Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To think only 3 of the 15 migrant children look under 18

1000 replies

AmyMiller · 17/10/2016 19:15

www.google.co.uk/amp/www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3843900/amp/First-migrant-children-arrive-UK-Calais-French-prepare-raze-Jungle-camp-ground.html?client=safari

This is so ridiculous, many of them look around 25.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
11
PinkyOfPie · 17/10/2016 22:41

Want to also point out again exact same pictures and story on BBC News and the Giardian

smilingmind · 17/10/2016 22:42

If anyone wants to know what the age checks are then I suggest they contact the government or whoever set them up.
I do not know how confidential they are but surely you can see that the person who told me this would not expect me to betray their confidence

RoseGoldHippie · 17/10/2016 22:44

Smiling - they are really the biggest victims here a 4 year old knows nothing of looking after themselves, especially in these so called camps! I may be stoking a fire here but as they are in France, what is France doing to help the camps along the boarder? Are they offering any aid at all? I really don't know much of the workings on this at the moment so please forgive my obvious ignorance!

PinkyOfPie · 17/10/2016 22:44

smiling joking aside does my link above from gov.uk ring true at all? Or is there more to it than that?

angryangryyoungwoman · 17/10/2016 22:44

*less than 10% of those who arrive in Italy claim aslyum.

About 30% of those who do claim are refugees. So 3% of those who arrive in and claim in italy are actually refugees.

And most of those who get off the boats have destroyed their papers, refuse to be identified and have the UK as their final destination because of the welfare system*

The source you gave does not verify your assertions

thanksamillion · 17/10/2016 22:45

There is a girl in at least one of the pictures. Out of 14 for one to be female is probably a fair reflection on the make up of refugees.

myownprivateidaho · 17/10/2016 22:45

pinky yeah I am not saying that the mail doctored the images pinky. I'm just saying that arrangement of pictures and the captions are clearly goody. FWIW I don't think it's unlikely that these guys are older than 18. I also wouldn't blame them if they were. It's also possible they're prematurely aged teenagers. hard to know.

almondpudding · 17/10/2016 22:46

The make up of refugees where?

vichill · 17/10/2016 22:47

the dm will skew but it is evident that there are at least 10 people masquerading as a child. the limited quota of a half hearted refugee program has adults taking up spaces. being right on for right on's sake will not help those children who are absolutely helpless.

myownprivateidaho · 17/10/2016 22:47

And it's not entirely unlikely that people from the middle east don't have birth certificates etc. I've got a yemeni friend who reckons he's about 30 but doesn't have any record of it and could be anything from 29-31. He doesn't know his real birthday. It's pretty normal for these things not to be recorded. So consequently checks aren't going to be perfect either.

PinkyOfPie · 17/10/2016 22:47

Oh I agree about the Mail's manipulation of language myown and their passive aggressive headline! My point wasn't a dig it was just to say it isn't Fail fodder but pictures are genuine and being shown elsewhere

BakeOffBiscuits · 17/10/2016 22:47

This has just been on the ITV news. They showed the boy being reunited with his uncle, he had been sent by his mum as his father an dbrother had been murdered.
He did look 16.

I'm not sure about the others, but i don't really care about their age tbh. The vast, vast majority of immigrants are hard working and add a huge amount to the country.

Amalfimamma · 17/10/2016 22:48

The source you gave does not verify your assertions

which source (I gave you two) and which assertions?

BakeOffBiscuits · 17/10/2016 22:49

I feel like crying at the DM comments I've just read. Why are such racist comments allowed in print.Angry

Maybe someone needs to report the Mail for hate speech?

crashdoll · 17/10/2016 22:51

The government have slashed social care budgets by 35%. If an adult is claiming to be a child, they will be using the scarce resources that could be spent on actual children. I think we, as a privileged society, certainly need to do more to support all humans who have been traumatised by war and poverty. I don't think that pretending adult men don't lie to get in is helpful. I would do the same if it were my family member, I am casting no judgement. I am expressing concern that precious social care resources are being wasted.

There is a lot of typical MN virtue signalling. Perhaps you'd feel differently if you knew the male "child" in the room next door to your vulnerable daughter in the residential home for foster children was actually 20 odd. Perhaps you have opened your home to foster children and find that suddenly, it's not a child.

Social workers do not have magical powers. There is no particular expertise or concrete training on this. There are so many times when we know people are having us on but we cannot prove it, so just in case, 22 year old Ali goes to Mrs Smith who is a foster career with 2 teenage daughters.

prettybird · 17/10/2016 22:51

A Turkish boy ds plays rugby with has been shaving since he was 10 Shock - in contrast to ds (just turned 16) who has only just started shaving and probably didn't need to

His friend is only a month younger than him - still only 15.

I see a massive difference in shapes and appearance amongst the boys playing age grade rugby. The number of times parents of the opposition team have muttered about us playing "overage" players - yet the boys that they are complaining about are actually the underage players playing up. (I know their dates of birth so I know that they are "legal") There have been times when we have likewise been playing teams when we're convinced some of the boys are young men well over 15/16/18 depending on the team playing but the coaches assure us that they are within the age category. Boys in Ayrshire are particularly large

Teenage boys are very difficult to categorise. Living unaccompanied in camps I think would rapidly them. Even in a family unit, I think it would age any of us.

angryangryyoungwoman · 17/10/2016 22:52

most of those who get off the boats have destroyed their papers, refuse to be identified and have the UK as their final destination because of the welfare system

crashdoll · 17/10/2016 22:53

Just to add, I am not casting aspersions on the ages of the migrants in the photos. I am stating that we know there are a number of adult males who pretend to be a child and we cannot always prove they are not, so they get services....the ones that have been slashed by 35%.....while actual children remain elsewhere, in danger and totally failed by society.

angryangryyoungwoman · 17/10/2016 22:53

Your sources do not back this assertion up....

angryangryyoungwoman · 17/10/2016 22:55

Anyway, off to bed, glad that I live in a safe country where I don't have to make a choice as to whether to flee for my life from where I was born or risk my life by staying

smilingmind · 17/10/2016 22:55

Pinky I have looked at the link you found and it seems to be discussing age checks which immigration officers carry out. These obviously couldn't be as thorough as those done when the person actually applies for asylum as they have to make quite a quick decision on whether they should be allowed to enter the country and if so on what basis.
The tests I was talking about are those done later when the person has, legally or illegally, entered the country.
From what I read, very quickly, there seem to be regional differences in the way these tests are conducted.
I also think having someone who knows the country these people claim to be from is important as they can ask questions about the culture, language, the life the person led there etc.

BakeOffBiscuits · 17/10/2016 22:56

crashdoll and others.....

These children have families to go to, they won't be in foster care !

crashdoll · 17/10/2016 22:59

BakeOff I was commenting generally, not necessarily about these young individuals. People get shirty on here and say "but they are humans" and of course, they are but I was giving another perspective.

smilingmind · 17/10/2016 22:59

I have a child living with me whose ethnicity is from one of these countries.
He has lived with me since a baby and never encountered any hardship.
People always think he is around 4 years older than he is.

PuntCuffin · 17/10/2016 22:59

What M00MINMAMMA said. Hard work and being outdoors ages people.

Way up thread people were talking about receding hairlines and how they couldn't possibly have them and be under 30 (paraphrasing). My older brother was almost completely bald by 15 years old. My cousin was similar. It happens in some families.
I also had a friend at uni who started to go grey in her teens, as did all her siblings and was completely white by 23.
There was a 13 year old (white British) boy in Y8 at my son's school last year who was over 6' tall, his voice had broken, he was as broad as my husband, had started shaving etc. If I hadn't known he was in Y8, I'd have thought he was at least 19.

So, from my immediate experience, I can readily find examples of people to prove that age cannot simply be guessed on the basis of a Daily Heil photo.
A total of 14 allowed in and people are saying they fear for their daughters. I fear for the future of this country with attitudes like that.

Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.

This thread is not accepting new messages.