To now be increasingly concerned about illegal boat arrivals

[CalmShaker]

I've kept a level head with boat crossing arrivals but recently I've become concerned that there are some really unpleasant people being let in. This story was hard to watch on the news this evening;

Asylum seeker 'murdered hotel worker Rhiannon Whyte in frenzied attack' - BBC News https://share.google/qxzed2MD19TYPKasQ

I welcome genuine asylum but I don't believe that is what is happening anymore.
The story immediately before the above on national news this evening was the migrant who had threatened Nigel Farrage. I know Nigel is not the most popular of people but the migrant was horrid, clearly dangerous and not safe to be on our streets.
Financial cost and all other factors aside, it's the safety aspect that worry me most.

@EmeraldShamrock000what you are describing is utterly heartbreaking. I don’t think we have the right system, we shouldn’t just say ok this is part of what people have to take.

Having direct experience of this cohort it is nuanced. The main countries people come from are Afghanistan, Sudan, Eritrea, Iran , Iraq and Sri Lanka. Yes, a significant majority are working illegally as they need to pay back the smugglers and send money home. The vast majority of Afghans are men and yes, they are here because Afghanistan is shit. The pull factors are economic for most of these and the approval rate is around 42%. All those from war zones get asylum. No, we don't really send anyone back. Those planes are full of those agreeing to voluntary returns and a heck of a lot are Brazilian. Yes, there are massive issues around cultural integration with the vast majority ( even educated asylum seekers) having absolutely no idea about British society and when they do find out they are pretty horrified ( especially about same sex marriage and ideas around female freedom). They mostly do want to move directly to established ethnic communities and are not interested in integration . Like the British in Spain.

There are also lots of sympathic cases. Young boys who have been trafficked through Lybia from Sudan and have been tortured. Lesbians and gay men from Uganda who have fled leaving kids behind. Families from Gaza with kids that scream all night. Women who are fleeing honour based violence or Sexual exploitation. Whole families whose extended families have been massacred.

In addition, anyone given refugee status is given 28 days to leave Home Office accomodation. For single men this means being handed a tent by the council. For families this does mean jumping the queue for social housing as they are homeless so immediately Gold Band.
This is Home Office policy though and I've seen Home Office officials telling families not to find work yet as it will complicate their homelessness application.

It's a very nuanced issue. Not black and white.

The real focus should be on how corporations and millionaires are fleecing us ordinary working folk. Refugees are being scapegoated massively.

Spot on.

Fucking hell that’s awful.

Asylum, and the cost of accommodating these men, is increasingly a corporation meal ticket. They don't exist in separate bubbles. The former is enriching the latter, usually to the detriment and at the expense of the working classes.

@Dmsandfloatydress

Yes, there are massive issues around cultural integration with the vast majority ( even educated asylum seekers) having absolutely no idea about British society and when they do find out they are pretty horrified ( especially about same sex marriage and ideas around female freedom). They mostly do want to move directly to established ethnic communities and are not interested in integration . Like the British in Spain.

This is horrific. This is exactly why we can't go on like this. We already have a problem of people living here and not integrating over generations. (I was appalled to find out a former colleague was brought here in the late 90s from Pakistan, aged 13, to be a bride for someone who was born here.) This should have been nipped in the bud a generation or two ago.

Do you think it would help to have a massive information campaign in these countries to make it clear what society is like and what is expected here?

This thread is full of people arguing about crime stats, but it shouldn't have to reach the level of crime to be a consideration. Simply allowing so many people (men!) from deeply sexist cultures to move here is a social problem. It's insane that we have laws about equality yet welcome those who disagree with them! Even with legal migration this should be a top consideration - and it's not, because who cares about women, eh?

I'm not sure it's quite the same as British people not integrating in Spain, as the cultures are more closely compatible - but if the Spanish want to tell British people to FO and make it much harder to move there, I don't blame them!

There are also lots of sympathic cases. Young boys who have been trafficked through Lybia from Sudan and have been tortured. Lesbians and gay men from Uganda who have fled leaving kids behind. Families from Gaza with kids that scream all night. Women who are fleeing honour based violence or Sexual exploitation. Whole families whose extended families have been massacred.

Surely the answer is to only let in these people? But on condition that they attempt to integrate (this could be checked up on afrer a few years - or would they just disappear once here?) People cannot expect to come here as a safe place but then completely disregard our culture. Especially if they've sought out the UK specifically to come to!

You think we are scapegoating men who think women should be second class citizens? Rather than being justifiably outraged?

I've no idea why the European governments are sticking their fingers in their ears about the situation, all citizens from different backgrounds and cultures are concerned with the level of immigration and anger it is spreading.

You are so right OP

You appear to have missed the fact that the government are paying £billions to millionaire hotel owners and now rental landlords to accommodate the asylum seekers.

In waving away the immigration problem you are contradicting your own claim.

In fact, the owner of Clearspring, a big asylum seekers accommodation provider, has just been made a billionaire by the government contracts.

hotel.report/management/migrant-hotel-king-becomes-billionaireas-profits-surge-from-taxpayer-funded-contracts-to-house-asylum-seekers

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/asylum-king-alex-langsam-owns-canary-wharf-britannia-migrant-hotel-b1243810.html

You mean like this?

You are very naive.
They even admitted that did they? Did the also admit to how they view western values and western women?
They said whatever they thought people would want to hear, trying to sound like good guys taking all the risk to protect women and children.

This is not a generally dangerous crossing, they choose their weather conditions and the RNLI are on speed dial.

People sail in and even swim the channel for fun. The only dangers come from greedy traffickers overloading the boats (or additional men pushing on at the last minute).

There have been child deaths from unnecessary overcrowding and suffocation.

Another 880 small boat migrants crossed this week. More than 35,000 this year, up 1/3 on last year. All bring out up in hotels or rental properties. Our government needs to take robust action to stop this.

I agree. It needs to be controlled!

Sadly the risks of rape and murder is one of the biggest reasons women aren't crossing too, a quick Google search brings up many articles on women being raped while crossing, flung over the side, two ladies washed up off the coast of Greece yesterday.

How are they getting as far as France and Greece with no intervention.
Madness

That’s so sad.

And these are the men that some on here are welcoming with open arms 😪

The problem is that many DO attempt to integrate and society excludes them, labels them misogynists or rapists and avoids them. So how are they expected to integrate?

And I wonder why ‘society’ thinks that

Because usually when there's a minority group and lack of awareness or understanding, when some members of that group do something awful people assume the entire group is like that. That's how stereotypes and stigmas work

Any country that has stopped this process won’t go back to it. The method of arrival and the associated risk, deaths, rape on the way just isn’t worth it.

Some stereotypes are true.

In fact, many are.

Nearly 8,000 people died of flu last winter. At the beginning of October 100 people died of Covid in a week. 1,633 people died in road collisions in 2024.

Of course it's awful that these terrible things are happening. We need to keep it in perspective though. It is not a high risk compared to other things that we live with and it is not a high percentage of asylum seekers involved.

Could more be done to prevent it? Quite possibly it could and should be.

Does that mean we should be living in fear? No. There are other things that are far more likely to harm us that we live with every day.

Does it mean that all asylum seekers are evil and deserve to suffer? No. It does not.