How awful!

[The Sherman]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8129812.stm

I dont pretend to know the answer and know that we have to eventually stop letting people into this country but we have to help them!

We can't leave them there to live like that!

[squarebear]

Surely, there were many countries on the way from Afghanistan that would have been suitable for these people. Why travel all the way to England?

If I were fleeing my country, I would be happy to get to the nearest safe place.

[Gromit]

They have ended up there by choice. They do not have to stay. Conditions may be bad, but they are camped there waiting to illegally come to our country.

The best thing we can do is stand firm and hope that the squalid conditions will deter further migrants making the same futile journey.

[Rollo]

You say we can't leave them to live like that.

But my question is why are the French letting them live like that?

And why do the French not deport them back to where they came from if they are in France illegally?

[The Sherman]

Remember they can't go back to their own country cause we're currently bombing the sh1t out of it!

and how are france going to pay to have them all sent back each time? and where do they drop them off?

[Rollo]

Perhaps the French should have thought about that before they made it so easy for people to just walk into France from another Shengen country.

[Nosha123]

close the border to UK once and for all there is only so much this country can do - and it is not infinate.. there will be an end to the financial support we offer.
There is only so much room, work, money.
Try another country

[redcrx]

Im sure France could do so much more.
But why would they when they can encourage them all to hide away in backs of lorries etc and the UK will pick up the tab this end?

[Julnar]

I have no sympathy for people who have travelled through numerous 'safe' countries to reach Calais and then expect the British to look after them. I wish the French would do more to evict 'illegal' immigrants to their country, rather than hoping these people find a convenient lorry to England in the very near future.

[daffy654]

The mayor of Calais recently demanded compensation from the English government,she said that it is our lax border controls that have caused these people to turn up in her city.

[redcrx]

and what borders prevented them from gaining entry to France in the first place then?

[youngmafbog]

We just need a proper Policy - and enforce it. No benefits no free health care etc etc

[flip_flop]

I completely agree with Julnar.

We can leave them there to live like that, and indeed should leave them to live like that. They are not our responsibility.

Hopefully word will get back that it is not all wine and roses after all.

[The Sherman]

wow I've never heard from so many ******** people in all my life!

These are human Fugging beings that are living in squalor that we have the power to help!

Whats wrong with you people?

[Nosha123]

There is nothing wrong with us Sherman - but these people have passed through HOW MANY safe countries - and not stopped in any of them - they are coming to UK cos we are a soft touch and to claim our benefits - end of...

This country cannot afford to feed and house the whole world?

There is a limit and we need to redeuc eth emaount we let in.

Political Asylum is meant to be claimed at the first safe country you arrive at.. not keep going til you find one with better perks!

[daffy654]

Many of these people are economic migrants,they are in no physical danger in their own countries,they know the UK is a soft touch and will try and get here by any means possible.I have absolutely no sympathy for their 'plight' and squalid living conditions.

[jake-the-peg]

Shall we break with tradition and look at the problem from someone else's perspective?

Perhaps the French think the we created the problem and should deal with it.

http://www.lefigaro.fr/actualite-france/2009/0 6/27/01016-20090627ARTFIG00571-manifestation-p our-les-migrants-a-calais-.php

Comments from some French readers:
. Why retain all these people. Why prevent them from crossing the Channel? . England did not sign the treaty of Schengen . For me, the problem would be solved immediately. A TGV of 600 places and hop it is finished. The reaction of England would be immediate. Perhaps it would sign the treaty, and enter the euro area

Let them on board the British will make a center in Dover

The United Kingdom did not sign Schengen , France thus has no obligation to retain these migrants, it can even pay them the train ticket, the United Kingdom will have nothing to say and the problem will be regulated

[The Sherman]

Lucy with your analogy my house would have to be a mansion with 50 odd rooms that arent being used!

the point is i never said let them all in but leaving them to live like that is NOT the way to do things. Sending them back to get the crap blown out of them by us is also not the answer!

[squarebear]

But we aren't talking about sending them back to Afghanistan, merely to the first safe country.

[whifffey]

This situation needs to evolve very gradually. Clearly the UK should let them in and feed and clothe them. If it is necessary to bulldoze thousands of acres of countryside to house them, then sobeit. A mere 3p on income tax would cover the costs, it wouldn't be too much out of most peoples' take-home pay. If you currently take home, say, �1500, then that might drop to �1300, but that's a small price to pay to help all these people. Then there would be the multicultural pleasure of motley ethnic shops springing up over the boring and unneccessary fields. The skills and benefits these people bring far outweigh the tiny disadvantages. We can fit a lot more excrement into the sea yet!