Manchester No Borders held an emergency protest at the French
consulate today, after French riot police have begun mass evictions
and arrests of refugees hoping to join the UK via the French port town of
Calais.
On Wednesday, French immigration minister, Eric Besson, announced that the
Calais area will be a ‘migrant-free zone’ by the end of next week. Large
areas of woodland, known locally as the ‘jungle’, where young men, many
still children, have set up temporary shelters are to be cleared and
bulldozed.
consulate today, after French riot police have begun mass evictions
and arrests of refugees hoping to join the UK via the French port town of
Calais.
On Wednesday, French immigration minister, Eric Besson, announced that the
Calais area will be a ‘migrant-free zone’ by the end of next week. Large
areas of woodland, known locally as the ‘jungle’, where young men, many
still children, have set up temporary shelters are to be cleared and
bulldozed.
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So what?
18.09.2009 17:28
That they ignore this, is evidence enough that they're merely economic migrants not genuine asylum seekers. If they genuinely wanted asylum they'd queue up at a British embassy or consulate and apply legally for asylum like a normal person would. Rather than damaging the property and goods of lorry drivers using the ports and tunnels.
Knock the camps down, France can do as it pleases within it's own borders regardless of what a few out of touch with reality pasty faced British teenagers say. About time France did something to control these hoodlums.
Reality check
@ Reality check
19.09.2009 09:38
You're like those idiots banging on about 'asylum seekers stealing our jobs' when no asylum seekers have the right to work, desperate as they are to do so. Or those dicks that go on about 'them' taking up limited healthcare resources when most asylum seekers can't even access a GP, let alone medical care, dental care etc. Or those shits that lie about asylum seekers living in luxury when most are living on vouchers worth £5/day to cover everything from food, clothing, shoes, travel, hygiene etc, and only able to use those vouchers in limited shops, regardless of how far away they may be.
Why do these migrants want to come to the UK? Many have family here or lived here themselves before the Home Office decided Afghanistan, Iraq etc was a safe place to send people to...they merely want to come home again. Some worked as translators for the allied forces and are now fleeing the Taliban or (as for some children I've spoken to) have had parents killed by the Taliban. You talk from the completely random chance of having (probably) been born in this country instead of Palestine or Somalia or Afghanistan. These migrants had no choice about their place of birth or the violence inflicted upon them by foreign forces (usually us, or with UK complicity and arms) but they are doing something about that in trying to make a new life - being proactive and courageous in a way rarely seen among the placid population in the UK.
Many anti-migrant comments seem to stem from a nationalistic stance, worrying (I'm being generous) about limited resources. We need to challenge inequalities in society rather than turn on people needing support. We need to stop spending billions of pounds on 'the war on terror' (forget what the cost is that I read - but just incredible) and put that money into healthcare and education instead of skimping on this and then blaming immigrants for a shortfall.
anon