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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

You and your family could be asylum seekers by this time next year.

477 replies

Nevermay · 14/08/2023 08:35

Just want to point this out, as many posters seem to be of the opinion that asylum seekers are a different species, with different aspirations, different hopes and fears, different medical biology, and different housing and nutritional requirements than the rest of humanity

It could be you and your family next year.

There could be any number of natural disasters in the UK. Meteor strike? Tsunami? Volcanic eruption? All of these are likely in the UK at some point. There could be manmade disasters, war, famine, there could be something more personal that happens to you, you could be a witness being searched for by a hostile government.

You might be a highly qualified professional, ( many asylum seekers in the UK are) you could have worked hard all your life to pay off your mortgage ( many asylum seekers in the UK have) you could have kept yourself fit and healthy all your life and you may also have an assortment of serious or trivial medical needs. You might have french or spanish GCSE to help you, or you might not.

None of these things will mark you out as special, or different, if you are in a crowd of asylum seekers seeking refuge in another country. You will just have to sit and wait and hope with everybody else, maybe for years, your children with you.

I really wish people understood this, refugees and asylum seekers are no different to our own population, some are uneducated, some are criminal, most are decent people, many are highly qualified and come from affluent and successful back grounds.

When ever you think and speak about them, please just keep in mind, this could be you next year.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
15
asterdaisy · 14/08/2023 10:05

It is unlikely anyone in the UK will be asylum seekers next year. It could happen in the future though.
Is it the film day after tomorrow where Mexico stops Americans fleeing aliens coming into Mexico?
There is going to be a third world war in the future.

BlossomCloud · 14/08/2023 10:05

KohlaParasaurus · 14/08/2023 09:49

When the former Yugoslav state was dissolved the British city in which I worked became home to a number of refugees, latterly mainly ethnic Albanians from Kosovo, and one of the most striking things was that these were people EXACTLY LIKE US, who had had the same sort of houses and lives and jobs and possessions and standard of living, then, for reasons beyond their control, here they were, torn away from their families and communities, having had no reason or opportunity to learn English, trying to survive in an alien land while processing what had happened. Very sobering. And I can imagine it's similar now with refugees from Syria and Ukraine, even with more extensive media and communication options.

Yes I have family from Ukraine, their whole lives torn apart. Their careers gone. They were interesting, well travelled, professional. but actually none of that is relevant, they were valuable and worthy of respect and support just because they were people. The like us bit is the wrong emphasis. Even if they are very different from us they still deserve support and respect

TheCountessofFitzdotterel · 14/08/2023 10:05

BlossomCloud · 14/08/2023 10:00

I absolutely agree with the broad point you are making (about treating asylum seekers with respect and dignity). Absolutely. I hate the vile rhetoric.

But everyone is going to get distracted by "volcanic eruption" ... I mean I think I was about 8 when I realised that geologically the risk of a volcanic eruption in the wilds of north Yorkshire was vanishingly small (prior to that I confess I had a carefully thought out escape plan that involved taking about 50 teddies but leaving my siblings behind....)

My dd had a friend at primary school who used to make things up and dd once came home from school and solemnly told me that Erin used to live in Scotland and then a volcano erupted and they had to run away.

Jennygosoftly · 14/08/2023 10:06

Trixiefirecracker · 14/08/2023 09:40

Actually if an active super volcano erupted ( nearest one in Naples I believe) we definitely would be effected here in the U.K. just listening to a Brian Cox podcast about it! 😉

If you're talking about Etna, then it isn't in the Bay of Naples.

Brian Cox is a professor of Particle Physics not a Vulcanologist. So maybe he doesn't know that the Trade Winds in that area would blow the ash East, away from us?

EightChalk · 14/08/2023 10:06

BlossomCloud · 14/08/2023 10:02

We can simultaneously agree that asylum seekers are our equals and deserving of respect and dignity and support while also challenging op's examples as being unrealistic.

An awful, fascist, government, might have been a more believable example given the current bunch ...

Show quote history

A hostile government was one of her examples. And plenty of people are not simultaneously taking the point while criticising her examples, they're just taking the piss like the whole idea is hilarious, as though they're untouchable in the UK. I stand by my post. If your first thought was to make fun of the examples, why? They're clearly not the point of the post.

asterdaisy · 14/08/2023 10:07

And climate change is going to create food shortages. The UK does not grow enough food to feed itself, our food security is poor. If there are feed shortages we may struggle to import enough food. People will then try and move abroad

BlossomCloud · 14/08/2023 10:08

TheCountessofFitzdotterel · 14/08/2023 10:05

My dd had a friend at primary school who used to make things up and dd once came home from school and solemnly told me that Erin used to live in Scotland and then a volcano erupted and they had to run away.

Show quote history
Grin
frumpyflora · 14/08/2023 10:08

The UK is more likely to be affected by volcanic eruptions from other countries than from its own territory. In 2010, the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland caused disruption to air travel across Europe due to the ash cloud that spread over the continent. The UK was one of the most affected countries by this event, as many flights were cancelled or delayed for several days.

DanceWithTheBigBoysAgain · 14/08/2023 10:09

thebellagio · 14/08/2023 08:45

There could be any number of natural disasters in the UK. Meteor strike? Tsunami? Volcanic eruption?

You immediately invalidated your own point.

Please tell me how we would have a volcanic eruption?

The geologists of Scotland could have made a terrible mistake about Arthur's Seat?

loislovesstewie · 14/08/2023 10:09

asterdaisy · 14/08/2023 10:07

And climate change is going to create food shortages. The UK does not grow enough food to feed itself, our food security is poor. If there are feed shortages we may struggle to import enough food. People will then try and move abroad

Which is a good enough reason to try to control how much bigger the population grows , to try to encourage smaller families and to make people think that we don't need a huge number of people coming to fill vacancies that probably don't exist.

Xlap · 14/08/2023 10:10

Mmmm, sorry to break this to you but what you have stated is utter BS.

RosaGallica · 14/08/2023 10:10

You might want to recognise that an awful lot of people in this country work hard all their lives to end up with nothing. It applies especially a lot of women who have to pay the motherhood penalty if they want children. It’s not what I was promised would happen when I was young, if I worked. So I assume you only want rich individuals with inheritances and family support to feel sorry for asylum seekers then? As a woman, my chances in a disaster are very minimal, and include being abandoned with the kids when the men run off.

Sprogonthetyne · 14/08/2023 10:12

sotoseek · 14/08/2023 09:41

Is the Ozone layer ok now?

Actually yes, well it's starting to repair itself anyway. Banning CFC's is one of the few examples of global environmental cooperation that gives me a ray of hope. (The other been whaling, I know it still happens side eyes at Japan and Iceland, but numbers are improving).

The earth is amazing at fixing itself if we would just stop fucking it up

loislovesstewie · 14/08/2023 10:13

If you really want to frighten yourself read about 1816 ,which was known as the year with no summer. No one would have anywhere to go to if that happened again.

Xlap · 14/08/2023 10:13

@Nevermay how many of them have you housed at your place before posting this virtue signalling post on MN?

TheCountessofFitzdotterel · 14/08/2023 10:13

BlossomCloud · 14/08/2023 10:05

Yes I have family from Ukraine, their whole lives torn apart. Their careers gone. They were interesting, well travelled, professional. but actually none of that is relevant, they were valuable and worthy of respect and support just because they were people. The like us bit is the wrong emphasis. Even if they are very different from us they still deserve support and respect

Show quote history

Yes well said.
It doesn’t matter whether it could happen to us next year or not. The point is it has happened to them and it shouldn’t happen to anyone so as humans we want to do what we can to mitigate the effects.
The ‘like us’ bit is useful when identifying successful refugee placements- my guests have 3 small children with the same age gap as my teens and the dad does the same job as dh and these things really help with coping with house sharing and finding him work. Would it be harder if they were a different religion, different values, different family set up? Quite possibly, but in any case family placements aren’t the ideal, they’re just a realistic option given the housing crisis isn’t going to go away by wishing it away.
I just think it’s very important to go into this with clear eyed honesty and not make stuff up.

FancyFanny · 14/08/2023 10:13

The people that are arriving daily in the UK on boats and being housed on barges are not being given respect by the general British public because they are not asylum seekers. There are no natural disasters in the countries they are arriving from and Britain was not their first port of call. They are attempting illegal immigration, that is all.

Most people have genuine empathy and compassion to those seeking asylum here from Ukraine and other similar places and entering legally.

IMustDoMoreExercise · 14/08/2023 10:14

Yes, I could be in this position, but I would not expect countries to just house and fund me unless they want to. If I can bring something useful to the country then hopefully they will want me. I would not just expect it.

If no country wants me, then I and my family will just die. That is what happens.

Namechangedforthis25 · 14/08/2023 10:15

yes agreed

people who are focusing on volcanic eruptions are stupid - and actually if there’s another ash cloud then we will be impacted

people should watch the swimmers on Netflix. Syria was cosmopolitan and thriving before the war. Then the war happened - and these two middle class girls were asked to travel the world to a safer place. Had no idea about boats until they almost got raped and met a trafficker

anyway watch it. Then be grateful that you aren’t dealing with that

frumpyflora · 14/08/2023 10:15

If you really want to frighten yourself read about 1816 ,which was known as the year with no summer. No one would have anywhere to go to if that happened again.

Off I go to read... 😄

Waffle78 · 14/08/2023 10:15

How do you know we won't? The way climate change is ATM anything is possible.

Namechangedforthis25 · 14/08/2023 10:16

IMustDoMoreExercise · 14/08/2023 10:14

Yes, I could be in this position, but I would not expect countries to just house and fund me unless they want to. If I can bring something useful to the country then hopefully they will want me. I would not just expect it.

If no country wants me, then I and my family will just die. That is what happens.

No that isn’t what happens

that isn’t what happened in and after world war 2 with the Nazis is it

are you really that dense

ManchesterLu · 14/08/2023 10:16

If there's a meteor strike, we probably won't be in a fit state to go anywhere.

No volcanoes near enough to us.

Nor are we in the correct position on a tectonic plate to worry about a tsunami.

I get what you mean about needing to be kinder and more understanding to people in difficult positions.. but none of the situations you've described are going to happen.

Inmybirthdaysuit · 14/08/2023 10:17

heldinadream · 14/08/2023 09:34

@user1477391263 I'm.... not sure that any of the above is very likely, OP.

Really? Droughts, floods, fires, wars, famine? You think you're immune in the UK?
Oh boy are you going to have a rude awakening when climate induced food shortages really start to bite. Or severe drought leading to fires. Or endless rainfall leading to severe flooding. You think Hawaii knew what was coming?

Anything can happen to anyone anywhere.

Great post @Nevermay . Nitpickers gonna nitpick, but it's a failure of their imagination and ability to see the larger picture and historical sweep of human life.

To be fair it isn't likely to happen to the whole of the UK anytime soon is it? The likely hood of there not being somewhere in the UK to flee to from a fire or flood is pretty slim. Then there is the fact that the UK is on 2 landmasses so there is NI to move to or Ireland which is a CTA. That coupled with the fact that lots of people in the UK already have EU passports means it is a bit different really.

Namechangedforthis25 · 14/08/2023 10:17

FancyFanny · 14/08/2023 10:13

The people that are arriving daily in the UK on boats and being housed on barges are not being given respect by the general British public because they are not asylum seekers. There are no natural disasters in the countries they are arriving from and Britain was not their first port of call. They are attempting illegal immigration, that is all.

Most people have genuine empathy and compassion to those seeking asylum here from Ukraine and other similar places and entering legally.

they are seeking asylum from war and persecution too

people don’t just seek asylum from natural disasters

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