AIBU to think the reason why many Asylum seekers come to UK is...

[SmallBoats]

a direct result of our imperialist past? People come to the UK in many instances because they are English speakers. English is widely spoken due to the massive British empire which used to exist. The British empire milked its territories, greatly increased its wealth despite causing massive human suffering in the process. The direct result of this is that English became a widely spoken language worldwide. It therefore isn't surprising many people seeking refuge from war torn countries try to get to the UK as they already speak English.

I want to make a factual comment, not a moral or political one.
Turkey, Pakistan, and Uganda are all bigger countries than the UK.
As is Germany.
Depending on which statistical information you read, apart from tiny countries like Monaco, Luxembourg, and a few others, the UK is deemed to be the 2nd most densely populated European country after The Netherlands.

I work with a lot of people who were once immigrants from other countries. Why do they move here? Well, as pp have said, we used to run their countries and so they were entitled to come here. Or they come from countries which see Britain as "civilised". A lot of people already have a lot of English because they are taught it at school and university. Some come here for the educational opportunities. Some come to join family members who are here.

I have asked why they like it here. Basically, opportunity. Education, jobs, freedom of belief, freedom to be oneself, relatively safe compared to their home country, freedom of movement within the country...if you work hard you can be a success.just don't disappoint thefamily.Socialised healthcare and a basic income to subsist on helps too.

There is incredible pressure from some immigrant families to insist their offspring make a success of themselves. They have already sacrificed much to get their relative to Britain. To go home without a return on their investment is extremely disappointing. Also some are expected to eend a large portion of their income home, so even if they see success a lot of it is sent abroad.

People moan about the UK but we get lots free. Medical treatment no payment up front - in Europe you have to pay & claim back. In schools in Europe you are required to buy all books, textbooks, pens yourself.
That really isn't true
Also, the UK is in Europe and also not all European countries are the same!

I suspect it is a combination of many things. Not just one thing. It's just a matter of how much each of those many things contributes. Insisting that they don't come here for some particular reason is almost certainly wrong. Because people are diverse and have a whole range of motivations.

One thing I have not seen said on here is that one reason that people may want to come to the UK is because it is the end of the road. They have tried other places and not got what they want, so they may as well roll the dice and try another. We are pretty much the last country on the line, so they will have experienced the treatment they will get in other places and maybe decided it is worth the gamble to try to come here. That and the fact that a lot of the systems here work differently from Europe which makes rolling the dice that much more worthwhile.

Language is a huge factor, as is family.

If your second language was English and/or you had family in the U.K., where would you go?

But I do give some credit to the American film industry and the American war industry for teaching the world English.

Although I met a former asylum seeker who speaks four languages and he came here primarily because of his positive experience with British soldiers in his war-torn country.

The U.K. is by no means a top choice for most asylum seekers though.

"This" is the Dublin Regulation, also known as Dublin III. It gives all the EU states, plus a couple of non-EU nations that are signatories, the right to return asylum seekers to the first safe signatory nation that they passed through on the way to where they are when they apply for asylum.

That's one of the reasons Italy has so many asylum seekers relative to other EU nations: they cross from N Africa and land in Lampedusa. If they apply for asylum there, Italy has to accept responsibility, because in most cases it's clear that they didn't enter another EU country before arriving in Italy .

If they continue travelling without claiming asylum, the country that they eventually claim asylum in can try and establish their route and the countries that they passed through, and return them there. That's quite a deterrent.

Applicants may be different to granted

eg Spain received 118,842 asylum requests last year, its highest ever and the third-highest number in the European Union. However, only 16.5%of applicants whose cases were decided were awarded protection, compared with an EU average of 38.5%.19 Jun 2023

@Nicesalad

That really isn't true

Well I lived in France & Germany & I definitely had to pay up front for GP appointment, dental treatment. They wouldn't treat me without payment. I then had to claim back using EHIC card.

They definitely pay for school supplies like text books, exercise books in France & Germany. Colleagues from Spain & Italy & Russia also say they pay in their countries. They are astounded at the equipment we hand out. The onus is on students to look after their school equipment. I can't speak for every school in Europe.

Yes we are geographically in Europe but tend to do things differently to the majority of other countries in Europe.

Yes, this.

This isn’t right. Asylum seekers do not have to stay in first safe country or go back

Dublin convention is not a deterrent, if it were Italy would be far higher and other countries lower

Well, yes. It's because everyone speaks English. Which is because of the empire.

UK is vey low down the list of places most asylum seekers aim for. Most refugees stay as close to home as possible. Of course language is a main driver & of course English is one of the most widely spoken language because of empire. BUT english may have become widespread because of empire, but then its reach extended into places that were not ex-colonies because it was useful for commerce, trade etc. So lots of people speak english as a second language beyond the reach of British colonies.

If you think Britannia Hotels are 5⭐️ establishments, you are sadly mistaken

It's an easy misunderstanding - a lot of Britannia Hotels are fairly grand buildings that may well have been 5 star hotels under previous ownership in the distant past. However if you go inside they are peeling, damp and dilapidated

I have reported this post for being far too informed and balanced for this topic.

Really, the nerve of some people trying to raise the level of debate.

They don't give a fuck about our imperialist past!! How naïve are you?!

They come here as we are the softest touch regarding giving out benefits.

They come through about 12 safe countries but will risk death to get to the UK?!

They are here for what they can get, and that is housing and benefits. It's given much more freely and easily than in the other European countries.

I don’t really understand the draw of benefits - from what I have heard, benefits often seem more generous in other European countries. But I have no clue about specific country benefits (inc UK) - and doubt a lot of immigrants do too.

What is plain to see is that the standard of education and accessibility of healthcare is much higher than the countries they are leaving and I can’t believe that isn’t a draw. Also as many people have said, cash in hand work seems prevalent - I have no idea if that is the same in other countries or if ID cards would make any impact, I’m not convinced, surely employers just wouldn’t register them as working?

This exactly. The ones I see are furious but still can’t believe it so want to stay. It’s awful to go through with them each time.

Smugglers and evil evil people making a stinking fortune out of it. It’s not helped by the British waving banners saying ‘welcome, we want you’.

we want to help but the streets are not paved with gold. It’s going to end up with civil unrest.

I'm not ignoring that.
I'm saying it's part of the issue.
They do get free NHS care for themselves, their families, free prescriptions and education

Found for U.K.

70% of initial decisions made in the year to June 2023 have been grants of protection

Why is Spain’s so much lower? And ours much higher than EU average?

Do we have a different standard in deciding, I think we might

Do they continue to maintain all the services that a 4-star hotel has to offer to maintain its 4-star rating once they are used for asylum seekers though?

I have a friend who sought (and got) asylum here. She was accommodated in an utter shithole in Liverpool that had previously been a 4-star hotel, but it didn't have all those things like 24-hour room service etc (not there would have been much point, as the asylum seekers wouldn't have got much use out of it for their £40pw allowance, which had to pay for all their food, toiletries etc). It certainly wouldn't have got 4-stars then.

She came to the UK because there is already an established community from her ethnic group, which is persecuted in her country of origin. She fled after being arrested and tortured for 2 weeks.

A lot of comments about Asylum Seekers being from ex-British colonies. But the majority who we are booking interpreters for are from middle eastern or eastern European type countries. Kurdish/Somali, Albanian, Bulgarian, Pashto (from Iran). We've also had to use Vietnamese, Nuer (Sudan), Tigrinyer (Ethiopia), and French in the last month.

In general, these numbers seem to be reflecting the nationalities we deal with in general, though obviously not in the same proportions. Many more eastern European, middle eastern and even far eastern Asylum Seekers than from ex-British colonies like the Indian sub-continent.

No, it's not since American imperialism has been thoroughly dominant throughout the 20th Century to today. 🤦‍♂️

It's rather oversimplified to put it all down to British imperialism, especially since we long ago ceased to be the dominant global power.

There are about 47 countries in Europe!

It's rather oversimplified to put it all down to British imperialism, especially since we long ago ceased to be the dominant global power.

"Long ago" ? India was still under the yoke of the Empire within living memory.

Also, you don't get to occupy a country by force for over a century or two and then get to waltz off saying "it was like that when we got here".

Henning Wehn, has a good routine where he says how happy he is Germany lost WW1. Because it meant they had to give away all their overseas colonies and therefore when he calls his bank, he speaks to someone in German in Germany.

And if we aren't an Empire any more, perhaps we can stop dishing out gongs like CBE, OBE, MBE ?

I live near to a seaside town and the hotel half a mile up the road is albeit only 3 star but the facilities are very nice for the young men you have been housed there. Much nicer than the hotels in inner towns and cities where homeless families are put