to think we could all do something positive - and ask UK govt to take in a lot more Syrian refugees?

[findmeunafraid]

I get the rage. The fear. But behind all that it is hard to somehow focus on the story of all the Syrian refugees. On the people behind the headlines.
Couldn't we channel some of this vast emotion into campaignjng to take in far more refugees from Syria. To balance the gates being shut by Trump?

I know all the arguments that "we don't have space" etc etc but it is actually quite hard to believe that is really the case when many wealthy people have second, even third, homes.....

I can't start a petition, but maybe someone could?

How many and which ones? Who pays for it? The Government? Of course, it's not like the NHS is going to shit and benefits are being cut left right and centre

You haven't thought through the logistics of the scare resources that I posted about. You've just wrung your hands over a petition and been patronising to people who don't agree with exactly what you've said.

**scarce resources, not scare

Of course we can take more and should be helping the most vulnerable the women and children left in camps

We could take another 50000, the
money is also there to be added to services that help all but we have had successive governments that have cut money or planned badly

Remember when the banks needed bailing out the money was there and we are taking about a much smaller amount

Yes perhaps we could welcome more but it has to be thought through and considered carefully. Bleating on about second homes is really missing the point. It's not the physical space but the ability to ensure that we provide good quality services to existing citizens and any future ones.

"And I am suggesting we support some more "

So when you 'some' I guess you mean a 'very small number' relative to actual numbers of Syrian refugees?

So as a token gesture for the fact that the 0.2% of Syrian refugees that could go to America no longer can , we are going to take, let's say 0.1% of Syrian refugees, and put them up in council accommodation around the country.

Is that your idea?

Does that actually have a net positive impact on the Syrian crisis whatsoever?

Wouldn't it be better to send the £250 million or whatever it is that rehousing a few thousand Syrian immigants in the UK would cost, and spend it on refugees in Lebanon, Turkey and other neighbouring countries? Surely that would be more effective?

Or are these handful of people you're proposing literal tokens, gestures. 'Guys you are because FUCK TRUMP'. Cool.

I think this is a good idea if alongside there is crowdfunding to pay for it.

Syrian children....who would care for them over here?

Where would they live....we have families here already in cramped b&b's for months on end.... how would they access healthcare? 3 weeks for a doc appointment here

Oh, I don't know, not stopped, you'd have to ask df, it was his idea. Though as enthusiasm pointed out, there is always money if those who distribute it want there to be. Families in b and bs, 3 weeks for doctors, cuts, cuts, cuts. Why, though?

Always down to money isn't it

My friends DD ended up in hospital with a kidney infection before her doc appointment even arrived! Took a week off work sick. Failed to get her uni work in on time. Her mum took 2 days off and travelled 190 miles to stay with her to help....all has a knock on effect... nothing compared to Syrians suffering but all my friend cared about at that time was her own daughter ..... and I don't think she was wrong

More people here will mean longer waits for people already here. A simple urine infection shouldn't put someone in hospital

Yes, I think the contemplation of taking more Syrian refugees is probably to blame for your friend 's dd's urinary complications.
I blame df and his daily mail tendencies.

The US has taken around 70,000 refugees a year over the past 12 years link. Of these 12,000 were Syrian in 2016 (pre Trump).
The UK took around 16,000 refugees (of 38,000 applicants) in 2015 link
So we take the same % of population as the US on pre-trump basis.
Note there are 4.2 million Syrian refugees, so under Obama 0.3% of Syrian refugees were taken by the US in the biggest ever year.

Erm. No. I didn't say Syrians are to blame

But if they do take more....what Med care will be available to them if it's not available to people already here?

What if, what if? What if we accepted that economics should serve the people not vice versa? What if we made corporations pay their tax? What if we stopped subsidising companies who don't pay their employees a living wage?
Ok, I accept I'm now getting too fucking riled, so im going to bed. But thinking that refugees are in any way connected to your want is classic divide and conquer, and I wish people would rail against that more that they do against desparate, war torn people.

Like Nick Ferrari once said on LBC, if you and your neighbour's homes are on fire, you save your own children first.

Love the sentiment, but OP, there are thousands of homeless people here who are deserving of your help too.

I'm about as pro refugee as they come but this OP got my back right up! What a weird thread.

The USA accepted close to 100,000 refugees last year from various countries.
The UK 10,000.
The USA still plans on accepting 50,000 this year.
Whether the refugees come from the Congo or Serbia or Syria they all need housing.
So maybe rather than going on about the 90 day vetting restructuring why not support the fact that they still take in 5-10 times as many as the UK.

There are plenty of spare rooms in Buckingham Palace OP. In fact they have several "second homes". You may like to try your luck there?

Let us know what they say wont you? ;)

What a weird thread

I'm sorry OP you've had a tough time.

But seriously?

You took the time to start this thread? Surely that time could have been better spent starting your petition.

And yes you can start a petition completely anonymously

Well we can make as many petitions as we like but I'd eat my hat if our current government suddenly agreed to allow more refugees to enter the U.K.

I heard on the radio the other day that the UK is sending more money to support Syrian refugees in the Middle East than the rest of Europe combined. To my mind that is the UK taking the situation seriously and doing something about it.

I read on MN the other week that the population of the UK has risen by 10 million since the turn of the century. Public services are at breaking point, many families already living here are homeless, and the majority of people living on the street in London are foreign. There were reports in the paper yesterday about the poor conditions refugees are living in once here, I just can't see how we could provide for huge numbers of new refugees in this country.

Pebbles you wanted this to be a nice thread, but it's you who was nasty on here.

You said you were attacked, but it's you who attacked posters and suggested they should hang their heads in shame

You want everyone else to do something yet you can't.

Maybe take a look at yourself and your intentions before having a bad attitude towards others. What's the point of making big statements to 'help' when you won't?

When you say take in "more", how many more do you mean?

And is that instead of, or in addition to, the the number of all refugees brought here under official schemes already (OP: how many is that anyhow? and how many arrive under their own steam?)

Syria isn't the only place from which people flee. I don't want to see others finding it harder because not all conflicts and injustices make it to the headlines of the extremely rich countries.

And OP, you are right - UK is extremely rich. But people still bang on about cutting the aid budget, and worrying we'll become slightly poorer with Brexit. If you take a slightly different and more global perspective, then yes, we are among the most privileged people on the planet.

Saudi king agrees in call with Trump to support Syria, Yemen safe zones: White House

"Saudi Arabia's King Salman, in a telephone call on Sunday with U.S. President Donald Trump, agreed to support safe zones in Syria and Yemen, a White House statement said.

Trump, during his presidential campaign last year, had called for Gulf states to pay for establishing safe zones to protect Syrian refugees."

I said people should hang their heads in shame for continuing to make this tread about me mtb
But it seems people are insisting on focussing on doing that. That is immensely disappointing. Especially given that I
a) explained I had PTSD and was really struggling with the attacks
b) explained i cannot start a govt petition but people continue to interpret that as will not.
c) explained I do a huge amount volunteering for charity already and that I am currently reflecting on all the ways I can help (we all have different skills and resources)

On a more general note I had hoped all the attacks on trump meant there was a genuine wish for our country to be different. But a number of the arguments on here are exactly those that trump supporters are advancing for the ban.

Yes, have a debate about how we can help more come over here, or whether we can better help by sending out money over seas. That is an interesting point.

Yes have a debate about what resources we have here vs how
Much of those resources we are prepared to share

But why waste your energies attacking a random stranger? I wasn't making my post about you? I was making it about us as a nation