Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

See all MNHQ comments on this thread

To think that the 'Calais Camp' situation needs to be resolved ASAP!

999 replies

Kreacherelf · 24/01/2016 14:20

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3413566/Port-Calais-closed-migrants-storm-harbour-make-Spirit-Britain-ferry-desperate-bid-reach-UK.html

This is just getting ridiculous now. France need to take this problem to the EU and ask for help dealing with it immediately. It has gone on for too long and needs to stop.

I don't know what the answer is. I think the UK should take anyone under 18, and their family members. Other than that, everyone else should have to apply for asylum in France or risk arrest. Not a perfect solution, but the only one I have.

OP posts:
OneWingWonder · 28/01/2016 19:03

BillSykes

'And we're told they're being attacked here too. But the claim they can't stay in France because they will be attacked exposes your biggest hypocrisy Emily. If a woman is attacked in Germany or Sweden or Denmark it's all just an unfortunate little isolated incident which can't possibly expose a cultural tendency or be seen as anything beyond the act of an individual, and women get attacked all the time anyway so it doesn't really matter. But if a refugee is attacked by someone French then suddenly the entire country is a danger and the French as a whole are such a danger asylum seekers should be allowed to get away from the French.'

Absolutely brilliant point!

SirChenjin · 28/01/2016 19:07

Thol says camps in Europe - not Calais. I have absolutely no doubt that the camps further down into Europe has a higher number of refugees from these countries (mainly men, strangely enough).

Moreshabbythanchic · 28/01/2016 19:07

I know Just, I have asked her several things before and got no reply. I just think she has a terrible cheek telling us what to do in the UK when it will not affect her or her family's life, its like me telling my NDN to change her way of life to suit me.

OneWingWonder · 28/01/2016 19:07

JollyXmasJumper

'The U.K. and uk voters are responsible here for the existence of this mess.

Blame France and the EU all you want with how they are dealing with the situation. But they did not create it.'

WTF? They're in France, so it's the responsibility of the French (and ultimately of open-door enthusiasts like Germany and Sweden). Britain has no responsibility whatsoever to take applications from foreign soil, although we do so voluntarily from applicants in the camps around Syria.

Calais hasn't been English territory since 1558!

ItsJustaUsername · 28/01/2016 19:12

'And we're told they're being attacked here too. But the claim they can't stay in France because they will be attacked exposes your biggest hypocrisy Emily. If a woman is attacked in Germany or Sweden or Denmark it's all just an unfortunate little isolated incident which can't possibly expose a cultural tendency or be seen as anything beyond the act of an individual, and women get attacked all the time anyway so it doesn't really matter. But if a refugee is attacked by someone French then suddenly the entire country is a danger and the French as a whole are such a danger asylum seekers should be allowed to get away from the French.'

Emily will quietly slope off now until the thread moves on a bit in order to avoid addressing her own hypocrisy. She's been playing this tedious game for weeks.

AMouseLivedinaWindMill · 28/01/2016 19:12

But it doesn't mean we can't help anyone, ever

We pay a huge amount of aid to the camps outside syria.

we are taking the weakest most vulnerable from camps in syria and have agreed to take children and hopefully more.

LumelaMme · 28/01/2016 19:13

it is you that thinks attacks by a particular kind of man are more heinous.
More bullshit from emily. What is 'more heinous' is the sheer number of sexual assaults in one place in one night, carried out by a large group of men. I am not aware of this ever having happened in Europe before. This was said endlessly on the Cologne threads, which emily read.

I'm not going through that discussion all over again.

Tholeonagain · 28/01/2016 19:14

V recent UNHCR report says 55 per cent of those arriving in Europe by sea now women and children

emilybohemia · 28/01/2016 19:17

Millions Zed? The UK isn't letting in millions. Cameron is letting in 20,000 Syrian refugees in over five years, hardly millions. It's pathetic.

Itsjust, I've answered loads of questions, but do remember, it's not Newsnight.

Moreshabby, back to your odd fascination with where I live. I will live in the UK again in the coming years and am British, although I feel it is irrelevant really to discussing these issues and NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS. I have discussed the UK's lack of response and the EU's response in this thread and the Cologne threads.

You are actually talking about other threads really by bringing where I live into it, which you often seem to when you have no counter arguments.

I am critical of the response of the country I live in too but have no intention of going into it, when posters have been searching for me on twitter and making comments asserting they know my hobbies and other half's activities. You seem far too interested in my personal circumstances than discussing Calais.

emilybohemia · 28/01/2016 19:19

I also recall you sayiny you are from the US moreshabby, but I am not so petty as to think it means you can't have an opinion on Calais.

Puzzledandpissedoff · 28/01/2016 19:23

Can someone tell me if its correct that French landlords arent allowed to evict anyone in the winter months

Apparently this i9s true: www.hunt-a-home.com/info/rentals-advice

HelenaDove · 28/01/2016 19:26

Thanks for the link Puzzled. I remembered an Mner saying it on another thread a while ago.

Moreshabbythanchic · 28/01/2016 19:29

Emily IT IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS AT THE MOMENT what we in the UK do, when you return then you can have your say. I couldn't care less where you live, all I know is its NOT HERE!

DG2016 · 28/01/2016 19:29

We are doing so very much, more aid I believe than anyone to those in most need in Syria and Turkey by the way. The British should be proud of their contribution. Now of course we cannot take everyone on the planet who would like to live here and it may well be billions and it's not immoral if we don't. It's best for the people here in the UK and most British people agree with that stance.

As for a million unfortrunately 1m+ as I posted above are in the EU and just because Cameron will take x numberfrom Syria is irrelevant. If they are given rights to be in Germany etc then as we are a 28 nation EU those people then have a right to move to the UK so 1m anywhere in the EU means up to 1m here. By the way following its laws Sweden exects to refuse asylum to about 80 000 (there are lots of lying chancers out there as we all know who just want more money) and they will be deported out of the EU.

Moreshabbythanchic · 28/01/2016 19:32

Please show me where I have said I'm from the US. I was born here and lived here every day of my life, excepting holidays, none of which were ever in the US. Just goes to show how you make things up.

SnowBells · 28/01/2016 19:39

emilybohemia I have said people should not be left to rot in camps. Look at the people that let people rot in camps in the past, they weren't very nice.

You're falling foul of Godwin's law now, are you?!

JollyXmasJumper · 28/01/2016 19:44

OneWing - yes they are stranded in France because Britain shut the door on their faces. And left the French to deal with it.

It is Britain's responsibility.

But hey, why don't all European countries do the same and leave their neighbors to deal with it? Or better yet create massive camps at the EU's borders so that refugees can burn in the sun rather than freeze in the mud? Oh wait.

Let's just not forget these people are human beings. All of them. Not just the three years old that drown at sea. Reading some of the posts here, it is like the rats are going to invade us and spread the plague!

unlucky83 · 28/01/2016 19:48

Just picking up on the comment that the UK has lots of space...
In 2014 the population density of the UK (no of people per sq km) is 267. The population density of France is 121....they have a similar population to the UK but have 2.5 times the land mass.
So who has the most space?
(and out of interest Germany's is 232).

And emily using your heart and not your head...
The more you write the more you remind me of people who 'rescue' unwanted animals - they keep taking them, even though they can't take care of them properly their heart won't let them turn them away. The animals end up in terrible conditions. Like in this case www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2012-04-19/couple-banned-from-keeping-animals-after-setting-up-makeshift-animal-sanctuary-in-their-home/ or this one www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/animal-lover-who-kept-69-6615086 and there are hundreds of similar cases. And they are very sad because the people involved were genuinely trying to help - just thinking with hearts rather than their heads...
(And before anyone jumps on me I am not comparing immigrants to animals - I'm comparing the mentality and showing a good eg of why not using your head is a bad idea...)

OneWingWonder · 28/01/2016 20:00

JollyXmasJumper

'It is Britain's responsibility.'

On what planet is it Britain's responsibility? Care to back that claim up with some facts rather than pure assertion?

emilybohemia · 28/01/2016 20:03

Moreshabby, you do care about whereIlive. You have mentioned it quite a few times, it's weird.

Saying I can't discuss Calais until I return to the UK is ludicrous.

Snowbells, I don't give a shit about Godwin's law. I see the frightening parallels and Europe is taking a very sinister turn toward fascism right now.

I have no shame in using my heart. The using one's 'head' school of thought that places blame on refugees for their situation is not one I'm keen on. If people had used their hearts in the past instead of suspecting Jews of being spies, more lives would have been saved.

Unlucky, I don't care what I remind you of. I'd much rather be me than what you remind me of, that's for sure.

LumelaMme · 28/01/2016 20:03

Let's just not forget these people are human beings. All of them. Not just the three years old that drown at sea.
Indeed, Jolly. Which is why it has repeatedly been argued by a lot of posters on this and related threads that life should be made better in the camps in Turkey, the Lebanon and Jordan, so that people are not tempted to go to sea and drown. Besides, Syria is going to need its enterprising and educated citizens to rebuild it at some point in the future - but if those people are settled in Europe with children who can barely read Arabic, moving back 'home' will be ten times harder.

BillSykesDog · 28/01/2016 20:09

'the authorities are actively going into the camps in Calais to encourage them to make asylum claims in France'

are they?

Yes. Even your buddies at Calais Refugee Solidarity are whinging on about how unfair it is that they are being encouraged to do so because, of course, they think they should be able to go where they like. The French want them to apply and be dispersed to accommodation. But apparently this is unfair because they don't like the accommodation they've been offered. They want their own houses and to live in particular areas.

calaismigrantsolidarity.wordpress.com/2015/11/01/mass-dispersal-the-strategy-of-the-french-state/

'Yes, there are some delays in places like Paris, but many other places where it takes 3 days or less to register'.

Codswallup. It can take a year to even get the papers to apply for asylum, as I said. There is nowhere it takes three days.

I love the way you just pick your facts out of the air and expect them to be unquestioningly accepted. Here is some information from a website from refugees which I will link to below. An appointment has to be made at the prefecture to collect the registration papers. The deadline for this appointment is 3 days. Many prefectures are meeting this. Some have delays, but the longest are 2 months in Seine St Denis and 1 month in Paris. Nothing like a year.

the deadline between their first expression of intention for lodging a claim at the Prefectures and the effective registration of their claim and the consequent delivery of the asylum claim certification has been reduced to 3 days.12 It can be expanded up to 10 days in case of exceptional situation. However, at the time of writing, the delay for registering asylum claims was of 15 days in the Rhône, 1 month in Paris and 2 months in Seine Saint Denis.

So even in the places where the delay is the absolute longest they're looking at 4 months from making their presence known to having had their papers fully received and registration as an asylum seeker finalised with temporary permission to stay until their application as dealt with. Nowhere even near a year 'just to get papers'.

www.asylumineurope.org/reports/country/France/asylum-procedure/procedures/registration-asylum-application

'And if, as you're constantly claiming, they are Syrian, their colonial history is French, not British'.

I haven't. Some are Syrian, some are from ex colonial countries, as I said.

It's convenient how fluid these things are for you Emily. When you're arguing that they should be allowed in because of what they've suffered they're Syrian. When you're arguing that they want to live somewhere English is spoken they're not.

Never said it doesn't matter. Never said they were isolated incidents and have stated that attacks on women are actually very frequent on commonplace. I just don't believe the spurious and illogical claims based on the supposed homogenous culture of diverse countries and a religion that has millions of followers.

Not at all, I said all attacks on women should be taken seriously, it is you that thinks attacks by a particular kind of man are more heinous.

I didn't say the attacks were 'worse' because they were committed by migrants.

But you're doing it again. A migrant attacked by a refugee has a legitimate reason to be concerned and unhappy about living amongst French people because apparently they are completely entitled to decide that the French in general are all the same and intolerable to live with. You take their concerns seriously If a western woman is attacked by migrants and people question if there are cultural factors at play, or if a mass movement of young men from areas where women are treated abominably might be creating high risks for women's safety they're racist stereotypers who think 'spurious and illogical' things.

You've prioritised their victimhood, their right to question if their attacks are part of a wider culture and their beliefs about the groups their attackers belong to depending on the race of those involved. You believe one group is entitled to those concerns and the other isn't entitled to exactly the same concerns based on the race of those involved.

How? Are you comparing me with the Ku Klux Klan? Please explain his fascinating and outlandish theory.

Yes I am. Absolutely. I have constantly seen you excuse, minimise or deny any crimes committed by migrants. You are in favour of reporting of them being restricted. You do not wish to discuss if there are any cultural factors or predjudices driving these crimes. When the Cologne attacks were reported you worked from the premise that your favoured groups (migrants) were beyond reproach and you refused to believe the crimes were committed by them even when it became obvious they were. When you had to admit they probably had you made excuses and minimised.

Change the word 'migrants' to 'white' and that attitude can be transplanted to apply to lynchings in the Deep South. You make your judgements on how serious the crimes are, how aggrieved the victims should be and their right to be concerned about whether their attack had a base in culture or predjudice based on race. You are the racist Emily.

Moreshabbythanchic · 28/01/2016 20:17

Emily I have mentioned it twice, hardly an obsession and I mentioned it because you have no right to tell us in this country what to do and how to behave when it has no impact on you at present, very arrogant and cheeky, amongst other things.

DG2016 · 28/01/2016 20:23

Jolly the majority British view and that of the Govenrment is not an uncompassionate view. We simply cannot take into the UK everyone who wants to come here. I am afraid that is how it is. We have not shut the door in the faces of people - we simply have the Channel so it is harder for people to get in. We have EU rules on where and when people can claim asylum and the English courts do work - we had some unaccompanied minors recently with family in the UK who have won the right to come as they are entitled apparently under current law.

Also all those who want all asylum seekers here how many personally would you put up in your home on a permanent basis? In the place these people want to live and where we and our children have to live to earn enhough to eat such as my bit of London there is a massive housing shortage. So if we allowed say 1m or 5m into the London area that would presumably mean putting about 4 or 5 families into every existing family home on bunk beds with your own children sharing your room. I don't think most of us would be prepared to do that even if current law allowed it - which it does not.

Brightnorthernlights · 28/01/2016 20:33

I know it was posted/linked to very early on in the thread, but I have to say I think this is one of the best articles I have read regarding the refugee/migrant crisis.

www.spectator.co.uk/2015/08/if-you-really-want-to-help-refugees-look-beyond-the-mediterranean/

Swipe left for the next trending thread