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?

GteatScot8 - just an observation.. I'm not advocating for any system. Do any of them truly work?

Zafod Not particularly well, but communist regimes have been some of the worst to exist in recent history.

You can't just "take" from people to support a cause they may not even support themselves. It doesn't work like that. We all have unnecessary things, or areas in which our money could go to better use, so why doesn't everyone chip in, if it's a cause that they support?

YABU OP. One reason being we currently have hundreds of British families living in B&Bs because there is no social housing - we have to assume the Syrian refugees are not going to be able to buy a house. People who have second homes have probably worked hard to achieve their lifestyle so why would they hand them over to random strangers? I support charities that I choose to support, and homing Syrian refugees isn't one of them. We're only a small country and unfortunately cannot save the world.

Is noone going to mention that the Syrian Government is asking people to return and rebuild now tht ISIS are pinned in?

www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2017/1/30/syrian-regime-calls-for-refugees-to-return-home

Bet they don't leave though.

Yabu. Sorry but as much as it's hard for them this country is in crisis as it is nhs, housing etc. America started this shit America should sort it out.

All this was said about the Irish. Been very interesting to see who jumps on board the immigrant/NESB/funny foreigner looking hate train....we're being played and people fall right in line.... again.

Minishimmi I have to admit I don't really understand your comment about the Irish. What was said about the Irish and when?

We should be encouraging the government to spend money and diplomatic resources to genuinely trying to seek an end to the conflict that is making Syria and other affected countries impossible to live in. Instead they are complicit in fucking up entire regions and creating a massive migration problem that can't reasonably be solved by us beating ourselves up about not being able to rehouse their entire populations.

And, yes, I do know it's not that simple.

I am sorry you are having a hard time on the thread findme

Your heart is obviously in the right place

I hope you are ok today

How much open countryside would have to be built over to provide for Syrian refugees?

And once we have built houses for Syrian refugees, how about those from Libya? Then there are missions in Afghanitsan. And millions in Yemen, and millions in South Sudan...

Where do we draw a line?

What paffle said

It is not as simple as you may think, op.

It's not just a question of housing, but where that housing is situated and what sort of supportive amenities and public services are in the area. You can run into difficulties legally if the housing is not within reasonable distance of a place of worship, for example.

Our local council were asked to look into the possibility for resettlement of refugees and well, for a start, there's just very little suitable housing available at all. If there were, we wouldn't have a housing list. There's also an issue in that we are a largely semi-rural borough and public transport links are poor, nor do we have the supportive administrative processes set up to support large numbers of non-English speaking migrants that require a total orientation in how things work in Britain.

Then there's schooling and medical services. Our schools are already over-capacity and our local hospital struggles to cope. We've also got power supply issues caused by over-development straining the grid, and have nearly got to the point during some summers where the water supply is dangerously low.

You can't just take people and house them in an area where they will be utterly isolated and unable to easily buy groceries. You also cannot house people in areas that do not have the funds to cope.

You also have to be careful not to house refugees in areas where there could be sectarian clashes. It can cause public order problems, for example, if you house Iraqi Kurds on a "pro-Saddam" street, or Shia or Alawite families in largely Sunni neighbourhoods.

werk I totally agree with your comments

They brought refugees here last year and put some of them on the outskirts of anywhere where there are hardly any transport links, jobs etc everything you stated. It doesn't make sense.

I agree that we should continue to make sure people are fed and clothes in the camps so that after the war is finished they can return home and rebuild there, refugees brought here are unlikely to return home I bet

Yabu. Id rather deal with the problems with have at home first. Anyone who works in the nhs understands there just is too many people needing help.

We need to sort out our problems before taking on more.

As sad as it is, I tend to agree with those who say we just cannot accommodate all these people. Our healthcare system is struggling desperately - non emergency gp appointments here are being booked for four weeks time at our surgery and even urgent ones are being made two weeks ahead. At my mum's surgery, she can't get an appointment for less than six weeks away. I know personally of someone needing 'urgent' neurological surgery who's had it postponed 5 times now. Family members who work in education report that schools are losing support staff, are finding it difficult to buy resources and to pay for basic maintenance. Local authorities are having to cut back on services left, right and centre - how do you propose we find the cash to fund the refugees? Housing is at a premium both in availability and cost. The taxes we pay do not cover the cost of people who are already here, let alone more people who won't be contributing to the pot-not their fault that jobs are not there and in any case, as asylum seekers I believe they are restricted as far as work is concerned.

Don't start a thread like this, unless you are prepared to take the refugees, which you highlighted, you can't, so it do as I say, not as I do. It's not only about housing them, someone taking them in, has to totally support them financially, and it puts a strain on people's budget. Not all can afford to. Yes we have our own needy to take care of! Charity begins at home!

My local church helps people in crisis, we collect clothes and toys and work with other agencies who distribute them, we were approached by a lady who with other people were helping refugee families, they were also asking for furniture and white goods (which we were unable to help with) and had an appeal in our local paper to landlords who would be able to rent to these families at a rent covered by housing benefit (although I would have thought that would be the councils job) , all very nice and worthy

A couple of weeks ago we heard about a young mother who was fleeing domestic violence with her 3 Dcs under 5, she is currently living with her pensioner grandparents who have moved into a hotel so she can have their (privatly owned) house until something else turns up The council will not help her due to local connection rules, she moved from the another part of the UK and her GPs have only lived here for 2 years and it has to be 5 for local connection, the best they could offer her was a B&B and only IF her GPs kick her out so she is homeless.

Somone had the idea of contacting the people helping the refugees, we hoped they could give us the details of any landlords who had answered their appeal and would rent to families on HB, we were hoping that when a place was found they would be able to help her with any furniture and white goods that were not wanted.

WE WERE TURNED DOWN, they told us that the refugees needs were greater and that UK citizens were helped with housing and furniture, and they needed all their resources for the next intake of refugees in our area.

We are hoping to hear from a LL who is renovating a property with a view to let but he is not sure about HB tenants and we have put in a plea for unwanted furniture and white goods ourselves so we are trying to do our 'bit' for this young familiy however several people who were sympathetic to the refugees are now having second thoughts, due to the mindset of these people, and thats a shame, we should be helping everyone who needs it not picking and choosing and saying some deserve it more then others.

Sorry should have said the GPs were eating into their savings to pay for the hotel stay and very soon will have run out of money, they are also still paying the council tax and will be paying any utility bills as and when not a good situation at all

We need help people here first long before helping others,already overcrowded and already a strain in NHS housing u name it

Have you been watching the documentary The Hospital?

We don't have the space or resources to open the gates any further than they already are.

How can it be a good idea to empty one country into another, we've enough problems here

I mean this in the kindest way possible, OP, but your first priority should be helping yourself recover from PTSD first before you go worrying about trying to help the Syrian refugees. As they say, on an airplane in an emergency, you fit your own mask first, then you assist others. Get yourself mentally well first, that is the main thing.