to be annoyed at so much racism re “the boat people”

[NavyOrca]

A large hotel local-ish to us (around 10 miles away) is currently closed for bookings as it is being occupied by just under 400 asylum seekers.

Recently, in our village and a couple of neighbouring ones, there has been a spate of parcels being stolen from doorsteps. I’m sure you can all work out who has taken the blame for this….! Even though one of the perpetrators is known to be a local lad, born and bred in our village, some people are still blaming others..

The comments on Facebook community groups are disgusting.

Since when has it been acceptable to so readily stick the blame upon those literally fleeing their countries?

I honestly feel that as a human race, we are devolving.

Also, this is assuming that none of those 400 men are racist. Which is unlikely.

What a load of bollocks. Have you ever spoken to Afghani men or women? Here's a thing....try to wrap your head around it. People are individuals.

Do we refer to all women from Wales as being exactly the same or all men from Sweden being the same?

I’ve just started employing a Ukrainian refugee. (Not someone who arrived on a boat) but someone who came here alone with nothing as an 18 year old. She’s the most positive, upbeat, can-do person I have ever met. She comes in with a smile. She tells me most weeks how much she loves her job. She works exceptionally hard. At our team night out she brought a beautiful Ukrainian cake to share. I know little of her circumstances as it’s not appropriate, as her employer, to ask but the small bits I know are disturbing. She was housed in a hotel when she arrived. It was in the middle of nowhere with little transport. She was exploited in her last job and expected to do a month’s trial for no pay. She’s been completely dependent on the charity of others. Her family live with constant danger in Ukraine. When I expressed at the interview that leaving home in such circumstances must have been hard, she simply said: “This is my life”. I have so much respect for her.
In time many of the refugees will return home or be assimilated into the community. This happened with the Bosnia refugees who arrived in the little town of Elgin during the Bosnian war. They’re now just part of the community.
Refugees and asylum seekers are individuals-some will be unpleasant, others will be charming. Their personalities will be shaped by their experiences. Criminal behaviour should not be tolerated but as with most people, a little kindness can go a v long way.

What exactly is „a load of bollocks“? That women in Afghanistan are not allowed to show their faces or speak outside their home? Do you think that’s not the case? Have you watched any news recently?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c20rq73p3z4o.amp

Where did PP say women from Afghanistan were all exactly the same, and what does what they said have to do with women in Wales or men in Sweden?

They just described the current situation of women in Afghanistan.
Do you think it’s inaccurate?

Having worked in refugee camps in France & elsewhere - French camps are not safe. They were worse than the ones in Darfur in some cases.

Camps in France are horrific - some of the worst in the world

Calling me racist is utter bollocks. The situation in Afghanisatn is worse than any of us can imagine.

This does not make all Afghan males monsters who want to stone women to death. The young lads and men I have worked with certainbly don't fit into this stereotype.

We can safely say that all women in Wales have the same legal protections as other women in wales.
The same for Swedish women.

We can also safely say that afghani women DO NOT have the same legal protections as we do and are in a very perilous situation.

I can’t tell if you’re woefully uninformed or you’re just pretending you don’t know what’s happening to them because you don’t give a shit.

Who do you think benefits from their subjugation?
Who do you think are the only people who can stop their subjugation?

Did you actually read @WishinAndHopin 's other Well written post?
Doubt it. You seemed to have just Yr taken little bits, jumbled them up to reach the totally wrong conclusion.

I am as reasonably well informed as any of us can be about Afghanistan.

The point I'm trying to make was in response to fear around males from this country being in the UK as refugees. The assumption was that they were part of the desire to crush women in their own country and therefore a risk here. How do we know what their thoughts are? The ones I know are appalled at the Taliban.

I really hope you are not this ignorant or abusive in real life.
Do you dismiss the genuine concerns of your friends so easily?
Do you minimise their personal experiences so readily?

Just bleating racist, vile etc does absolutely nothing to solve the issue.
Can you address their concerns? Are they making stuff up? Did their experiences not happen?
Much better than insulting them and telling them to shut up.

But the situation of women in Afghanistan is not the way it is due to some natural disaster, but because of how women are (currently) seen in that particular culture.

The ridiculous rules and laws those women are subjected to don’t come out of thin air, they come from other people, specifically men.

That doesn’t mean that every single man from Afghanistan shares those attitudes towards women, but don’t you think the likelihood of it being the case might be higher than with Swedish or Welsh men?

I you are usually find that the people that call other people racist it’s okay as long as it’s not their daughter that gets raped or molested when these kids so-called men are going round towns and parks it’s happening all over. It’s not just a isolated case. I always say to them how many would you take in and there was come up with some excuse we don’t have the room it’s not my house blah blah blah

The thing that puzzles me,is these men are supposedly fleeing from war torn countries so basically they must be cowards because they’ve left their families behind to fight the war and secondly they have passed through 12 safe countries, refugees are supposed to move to the first available safe country so why do they pass through 12 safe countries? Get to France risk come across on a dinghy to the UK ,it can only be for one thing our benefits and our five star hotels with full central heating etc all paid for by the taxpayer

Who was making the French camps so unsafe?

The Ottoman empire was nowhere near as brutal and inhumane as the transatlantic trade

Britain ended that slave trade. And much of the capture and moving to the coast of slaves, was done by other Africans.

Also many colonised African countries have gone severely backwards since their independence, due largely to corruption.

I grew up in a former protectorate. There isn't any trauma from the British being there, relations are highly cordial with the UK. Unfortunately it's a small country that is both lacking in resources and not well run.

You're actually demonstrating the racism of low expectations with much of what you're posting.

Who was making the French camps so unsafe?

Must be all those Normany French people.

Here are some ideas form my time working with people seeking asylum. Probably a waste of time but I'll try.

Many families sincerely believe they are sending on a young man ahead to find accomodation and a job. They believe they will be reunited in the future.

As English is widely spoken and understood many people have a smattering of English. Some post colonial ideas linger on. The idea of fair play and opportunity.

Some young men are sold into slavery en route. Libya is particularly harsh.They think they will do well in the UK

Some young men come on a whim because a friend is here or a relative. Just as indigenous young men make rash decisions.

Some come to escape the thought of conscription which may well involve being told to kill family members.

Some come because they are opportunists and survivors.

They are not a homgenous group of people.

@WishinAndHopin’s post I reacted to was a bunch of absolute nonsense. Claiming that southeastern Europe is much the same as “us” (assuming UK) despite the impact of the Ottoman Empire is nonsense. The Balkan Wars and the horrible atrocities then are in most people’s living memories — a lot of that was the historical ramifications of the Ottoman Empire. And the various countries from Ireland down to Cyprus have next to nothing in common except being “white” (depending on who is constructing the definition of whiteness at any given time) and with a few exceptions Christianity. So by saying “they are not that different from us” what did she mean really? Why not just say it?

Fuck me, threads like this make me think moving to this country was a mistake but I just hope people like you are an exception. Would move away in a minute if I hadn’t fallen in love with an English guy and his elderly parents were not here.

I would like to see refugees stopping in the first safe country they get to and then from there they are disbanded equally (depending on people per square kilometre) around the world to other “safe” countries. Whether that be France/Spain/Romania or Rwanda. it has to be an international effort.

Like Brits who over populate areas of Spain, It does no good for anyone to have too many of the same nationality taking over small or even large communities.

Whilst other countries might take more immigrants than the UK we have to remember we are one of the most populated countries in Europe. Coming in 3rd for amount of people per square kilometre in Europe behind Holland and Belgium

But what about all the other 12 countries that they went through? Why didn’t they stop off there? Not just France?

Pointing out the ongoing ramifications of Turkish colonisation on Europe isn’t the gotcha you seem to think it is.

The fact remains that, despite ongoing difficulties, south east European countries are civilised, functional, and are far closer in values and development to England, the Big Bad Imperialists, than to sub-Sarahan Africa.

They both suffered colonisation, invasions and slavery, which is squarely blamed for the state Africa is in today but has somehow escaped European victims.

You could say the same about the Troubles being a direct consequence of Ireland being colonised - yet they and Northern Ireland are also first world nations.

If you are foaming at the mouth with racist hatred for English people you are welcome to leave. We are the silent majority.

@WishinAndHopin nah, just fuming at blatant racists like you (although starting to suspect you are indeed the not so silent majority) since many will be living off my taxes… (and decrying my existence/ considering me subhuman at the same time).

The reasons for why certain countries are more or less developed are long and complicated but for you it seems to boil down to race (because I doubt you have any love for the Christian Latin Americans either).

Yeah this. ^