To think history will judge the U.K. over ukraine

[Letshaveablackcelebration]

I am so ashamed at how the U.K. is the only country in Europe effectively closing its doors to Ukrainian refugees. These are mostly women and children fleeing a country that has collapsed in the space of 2 weeks. A maternity hospital was bombed yesterday.

The rest of Europe is opening its arms and helping in every way it can but the U.K. had pretty much slammed the door, made it as difficult as possible to come. The U.K. signed the refugee convention in the 50’s that said that people fleeing war don’t need tons of paperwork and yet that’s exactly what they are asking people for.

I feel so embarrassed when everyone else is helping that we are doing nothing- we are an outlier in Europe.

I hate what this country has become under this disgusting government. I see so many posts on social media or brits wanting to do more.

[quote ThoseTallTrees]@Nutellaonall The UK has built on around 5% of its land. We are hardly “full”.[/quote]
Do you have any idea what the UK would be like if 20/30/50% of it was built on?

@Rosehugger well thats not true when people say 5% they forget that the other 95% is not all suitable foe building due to various factors and we grown crops for humuns as well
Im sure you eat apples and strawberries and such which is also grown on the uk

If you work with refugees you must know that when refugees enter a safe country, they are meant to stay there and have their claims and such processed.

This is not true. There is a EU wide agreement on processing in the first country but it is not longer applicable in the UK given how it is no longer in the EU.

For those claiming the UK is a leader in compassion for refugees, Patel's efforts are not seen as such by the UN

www.unhcr.org/uk/news/press/2021/9/614c163f4/unhcr-uk-asylum-bill-would-break-international-law-damaging-refugees-and.html

*The Bill is based on the premise that people should claim asylum in the “first safe country” they arrive in. But this principle is not found in the 1951 Refugee Convention and there is no such requirement under international law, where primary responsibility for protecting refugees is with the State in which an asylum-seeker arrives.

Requiring all refugees to claim in the first safe country reached would be unworkable and undermine global humanitarian and cooperative principles. *

@x2boys

I mean there is a crazy man in Russia determined to carry on with this war and threatening everyother country ,but somehow it's the UK fault 🤔 Have you somehow managed to link it to Brexit yet Op Mumsnet is ridiculous sometimes

What are you on? We're talking about the response to what Putin is doing. Making refugees jump through hoops is shameful..

@Iggly

And it isn’t that many. Honestly.

All those pictures you obviously rage over, found in the daily mail or on Nigel Farage’s Twitter feed…. Of boats coming over?

Are because this Home Secretary has closed the other safe routes into the UK. She’s even tried to make it illegal to claim asylum.

It’s funny how people have just lapped up the rhetoric about greedy asylum seekers - probably because it chimes with their inherent racism.

There are millions of refugees worldwide. Millions living in refugee camps, waiting to go somewhere.

Ukraine is a drop in the bucket, but the question is, why do you think their situation is more urgent?

It's very natural to feel for them, to feel it's urgent. They live lives much like us, they have been attacked by a massively greater power. We can imagine ourselves in that position. We feel the need to do something.

When we look at a camp of over 100,000 people, on the other hand, who have lived there a generation, their kids were born there, it's almost too much - we freeze because we don't know what to do when we know that there are many camps like this, millions of people displaced, many people who will require a lot of resources if they come live in our country.

We could never just tell all these people, show up and we will take care of you. Even if they were all totally legitimate.

But you have to ask, why would we say, we will give first dibs to the easy people who we relate to, rather than the difficult ones who have been waiting 20 years? Is it just the news? Because they seem more like us?

I think it's pretty rotten to accuse people of racism because they don't see that as the way forward. They could easily throw that right back at you and that would be unfair too.

'the worst thing I've ever read on Mumsnet'

'the worst thing I've ever read'

These two statements are not the same. It does twist the meaning to leave out two words and proceed on that basis.

@liliainterfrutices

'the worst thing I've ever read on Mumsnet'

'the worst thing I've ever read'

These two statements are not the same. It does twist the meaning to leave out two words and proceed on that basis.

🙄

@Letshaveablackcelebration

I work with refugees, many of whom fled war. I worked with an Afghan refugee yesterday who is studying a masters here - he fled Kabul with his family with a rucksack on w military plane in august - he’s worked in high level government for 20 years and brings unique experience and skills. He wants to contribute to society. The tone of some of the comments here is really unpleasant.

For him as he flew from Kabul to the U.K. then the U.K. would be the first country he got to out of Kabul.

The problem I am having is why would you travel a 1000+ miles when there is a safe country within 100.
I am presuming that if this is all over within a few days/weeks/months, even a few years then going back to Ukraine is going to be what the people fleeing ultimately want.

@sashagabadon

I don’t think so at all. In fact I currently think the opposite. The U.K. has provided more practical help to Ukraine that many other European countries eg. Germany. They sent 5000 helmets apparently and then loads of stuff covered in mould in dusty old boxes. I think they are helping more now. Back in January when U.K. was making countless flights to Ukraine Germany would not allow them to fly over their airspace. They had to fly round. U.K. has been training troops in Ukraine for 6 years. I agree re. Refugees and on that we are slow but we are a further away country with fewer population ties and I bet we catch up rapidly in the next few days/ weeks. EU have the Schengen zone so people can move freely once inside that. We are not part of that and never have been.

This is correct. The UK has done more for Ukraine, going back years not just weeks. Much of the EU is only now waking up to the situation.

I think I'll be judging Russia to be honest.