Social housing and Syrian Refugees

[Plentymoresharks]

Controversial one. A memo has gone out from the local council to local residents, asking whether anyone has a property they can offer for Syrian refugees, housing benefit will be paid as well as a premium and money to hold the property until it is occupied, money for decorating and repairing the property etc.

Aibu to find it ridiculous that basically the council will be housing refugees who have been flown around the world ahead of people already on the waiting list for social housing? Also, there are homeless people who I see every day, living in the park and under a car park bridge but they aren't getting this same help (the memo mentions the social and medical help the refugees will also be given).

Why ismy tax money is spent helping these refugees coming from some godforsaken hell hole of a wartorn country where many face death or torture or watching their families die or be kidnapped or raped. They should just suck it up

Also, why is my tax money spent on helping these British people either- they get money, free houses, no council tax, help doing stuff, free food, free christmas presents. And dont get me started on the disabled either- they get even more money from me to fund their free houses being adapted to their needs, blue badges, free cars, benefits- what have they ever contributed. and these vulnerable women running from abusive partners get free houses, free education for their kids all sorts. These people should suck it up too.

The reason why is because I am human, and they are all humans as well. If it costs me a few quid a year from my taxes and charitable donations to help those who are in need the most as a fellow human being then I'm all for it and I am thankful that I am in a position to help them.

Anyone complaining that we are helping these people should have a long hard look at themselves in the mirror. and then slap themselves for being a twunt.

"fanjo god you could,nt be more wrong if you tried .i am just saying people who live here get fed up with folk coming in and getting better treatment .this just breeds resentment.take for example refugees in the isle of arran just came last week .the council announced they will get accomadation .house fully furnished they will pay no bills and get money to tide them over until they get ni number then they can start claiming benefits.now local folk dont get offered this. does it sound fair to you"

Yes it sounds fair. They have nothing and have come from a place that is pretty much rubble. How would you like them to pay for accomodation? Maybe you'd rather we brought back the workhouse for refugees

My sister friend works for the council in a busy city in the South East. She gets frustrated at seeing immigrants getting priority over housing while people who were born in the city are living in temporary accommodation or homeless with no hope for a long time of getting a permanent home.

My sister a leftie but I noticed she has started to change on the topic of immigration and I feel there will come a point where a high number of people in the country will say no more...

I think leaving the EU is the only answer to this problem, I wouldn't mind taking in many refugees if for one year we stopped our open borders to the EU. How can we maintain this level of migration?

Summer...that's hardly fair lots of people born in the UK are hardly lucky, many will be living lives marred by violence and terror, with not very many opportunities at all...

I think the true disgrace lies with countries like Saudi who have the wealth and space to help these people who are at least of the same religion, yet they are unwilling to take them in

The bulk of the estimated 4 million refugees from Syria have been settled in the surrounding states. Nearly 2 million in Turkey, another million in Lebanon, 600,000 in Jordan and over 100,000 in Egypt and Iraq each.

On Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf States, that claim at least, has a rational explanation. The primary reason for this myth is that Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf States are not signatories of the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees. Thus, their refugee relocations are not handled by the UNHCR, and their statistics aren’t compiled by the UNHCR. So if you go looking for stats on Saudi Arabia or UAE through the UNHCR’s website, you’re not going to find anything.

Saudi Arabia claims to have relocated over 2.5 million refugees within it’s territory. And they’re tired of people disbelieving them. Even though the UN doesn’t count them, they acknowledge that at least 500,000 refugees have ended up in Saudi Arabia.

Not my words.

I'm not a Christian either, AnthonyBlanche.

But you asked Babyboomersrock what the connection was between Christmas/Christianity and the UK taking refugees. And both she and I explained it to you.

I love the outrage at the Syrian's not integrating. Yeah, you'd want to integrate with a bunch of biggoted, ignorant racists like many posters on this thread wouldn't you . They're probably fucking terrified.

I don't LOL at much on here but the 'what has this got to do with Christmas' is one of the funniest things I've ever read. The same bigots who spout this shit about refugees are the same ones who spread the bullshit on FB saying you're not allowed to show pictures of the nativity in case it offends. How fucking thick can you actually get.

I dont understand all the posters sayig we should help refugess but who don't seem to think the same applies to vulnerable and homeless people here. I've often been made to feel like I'm not human, especially when I was homeless - nice to know MNers think like that too

And in case it isn't obvious: I'm not saying don't help refugess, just wondering why other suffering people apparently don't deserve help too.

I don't think anyone has said we shouldn't help any vulnerable or homeless people

I am not sure where you are getting that from element

Summer...that's hardly fair lots of people born in the UK are hardly lucky, many will be living lives marred by violence and terror, with not very many opportunities at all

Yes. And many born in Syria will be facing all that with the added problems of dodging bombs and bullets and having no home and no safety net to feel, clothe and house their children.

I know in which Country I would rather face those problems in.

At the very least in the UK, the vast majority of people will be clothed, housed and fed regardless of their personal circumstances. Which is a much better and 'luckier' circumstance than millions of others around the World are in.

I have an iPhone. If someone starts bombing London do I not deserve to get to a safe place just because I can reasonably expect to have £35 extra/month for my contract for the next two years?

Refugees aren't vulnerable because they're all poor it's because they're in danger of being killed, for fuck's sake! Why do some people never want to let go of the first image that pops into their head? Rich and poor are equally deserving of refuge.

Some excellent posts on here as well as the bigoted ones.

PausingFlatly your explanation only makes sense if you start from the position that everyone in the UK is a practising Christian and therefore has the nativity story in the front of their minds. Given the attendance numbers published by Christian churches I think that is very far from being the case.

"I'm not saying don't help refugess, just wondering why other suffering people apparently don't deserve help too"

we do both

That's interesting Sockamnesty

Btw on the subject of integration... I think it's an issue but not straightforward at all. I live in a very ethnically diverse area, and the people who are causing some issues relating to cutural difference are not those with the most different culture, on the face of it. (iyswim?!)

The number of empty properties in this country is a disgrace. Whether it is streets of boarded up terraced houses in Liverpool, or mansions owned by foreign investors in London going to rack and ruin, there should be strongly incentivised or compelled to refurbish them if necessary and make them available to anyone who needs them, whether Syrian refugees or UK homeless.

Summer - what's your point? Yes, Syria is bad, but being homeless poor and hungry in the UK is hardly a cakewalk and arguably since the majority of the refugees we are taking have come straight from refugee camps, the immediate threat of bombs etc. are gone.

I think we should take refugees btw but let's not lose focus on the fact that all vulnerable people deserve help.

I think there would be 'room for everyone' if private landlords were given an incentive to house everyone on HB ( refugee or not)

That's probably been said already tho

The thing is elementofsurprise is that our definition of 'homeless' (sleeping in an overcrowded house, being in B&B accommodation being a couple) are often vastly different to when you talk about homeless refuges. Who are homeless to the extent that they don't even have a Country to go to, let alone a mates couch they could possibly kip on.

I don't think anyone has said that we shouldn't help British homeless anywhere on the thread. The number of truly homeless in the UK is relatively small though.

It's not an either or situation.

i do love mn. so if you ask a question on here (an maybe change your mind after your read responses) your a bigot.
we should be able to discuss this without that childish response.

Maybe if the government actually got their act together and deported some of the people who are here illegally we might have more resources available to help the people who genuinely need help. We cant keep letting more and more in, we have millions who have legally come from Europe recently and approx. 7,000 more waiting in Calais. There has to be a limit and we should make genuine refugees our priority.

The only part I think is stupid is housing any refugees in London, where housing is already in huge demand at an over inflated premium, and infrastructure is already creaking: hospitals, schools, GP surgeries etc. It's madness.

However there are plenty of towns across the UK that could take a family or two, and we should absolutely be doing that.

Happy Christmas OP - you know Mary and Joseph where refugees?

The reason these people are 'being flown around the world' is because this government will ONLY take refugees from official camps

The money for a lot of this is coming from the foreign aid budget

the letter you site is to PRIVATE landlord - nothing to do with social housing

I am glad we are helping people in need

A slight aside but it always makes me laugh when the Britain first types have a go at the refugees for 'not integrating' etc. These are largely the same people.who will go fucking Spain on holiday for a fortnight without uttering a word of Spanish, without letting a morsel of 'forrin food' pass their lips, and spending their whole time in Linekers getting shitfaced and watching Arsenal on the telly.

And yet they have the fucking audacity to berate people who have fled everything they know, who have had to come to a foreign country for an indefinite amount of time, who have possibly lost friends and family to war, for wanting to stick together and not signing up for English lessons the second they step off the plane.

Fuck that.

Also, according to the Daily Mail types then, the refugees shouldnt be housed up in Scotland because its too poor and there is no work, but they shouldnt be housed in London either? Where should they go then?

aprilanne, are you jealous?? would you rather have had to flee your country? maybe seen your family murdered? worse? would you want that, just for some benefits? really???

Fanjo, that about sums it up - people hiding behind a cause to spread their hate filled ignorance.