Asylum Seekers Coming To The Uk

[sp1814]

This report is a decade old, but it's useful as a springboard for a question I'm curious about:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/1523226.stm

Why are so many people convinced that asylum seekers come to the UK to bleed the benefits system?

Does the above study and the one below carry less weight than the stories carried by other media outlets?

http://www.unhcr.org.uk/about-us/the-uk-and-asylum.html

[ichkeria]

Hands up who'd like to swap places with a family of asylum seekers?


Thought not ...:-)

[arwyn]

They were and still are council, it is Newcastle council and they said the goverment told them they had to do it.. My friend has always lived facing one of these houses and oftern gets to know the people they oftern tell her they are moving to london to disappear.. At first it would be a family, then more and more people would move in and out.

[arwyn]

How hard is it to prove their story ??

[sp1814]

Where I grew up, there was a really rough council estate (which was on the news two weeks ago for the second fatal killing of a teenager in six months) called the Aylesbury Estate in Walworth.

My old council started to put asylum seekers there temporarily because everyone who knew the area knew not to accept a flat or house there, because it was so horrible.

The council decided to use that stock rather than allow properties to remain empty in order to discourage vandalism.

I suppose different councils handle asylum seekers differently depending on their available stock, and the number of available hostel places and/or private landlords.

[Iluvspikey]

Because true asylum seekers, even by European law, should stay in the first country they land in, but they don't. they get to France, or Germany and then make their way here, and we should turn them back. Gemany and France don't give them benefits like we do.

[sp1814]

Iluvspikey

You know what? Reading our papers, that's exactly the impression I got.

But it's not even close to being true.

This makes interesting reading:

In 2011, with close to 107,000 new asylum claims, South Africa was the first destination for new asylum-seekers, accounting for almost one-tenth of all individual applications worldwide. The next top receiving countries were the USA (76,000), France (52,100), Germany (45,700), Italy (30,300), Sweden (29,600) and Belgium (26,000).

The United Kingdom was the eighth largest recipient of new asylum-seekers in 2011 with 25,455 applications.

So...not only does South Africa (logically) get the most asylum seekers, the UK isn't even in the top five recipients in Europe!!!

That extract is from the UN's Global Trends report from 2011. More here:

http://www.unhcr.org.uk/fileadmin/user_upload/pdf/Global_Trends.pdf

[naomi24]

ichkeria, //Hands up who'd like to swap places with a family of asylum seekers? //

There are a lot of people I wouldn't want to swap places with but that doesn't mean this country should take responsibility for the world and his wife!

[ichkeria]

I believe sp1814's interesting stats suggest a different picture. The swapping places point is one way of looking at it

[sp1814]

Personally, I wouldn't swap places with an asylum seeker for all the tea in China (which is moot, because I don't like tea). The Observer ran a series of interviews with asylum seekers, which painted a very different picture of their lives in comparison to some of the pieces we see in the right wing press.

It all looked pretty horrible to me. Having a stable home life, rewarding job, freedom to go on holiday and freedom to work. and to have my family close by is what's important.

[pdq1]

Shown on TV yesterday. An immigrant family with about 8 kids kicked out of accomodation because of the governments new cap and then housed in a 4 star hotel in Westminster costing the taxpayer 4 times as much. Don't seem like hostels to me! What message does this send for those wishing to join them?

[sp1814]

pdq1

The first message it sends would be that the government hasn't thought out the changes to housing benefit properly.

However, this message will only be heard by those asylum seekers who have satellite telly and are able to pick up UK TV broadcasts...

[TTG]

The criminals seem to enjoy coming to the UK. No matter how serious the crime, there is little chance of deportation. That is my biggest concern and even more so next year.

[sandyRoe]

Any criminals coming from eastern Europe won't be asylum seekers.

[naomi24]

SP.//However, this message will only be heard by those asylum seekers who have satellite telly and are able to pick up UK TV broadcasts... //

If you believe that you'll believe anything.

[bazwillrun]

"The Observer ran a series of interviews with asylum seekers,"

you couldnt make that up...no really I cant stop laughing

let me guess they all said how badly they get treated etc.

Things are so tough over here for them that they decide to stay and not move on to some other more accommodating country.

[sandyRoe]

Michael Howard and John Portillo are children of asylum seekers. Look at the loss to our country if their parents hadn't been allowed to stay.

[sp1814]

naomi24

I think the thing I've stopped believing are reports about asylum seekers living the high life.

I honestly think that we're being duped, and we should stop believing everything certain sections of the media tell us.

Perhaps the truth is a little more mundane than has Ben reported?

[naomi24]

SP, The move from a cardboard box or a tin hut and a scratched, poverty-stricken living in a third world country to a home and a regular income in a country that takes care of your health, welfare, and education is a massive opportunity. What these people get here might not seem much to us, but by comparison to what they've known, for them it is the high life. I've no doubt that some are genuine asylum seekers, but I've also no doubt that many aren't and if anyone is being duped it's us. No surprise they want to emigrate!

[arwyn]

sp1814 sorry for the delay in replying as I'v been out. The estate I'm on about was a nice one built in the late 60's where a lot of people had bought their council house. My friend lives facing a row of 3 houses, the houses at either end have been bought (wont be able to sell them), the centre house will always house asylum seekers.

[sp1814]

arwyn

There ya go - I suppose everyone has different experiences of housing allocation to asylum seekers.

My guess is that your experience, and mine, re far removed from the stories we're fed by the press (million pound mansions etc).