

erm you can't 'fast track' someone claiming asylum - the law doesn't work like that

and all this stuff about 'where are their wives' - maybe they don't have one or maybe where they are fleeing from it's men that are targeted and forced to fight or die?

One things for sure - these are desperate people - maybe if 'we' helped that would change?

Samcro · 30/07/2015 10:14

yanbu
it annoys the hell out of me that they cause all this disruption, (poor lorry drivers) cause danger to themselves and the lorry drivers and yet nothing seems to be done.
I also feel for Kent SS who get lumbered with the bill(I assume) for the under 18's

ghostyslovesheep · 30/07/2015 10:14

I sincerely hope these people are not given asylum in the UK even if they have a valid asylum claim?

HowD · 30/07/2015 10:15

It's sad to see such despirate humans.

Samcro · 30/07/2015 10:15

"One things for sure - these are desperate people - maybe if 'we' helped that would change?"

and where is the money going to come for that?

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 30/07/2015 10:18

Consider for a moment how desperate these people must be to consider hanging on to the bottom of a lorry. This is not a jolly for them.

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 30/07/2015 10:19

and where is the money going to come for that?

It's not (mostly) about money. It is about worldwide foreign policy and economics.

2rebecca · 30/07/2015 10:23

Hard to know how desperate they are when most of them have mobile phones and one interviewed on the radio yesterday wanted to come to the UK to complete his pharmacy studies that he'd started in his home country.
There are lots of desperate African countries, there isn't space to fit them all in here though it makes far more sense to try and improve conditions in their countries. How much tax payers money do we want to spend dealing with asylum cases rather than education and health?
Also there are plenty of peaceful countries between the countries they come from and the UK they just want to come here because we speak English and are seen as a soft touch.
I don't believe anyone who is already in a safe country like France and wants to come to the UK is desperate.

Samcro · 30/07/2015 10:23

i don't get why they are "desperate" they are in france, so not in a worn torn country, so surely they are safe there.

and of course it is about money,

Bilberry · 30/07/2015 10:26

even if they have a valid asylum claim

NONE of them have a valid asylum claim in the UK . They must make a claim in the first safe country they enter which is France or maybe Italy or another EU county. however, if they are granted asylum they would be able to travel around the EU.

grannytomine · 30/07/2015 10:30

There seemed to be lots of women on the boats that were getting into trouble trying to get to Italy. Maybe once they get to Europe they leave the women and kids in Italy as they are safe and then the men try to get somewhere where they can get work or know people.

FarFromAnyRoad · 30/07/2015 10:32

What Bilberry said. Of course it's ghastly. Of course it's a human tragedy and of course there are so many countries where conditions are beyond awful for the people living there.
I have a question for those who believe we should sit back and let all comers in - when does it stop? How full do we have to get? How much of an impact on our lives does there have to be before there is real civil unrest? It's just not possible to keep on letting economic migrants in because with every one in comes a family some time later - we don't have enough housing etc as it is so where does it all stop?

bearleftmonkeyright · 30/07/2015 10:33

The lady on breakfast news this morning was interesting to listen to. I have no doubt there are some desperate people there, who have endured unbelievable hardship. Why else would you move on from your home country? Naga Munchetty's interview with Nigel Farage was interesting also. She struggled I think to hide her contempt for him. And he is a pretty contemptible character.

The one point that the lady made from the Charity (sorry I forget where she was from) is that many want to come to the UK because they can speak English so feel that they could find work more easily. Which kind of makes sense. Also many do have a valid claim for asylum. This situation is only going to intensify. There needs to be a coherent narrative from the European Union about how all member states are going to deal with this.

onedayiwillmissthis · 30/07/2015 10:41

they may still be 'desperate'...but they are not at risk and have not been since they entered any of the other European countries through which they have travelled.

they could have applied for asylum in any of these countries...indeed, should have applied in the first country they arrived in...if 'asylum' is indeed their claim

I believe the majority are economic migrantsAngry

Desperate? Yes...to get what they want.
Will stop at nothing? Probably.

Dangerous? Some, definitely. The problem is that if they succeed in entering UK through this route/behaviour...we have no way of identifying them until it is too late.

FarFromAnyRoad · 30/07/2015 10:43

Coherent narratives are all very well - but since it's taken so long to get to this point what hope of there being anything close to a 'coherent narrative' any time in the foreseeable future? Slim to fuck all would be my guess.
It takes little time and small events to turn a situation like this into a full scale violent disturbance. I would suggest that the time window for narrative has long since flown. This is a parcel being passed that nobody wants to hold on to.

DoeEyedNear · 30/07/2015 10:44

I suppose Europe isn't helping stop them at Calais because we stopped helping with sicily.

Either way Europe isn't the golden land they think it is. Italy, Greece, France and here in the UK seem to take the brunt of it all and it can't cope. Perhaps the answer is to tackle it before they get to land? How to do this I don't know!

shrimpyturn · 30/07/2015 10:46

I think bearleftmonkeyright makes a good point. A lot of these people can speak a few English phrases and no French, so they think they're better off in England as well. That and we do have a much more accessible welfare system.

I just makes me sad that people abuse our borders. I honestly support giving refuge to those who need it. It breaks my heart to think that there are people out there who spend everyday living in a war torn nation, always under threat and worried for their lives. But there are people out there who ruin it for everyone. It's why we can't have nice things.

Coffeemarkone · 30/07/2015 10:47

tell me OP which countries do you think these 'asylum seekers' come from?
And which countries' foreign policy have rendered their nations unlivable?
Ever thought about it like that? or is it just more 'oh bloody foreigners we dont want them here!'
Dont you ever feel even just slightly aware of living on one the richest countries on the planet, who basically aquired those riches by going round the world plundering, killing and raping other countries?
Ever thought of it that way?
I guess not.
No it is all 'bloody benefits claimants and asylum seekers are ruining our comfy little suburban world isnt it?

Coffeemarkone · 30/07/2015 10:49

" It's why we can't have nice things."
what on earth do you mean by that? What 'nice things' is it you want exactly? and why cant you get them?

Moreshabbythanchic · 30/07/2015 10:53

So we take in the 5,000 estimated to be in Calais, what about the next 5,000 who turn up in the next few weeks and the ones after that?

They have no right to be in our country and we don't have the resources to take them all no matter how desperate they are.

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