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Original poster

Why are the UK responsible for the stuck lorry drivers?

207 replies

Gleps · 23/12/2020 22:10

This might be a really silly question and I might be missing something obvious but I’d like to understand why the uk are responsible for all of the European lorry drivers who are stuck at Dover?

When this all started, it was down to us to get all the Brits living in places like Wuhan home. So why when the situation is reversed is it now our responsibility again?

OP posts:
MotherForker · 23/12/2020 22:11

Because they are human beings and we are a civilised society.

FastandLoose · 23/12/2020 22:12

It depends if you mean fault or responsibility? It’s not our fault this has happened, but we’ve got to try and sort it out.

laudemio · 23/12/2020 22:14

Well its macron fault but honestly we should be better prepared to look after all those poor drivers. Offer them decent food and welfare facilities. No one to blame but us for that bit.

Walkaround · 23/12/2020 22:14

?! What sort of monster are you?!

Original poster
Gleps · 23/12/2020 22:19

I’m not a monster and I’m not saying we shouldn’t be looking after them. I actually tried to keep my opinion out of the question to gain facts rather than judgement.

I don’t get why we had an obligation to our nationals who were stuck in other countries. Yet France don’t seem to have any obligations to their nationals stuck in another country.

OP posts:
TheGreatWave · 23/12/2020 22:22

@MotherForker

Because they are human beings and we are a civilised society.
This.

And also our government decided to try and shit scare the country and ended up scaring the shit out of the world.

DonkeyMcFluff · 23/12/2020 22:23

The news said they were all shouting Fuck Boris! Which is ridiculous because it’s the French who are preventing them leaving.

HmmSureJan · 23/12/2020 22:23

Because despite the amount of slating of the U.K. and general country self hatred from many, this country and its people mainly try to do the right thing where they can.

jasjas1973 · 23/12/2020 22:24

People stuck overseas, were in hotels, homes etc etc, they were not in the middle nowhere, with little food, no toilets or washing facilities.

You d not treat a dog like it but it seems the british govt is quite happy to treat lorry drivers like sub humans.

Its quite likely that when this is eventually done and dusted, 'drivers wont want to come to the UK and then what will we do?

jasjas1973 · 23/12/2020 22:25

@DonkeyMcFluff

The news said they were all shouting Fuck Boris! Which is ridiculous because it’s the French who are preventing them leaving.
Johnson et al has stopped CV testing tonight and has provided no welfare for them so of course Fuck Boris... they wont come here again.
PurplePansy05 · 23/12/2020 22:25

Omg...really?

What do you suggest they do, send private jets to Heathrow with private drivers to pick them up front Kent and tell them, y'all, dump the lorries, Merry Christmas?

They arrived here to bring goods to this country. They are now stuck for Christmas trying to leave this country and not being able to do so. Why shouldn't the UK look after them? FFS.

TheCountessofFitzdotterel · 23/12/2020 22:26

I think it’s a bit of a different situation.
If our nationals were stuck in France for a few days with no imminent peril (as presumably some are) we wouldn’t be trying to get them home urgently other than by working to resolve the situation politically.
The China situation was a bit more extreme.

MushMonster · 23/12/2020 22:26

Well, because it is UK, no a third world country who cannot possibly afford it, even if they really want to. So they assist citizens in peril abroad.
And to be honest, these famous lorry car parks should have facilities included. Some washing facilities and food. It is just common sense. And they may be used soon as well, for longer time.

TheGreatWave · 23/12/2020 22:27

It isn't just French nationals though - many more have to travel through France to get to where they need to be.

Em777 · 23/12/2020 22:27

@Gleps

I’m not a monster and I’m not saying we shouldn’t be looking after them. I actually tried to keep my opinion out of the question to gain facts rather than judgement.

I don’t get why we had an obligation to our nationals who were stuck in other countries. Yet France don’t seem to have any obligations to their nationals stuck in another country.

If you were in a similar situation, stuck in Calais, close but not quite home would you really expect the French to do absolutely nothing? To not provide the tests the British government was demanding? To not have access to toilets, food, and warmth in the height of winter?
titchy · 23/12/2020 22:29

Yet France don’t seem to have any obligations to their nationals stuck in another country.

The lorry drivers aren't French you know....

PurplePansy05 · 23/12/2020 22:29

Besides, you do realise they come from multiple countries, not from France, right...?

Pangur2 · 23/12/2020 22:32

Jesus Christ, this is depressing. Seriously?!

jasjas1973 · 23/12/2020 22:32

i think the point needs to made, again, we are not helping them, Manston isn't finished and the M20 has little in the way of welfare, just a single toilet every 0.5 miles.

So the OP needn't worry, no tax payers money is being wasted.

Yet again we act too late or not at all.

justanotherneighinparadise · 23/12/2020 22:33

It’s certainly an interesting question. Macron closed the border to his own civilians and yet we are at fault? I hadn’t really thought of it like that.

Motorina · 23/12/2020 22:34

I think we should be responsible for emergency humanitarian support (as I would expect any country to be for those distressed within their borders) but not for repatriation. However, these people are mostly perfectly capable of repatriating themselves, the minute the border is open.

It is emphatically in our best interests to get that border open, because I'd quite like a slice of lemon in my G&T on New Years Eve. What is not in our best interests is to let the chaos rumble on. It's also not in our best interests for Romania to send mercy-flights (as we did to Wuhan) to scoop up the drivers and take them home, leaving their lorries clogging up Kent roundabouts behind them.

It's also not that uncommon for the channel ports to close (winter storms, usually). Frankly, we should have a much better park-and-wait facility for lorry drivers caught up in disruption, regardless of cause. That's in our best interests, too, because it stops Dover becoming a giant outdoor latrine. It also happens to be the decent thing to do.

Toilenstripes · 23/12/2020 22:34

It’s a political move by Macron, to assert dominance. To show the U.K. what can be done. The blame will always fall on the British government because they’re prats and their citizens know it.

Em777 · 23/12/2020 22:35

@jasjas1973

i think the point needs to made, again, we are not helping them, Manston isn't finished and the M20 has little in the way of welfare, just a single toilet every 0.5 miles.

So the OP needn't worry, no tax payers money is being wasted.

Yet again we act too late or not at all.

Agreed.

And we expect these same men and women to come back with food and goods in the new year. With Brexit incoming and no doubt more backlogs...

longwayoff · 23/12/2020 22:36

Dear Gleps. Think harder, it should help you. I hope you have asnlovely a Christmas as you deserve. Season's greetings to you.

PicsInRed · 23/12/2020 22:36

Because we want them to return to keep bringing us food? Right? 😂🤷‍♀️