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.

Home!

Ah yes, no, you are not to have any thoughts or concerns just shut up or I will call you “racist and thick”
Yup that should work.

We may have a duty. Asylum seekers also have a responsibility to adhere to and conform to the values of the host country. Rights and responsibilities work in tandem.

I think you'll find there is very strong support for your position @putupwhatever

Ask the Crowborough residents. Their properties are more or less worthless now

No ..I don’t think it is such a high number ..but vote Brexit, go along with the baying mob ..these things happen.

Greater cost to the taxpayer than unused former hotels …this is what mob violence demanded and now has.

No return to transit countries because people voted for Brexit.

If people get their wish for a US ICE type approach there will be more deaths, injustices and vast expense at the cost of public services ..but it will reassure the racists of their superiority by accident of birth.

I don’t understand why the government does not employ more staff, process everyone’s claims asap, and then allocate accordingly. I’m sure these people don’t want to be holed up in camps either.

Have you heard of Google?

Look up which former prison college asylum facility has zero issues as you claim. None could be named as existing. One was there but closed and not in operation anymore. Which one is it?

I live down the road and this is utter nonsense.

Well they’re going to say they’re asylum seekers aren’t they?

Because of international treaties that we are signed up to?

Did you know that in the 30s many countries tightened up their laws to prevent German Jews from escaping Hitler? Personally, I think that is a moral stain. I like to think that if the UK ever became a dictatorship (think that couldn't happen? So did my German family - until it did) there would be some way we could all escape.

I'm not saying there's no problem here, and I don't think the OP is being unreasonable. But global problems need global solutions; the only way to tackle this is for all countries to work together. You think France will be interested in stopping refugees heading to the UK if we just said, "Tough, you had them first"?

Like I say, problems with immigration are real and must be sorted. It's just horrible to see people coping with their own cognitive dissonance by pretending that they know these refugees are really terrible people. It's stupid and it's morally bankrupt.

This isn't my experience sadly.

The hotel literally next door to my workplace is an asylum hotel and there's another one next to one of the sites I often visit. There was an unsuccessful petition by the residents and local shopkeepers to get the latter closed as the shops were losing business due to people avoiding that street - owners all Indian/Pakistani so not Reform types.

The main contractor stopped sending female engineers to the site as they were being harassed. The men just seem to sit on the steps all day smoking.

You are incorrect it houses 300 asylum seekers and we have had no problems at all and live streets away…the indigenous population though..we have lots of criminality and problems with them..this is statistically typical for asylum seekers versus local indigenous offending …only prejudice makes anyone think differently

OP I live in a town where they moved in asylum seekers to the military base at the end of last year. They tried to fight it but they lost.

Honestly? I haven't seen 1 since they moved in. There have been no reports of issues. In fact, the biggest annoyance has been the road closures because of protests against it!

Hopefully it will be the same for you.

I agree, families ok, single young men, no chance

No they really don’t..some rights are inalienable …responsibilities are generally a hope but not contingent on rights (in any decent world)

It probably isn’t any cheaper but it’s how it looks. As many others have said, they had to stop using hotels, can’t use barracks, and have to go somewhere. You’re not unreasonable though not to be thrilled by it.

Crowborough has around 500 asylum seekers and a population of approx 20,000.

It's not making a massive increase in the population and Crowborough has shops, pubs, a community hospital, (possibly two) health centre, cafes, a library - far more facilities than a small village. And although there has been a fair bit of opposition, there is also a local group supporting the asylum seekers.

In any decent world, there wouldn't be a need to reinforce one's responsibilities.

God OP I'd be gutted, and deeply worried.
It's so wrong that this can just be inflicted on ordinary people.
If any women or girl is assaulted, the powers that be will have blood on theor hands.

I wouldn’t be impressed either. I stay somewhere rural and this sort of thing would have a substantial impact on the community. Mainly because there’s nothing for people to occupy thenselves.

Leave these treaties

Not that dissimilar to when it was an occupied army base, then ...

A site along these lines isn’t coming up.