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Letter To The Editor
Last week, the Daily Express ran a series of hostile stories about asylum seekers.
First, they were outraged at the thought of asylum seekers being temporarily housed, through no fault or choice of their own, in a hotel on the coast.
Then, they railed against the cost of the asylum system.
And then they wrote an aggressive, misleading attack on some of the most vulnerable people in the country.
We, the Regugee Council, were extremely concerned and we weren’t the only ones. We quickly teamed up with our friends Refugee Action and the British Red Cross to write a response. We wanted the chance to set the record straight, and give Express readers a more accurate understanding of who asylum seekers are, and why it’s vital we protect them.
Sadly, the Daily Express failed to publish our letter.
So here it is, in full.
Dear Sir,
The stream of aggressive stories about asylum seekers appearing in this paper in recent days is of serious concern to all of us who work with and support people fleeing persecution.
Your readers would be forgiven for thinking the UK is being flooded by asylum seekers. This couldn’t be further from the truth, with asylum applications around the 23,000 mark a year the UK is home to less than 1 per cent of the world’s refugees and takes proportionately below the EU average.
To characterise the people housed in Folkestone as having a ‘lovely break’ by the sea that Brits would be envious of is hugely misleading and dangerous.
Asylum seekers are people who have often fled horrifying experiences in their home countries. Some have been raped. Some have been tortured. Many have witnessed the death of a loved one. Be assured, people who have suffered extreme trauma and whose lives are hanging in the balance will not be focusing on the sea view of temporary room.
There are no refugee visas available for people fleeing persecution. The fact that people are forced to travel clandestinely is recognised within the Refugee Convention and British Law. Entering Britain illegally can be a necessity; it is not an indication of the validity of someone’s asylum claim.
Additionally, appealing a refusal does not indicate someone cheating the system. Decisions on asylum claims can be life or death and the appeal overturn rate shows the Government frequently gets it wrong the first time.
Stirring up hostility against asylum seekers is as unwelcome as it is unsavoury in a country with a proud tradition of protecting refugees.
Maurice Wren, Chief Executive, Refugee Council
Mike Adamson, Acting Chief Executive, British Red Cross
Dave Garratt, Chief Executive, Refugee Action
I hope you will take time to read this letter closely with open minds.
First, they were outraged at the thought of asylum seekers being temporarily housed, through no fault or choice of their own, in a hotel on the coast.
Then, they railed against the cost of the asylum system.
And then they wrote an aggressive, misleading attack on some of the most vulnerable people in the country.
We, the Regugee Council, were extremely concerned and we weren’t the only ones. We quickly teamed up with our friends Refugee Action and the British Red Cross to write a response. We wanted the chance to set the record straight, and give Express readers a more accurate understanding of who asylum seekers are, and why it’s vital we protect them.
Sadly, the Daily Express failed to publish our letter.
So here it is, in full.
Dear Sir,
The stream of aggressive stories about asylum seekers appearing in this paper in recent days is of serious concern to all of us who work with and support people fleeing persecution.
Your readers would be forgiven for thinking the UK is being flooded by asylum seekers. This couldn’t be further from the truth, with asylum applications around the 23,000 mark a year the UK is home to less than 1 per cent of the world’s refugees and takes proportionately below the EU average.
To characterise the people housed in Folkestone as having a ‘lovely break’ by the sea that Brits would be envious of is hugely misleading and dangerous.
Asylum seekers are people who have often fled horrifying experiences in their home countries. Some have been raped. Some have been tortured. Many have witnessed the death of a loved one. Be assured, people who have suffered extreme trauma and whose lives are hanging in the balance will not be focusing on the sea view of temporary room.
There are no refugee visas available for people fleeing persecution. The fact that people are forced to travel clandestinely is recognised within the Refugee Convention and British Law. Entering Britain illegally can be a necessity; it is not an indication of the validity of someone’s asylum claim.
Additionally, appealing a refusal does not indicate someone cheating the system. Decisions on asylum claims can be life or death and the appeal overturn rate shows the Government frequently gets it wrong the first time.
Stirring up hostility against asylum seekers is as unwelcome as it is unsavoury in a country with a proud tradition of protecting refugees.
Maurice Wren, Chief Executive, Refugee Council
Mike Adamson, Acting Chief Executive, British Red Cross
Dave Garratt, Chief Executive, Refugee Action
I hope you will take time to read this letter closely with open minds.
Answers
Scotland has taken, and is taking, its share https://
15:29 Sun 18th Sep 2016
Scotland has taken, and is taking, its share
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You miss the point Jackdaw, "The Refugee Councillors" Don't necessarily want the refugees with them. They are just volunteering on someone else's behalf, it allows them to feel all virtuous and pious. They know better don't you see. They are not first in line when it comes to paying their whack, but first in the queue when the funds are allocated.
It's a fair and balanced letter Maggie from their perspective - it of course highlights what has always been the case. Certain stories sell newspapers and others don't.
Is it done to stir up or strike fear or real and genuine concern?
Only those publishing know the answer to that.
No one in their right mind can deny there is a problem, a large and very difficult problem that will take better minds than mine to sort out.
Is the press helping or hindering?
Is it done to stir up or strike fear or real and genuine concern?
Only those publishing know the answer to that.
No one in their right mind can deny there is a problem, a large and very difficult problem that will take better minds than mine to sort out.
Is the press helping or hindering?
Mr. Wren, Mr. Adamson, and Mr. Garratt appear to have omitted a vital part from their letter;
The part that says
“We will of course be taking these refugees into our own homes and funding every aspect of their lives out of our own pockets - food clothing education and health care to name just a few”
Or the part that says
“many British people suffer extreme trauma, so we will, of course, be helping them too”.
The part that says
“We will of course be taking these refugees into our own homes and funding every aspect of their lives out of our own pockets - food clothing education and health care to name just a few”
Or the part that says
“many British people suffer extreme trauma, so we will, of course, be helping them too”.
I regularly read - along with many other journals - the Daily Express, and I don't think that their stance is largely about immigration into the UK, it is mostly directed against the out of control immigration into the EU, particularly in main, brought about by the folly of Chancellor Merkel's open door policy and her audacity to complain that other countries are refusing to accommodate her mistake and take in more of those she has allowed in.
The Express is by no means alone in pointing out the truth which you seem blinkered to see. The minuscule immigration into Scotland by those from outside the EU needs comparison to Germany and other countries where there is criminality, rape and open warfare on the streets and in hostels between Sunnis, Shias et al, and reports in a respectable newspaper of refugees from whet you term, "horrifying experiences" returning on ratepayers money to those places for holidays, doesn't help your cause very much;
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I suggest that instead of virtue signalling, those undersigning your letter should look closely at the facts of what is going on in the wider context, and we should be grateful to the Express and others for finally bringing these issues out into the open.
The Express is by no means alone in pointing out the truth which you seem blinkered to see. The minuscule immigration into Scotland by those from outside the EU needs comparison to Germany and other countries where there is criminality, rape and open warfare on the streets and in hostels between Sunnis, Shias et al, and reports in a respectable newspaper of refugees from whet you term, "horrifying experiences" returning on ratepayers money to those places for holidays, doesn't help your cause very much;
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I suggest that instead of virtue signalling, those undersigning your letter should look closely at the facts of what is going on in the wider context, and we should be grateful to the Express and others for finally bringing these issues out into the open.
Oh dear. Not the first time Maggiebee has posted something questionable – I recall a very strange claim she made some time ago concerning the Samaritans. This post gives the impression that Maggiebee is a member of the Refugee Council, but none of this relates to 'last week'. Both the plea and the letter were published in 2014.
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Mmmm…..
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Mmmm…..
Your letter is wrong in so many ways Maggie.
## First, they were outraged at the thought of asylum seekers being temporarily housed. ##
Rightly so, what about the British people waiting to be housed!!!!!
I was going to answer all your complaints, but I think this 2nd will do, and that is, they should have applied for asylum in the first Country they arrived, or stayed where they were and fought their enemies, like men.
## First, they were outraged at the thought of asylum seekers being temporarily housed. ##
Rightly so, what about the British people waiting to be housed!!!!!
I was going to answer all your complaints, but I think this 2nd will do, and that is, they should have applied for asylum in the first Country they arrived, or stayed where they were and fought their enemies, like men.
//Syrian refugees arriving in Scotland are being left penniless and reliant on food banks after having benefits suspended because they cannot speak English, it has been claimed.//
Ooops not everyone Scotland is being compliant.
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SYRIAN refugees offered a fresh start on a remote Scottish island say they want to leave because it is “full of old people waiting to die”.
Oops again.
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Ooops not everyone Scotland is being compliant.
http://
SYRIAN refugees offered a fresh start on a remote Scottish island say they want to leave because it is “full of old people waiting to die”.
Oops again.
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