Calais

[murraymints]

just seen on news displaced peeps..I am so sad...

[Islay]

Will you please stop saying 'the likes of me' you are inferring that I am something you have stepped in!!!

Come on then, what did you do in the war? Be honest now none of this I don't want to post what I did for all to see?

I have been honest can you be!!!

[naomi24]

aog, forgive me, but this isn't 1940. We are now dealing with a problem that is unprecedented.

Islay, // I think most people in his shoes would run//

Altruism is noble until you understand that some of the people you are welcoming are of the same mind as those who inflicted the injuries on the man you are talking about - then it becomes nonsensical, not to mention self-destructive.

[New Judge]

“I am so sad at the human loss.”

What have they lost, mm? You keep spouting these platitudes but I don’t think you’ve really thought it through. What France is finally doing is to prevent large numbers of people congregating in unsanitary conditions which are not good for them and, more importantly, are devastating for the people with homes and businesses in the surrounding area. Nobody forced them to congregate in Calais. They did so because they want to enter the UK illegally. As far as I can see they are being provided with better conditions. Their dream of reaching the UK has been (probably only temporarily) dashed but that was never an entitlement anyway so they haven’t actually lost anything at all. So, if you want to see signs of compassion, please explain to us what “loss” it is you are so sad about.

Your subsequent question about whether naomi has children shows a similar lack of understanding. The people in Calais have crossed a complete continent to get there. It is quite true that they are all somebody's children (even the adults). But if they simply feared for their safety they would have sought shelter long before reaching Calais. Those there are there for one reason and one reason alone - to reach the UK where they believe they will have a better life than anywhere else. You can't blame them for trying but they need to be made aware of two facts: they are not entitled to come to the UK and the UK is full up (not literally, but insofar as our resources and public services in many areas are at breaking point).

Just take a step back and think it through, mm.

[anotheoldgit]

Islay

/// Will you please stop saying 'the likes of me' you are inferring that I am something you have stepped in!!! ///

Since you are so pedantic, I didn't say the 'likes of me' what I did say though was the 'likes of you'.

I fail to see the connection, but if you can then please feel free, but don't go blaming me.

/// Come on then, what did you do in the war? Be honest now none of this I don't want to post what I did for all to see? ///

/// I have been honest can you be!!! ///

Certainly, enough to say "I didn't run off".

[fiction-factory]

I think the comparison with the second world war is not a fair one, AOG.
That was a conventional battle with clearly defined sides- us over here and the enemy over there trying to invade. There was a great community spirit and nearly everyone wanted to do their bit for country and community. In some of these war torn countries like Syria there are so many opposing factions within relatively small areas that it is not clear who is who. It is not surprising many choose to flee

[New Judge]

"It is not surprising many choose to flee "

But why do they seek to flee to the UK (a destination just about as far from their homelands as they can get without crossing an ocean)? Answers on a postcard, please.

[ummmm]

They speak English, maybe.

[New Judge]

What, as a first language?

[ummmm]

More English than any other second language.

[Baldric]

Here's a Postcard from me NJ,

"Because the see us or have been told we are a soft touch"

[fiction-factory]

You quoted me there New Judge ("It is not surprising many choose to flee").
But you then asked 'But why do they seek to flee to the UK". I am not sure- maybe it's the language or stories told by traffickers or Premier Laague football or friends here already..... But that wasn't what I was addressing so it's not for me to answer- I was simply responding to AOG's comment about them being cowards for fleeing their homelands rather than staying and fighting to defend their country like people did here in WW2

[anotheoldgit]

Why don't they 'head south young man'?

There is a large continent before them, and perhaps they could finally settle in South Africa, the land of Gold and Diamonds.