AIBU to feel helpless about a large asylum camp in our village?

[putupwhatever]

My village has been chosen for a 1500 open asylum camp for single men. It will be an open camp (as the men haven't done anything wrong so aren't detained.)

The thing is the village only has 700 people and it is pretty isolated. it's about 10 miles to the nearest city and you can walk to another small village. There is a playpark, a pub and a primary school.

It has to go through planning, but the government have changed the planning laws so that they grant themselves planning and you can't see it as it is deemed sensitive. So they will just grant themselves planning and you can't oppose it without a judicial review--by which time it will probably be already open.

They want to reduce the number of people in hotels. But am AIBU to think that this puts the burden of sorting these issues out on one tiny community? Feels like we are collateral damage to be honest. The community will be outnumbered 2 to 1 and it feels too much. There is nothing for them to do or places to go. Also the fact that it is all single men put in one massive place with no money or means or anything to do is going to lead to problems

Apparently the camps cost £10 less a night than the hotels. But they don't count the set up costs which are astronomical (the one in Essex was £47 million to set up). So it seems like it's not not even cheaper than the problem it is trying to solve but much more expensive.

AIBU to feel a bit helpless? It seems so unfair but there is nothing I can do. We wouldn't be able to move from the village anyway as no one would buy a house here.

Which shouldn’t take long !

My mum - also a Londoner - has been living on the same road as a large hotel which until recently was housing asylum seekers. For years. Funnily enough we have never discussed it, except for her once commenting that they all sit around looking bored all day and it's a shame they're not allowed to work.

I have no idea if they added to the local crime rate. If they did, it all seemed well absorbed by the local community. That is why I say large urban centres are best placed to cope with this. Just don't begrudge us the resources to provide the right infrastructure.

I feel for you OP. I live in a very small village that happens to have a lovely rural hotel that used to do big country weddings and now houses asylum seekers. Largely single men, as you say. It's not been a pleasant experience for anyone and I don't let my daughters walk around the village anymore as there are groups of men with nothing to do hanging around in quiet country lanes. There has been a sexual assault. I also feel a certain hostility when I pass (never smiles, always stares and glares) and whilst of course it's fair enough to be miserable with their lot in life, it doesn't make for pleasant day to day living - especially as a woman. If any of them travelled here through a non-legal channel, they should be immediately returned to the country of origin, in my opinion.

Sad to say, but Suffolk voted overwhelmingly in favour of Brexit despite being warned that it would lead to greater immigration problems. As a nation we are reaping what we have sown.

It’s not to do with this. This is about asylum claims.

But why should the countries nearest war torn countries shoulder all the burden? (They already absorb most of it.) Why shouldn't the UK play our part?

@putupwhatever
I get what you're saying and I suppose they have to be somewhere
But I'm not keen on there being 1500 men housed there, what will they do all day?
And I can see the worry of the unknown when you realise the ratio to your village
and strain on your community
The amount should've been an absolute fraction of what you're going to end up with
I'd be so unhappy too

Please don't be so silly with your figures of 50 or 150 million! You are in a state of propaganda panic! It's between 700,000 and 900,000 and guess how many EU workers we lost because of Brexit! 460,000 so that's why these people are here and being processed because we've got to replace those people! 16 year olds on disability has trebled in 5 years, the more Brits try to go on benefits, the more we need these people!

Why should we play any part? We have no responsibility towards them.

Yeah, maybe they’re a bit about having nothing to do. That’s a good point as you live in such a warm community. Perhaps you could think of some things to do. I don’t know. Maybe have a football team that you could challenge maybe have a gardening club you could invite them to there’s lots of things you could do because you’ve got British values, haven’t you?

In all honesty I would hate this, as a woman
Given the difference in the values of their country of origin it is hard to see how their presence won’t impose self limiting life style changes. I for one would stop daughters walking to school and also start taking taxis from evening onwards.
also, if they have entered the country illegally haven’t they already broken the law so how come they are at liberty? This one always confuses me

People seeking asylum often dont have the option to use legal channels. If you are in fear of your life from a repressive regime, you can't really ask them to give you a visa. That's why the law accepts that it is NOT illegal to not have full legal documentation at the point of claiming asylum.

There's a lot of people who really don't understand how this works. But I bet if any of us were in, say, Afghanistan, and our 17 year old son was under threat from the Taliban, we would move heaven and earth to smuggle them across to the UK.

There will be facilities for them onsite. It’s not just beds and canteens. You may see very few of them in the village itself.

I think there's a mid point. Which, for me, would be to ask questions of the elected officials in the area, MP, councillors about the issues of concern. So I'd want to know:
What additional resources are being made available to cope with this sudden population surge, GP, police etc?
What facilities are being provided for the men for leisure/entertainment to prevent undue stress on local facilities or them hanging around with nothing to do?
What steps have been taken to ensure the men are of good character and to ensure they are aware of local customs and etiquette to reduce likelihood of crime/nuisance?
What reviews are planned to monitor the program and the impact on the local community?
What facilities are in place to address any concerns arising for residents?
These questions can't go unanswered by officials and asking them often helps more than signing petitions or staging protests which are typically ignored.

I live close to a similar camp, although on a smaller scale. My main gripe is with the protesters who are foul mouthed, seem to think it is acceptable to urinate in peoples gardens and in the main are not locals.

Back where they came from?

How will you afford the investigating staff? Identify the authorities to contact in a war zone?

Closed camp …1930s or Boer War style?

This was going to happen fairly near me with an army barracks right in the middle of town, with schools nearby.

There were loads of protests with the press involved and it got shelved.

I'd suggest your community does the same.

But you are reading laughable made up propaganda!

Shame on them for being hypocritical

We don’t have to replace anyone. There’s a graduate jobs crisis. Not all our 16 year olds are “on disability”. These men haven’t been invited.

Yes and Brexit meant this got worse

You lot make me laugh, you'd screech like mad if these people killed a child on a perilous channel yet can't see the really really obvious as to why they leave the wife and kids at home until they are settled and can bring them safely!

It sounds like Linton-on-Ouse (York resident here). There simply aren't the resources: locals are going to have double the town's population free to do whatever they like. I can see why locals are opposing plans. There's a template letter I've actually just seen here:

https://www.facebook.com/LintononOuseActionGroup/

Better option would be to speed up processing and deport those who don't meet the criteria surely? And even better to finally stop the dinghies etc.