bluejohn

I have only been here the Uk a few months and I totally agree with you. God theres some rubbish in certain newspapers here .

alicecat

I read something today that said in a survey of 2,000 UK news articles only 12% of the stories were found to be composed completely of material researched by reporters. Apparently the majority of stories came from secondhand information coming from news agencies and the PR industry.

hereshoping

Well said.

And we must remember that many of these genuine asylum seekers have been victims of torture or persecution in their home countries and as much may be mentally or physically unfit to work.

it is surely the mark of a civilised country that we do support people in need.

kelbelinoz

I AGREE, AND AS FOR BEING INTERGRATED IF YOU WORK AND GET A JOB.......THIS IS ONLY POSSIBLE IF YOU CAN GET A BLOODY JOB.......WHERE IS THE TRADESMEN SHORTAGE I ASK.......THE UK......COMING BACK FOR ONE.....I REST MY CASE!

Hutch

I'd say that had been the case for the last 30 years at least. The AP or Reuters news wires spit out a story, there's a cursory rewrite by a sub-editor and it goes off to print. The funny thing is that the newspapers haven't yet realised that the way to tackle plummeting sales in the face of 24 hour news stations is to employ good reporters who track down original stories - and not to reprint tedious shite about C-list celebrities.

Hutch

Hello. Could you use your Caps Lock key please - it seems like you're shouting.

kelbelinoz

I AM!!!!!!

Lancashire Lesley

Hi there, we've been here for 2 and a half years and haven't come across one person who has been negative towards us for being immigrants. Most people are really interested to hear your back ground and what made you want to live in their country. At the end of the day, when entering as a skilled migrant, you have undergone a long series of tests and passed them all (not to mention you need to be totally self sufficient financially). We have lots of ozzie friends and have been made to feel totally welcome

yanH

But fit enough to travel half way around the world and through several 'safe' countries before claiming asylum in the UK...... If you are in genuine fear of your life / persecution then you would claim asylum as soon as it was possible to.

Dorothy

Do you know anyone who's been a victim of a government? I worked with a woman from Poland who during the revolution in the 1970's worked 60 hours per week so she could afford to buy food for her children. When they fled to Germany, they were put in refugee camps where she, her husband and 2 children were forced to live in barracks along with other families. They were not free to live in Germany. After 2 years they were given a choice of Canada or Australia. Those were the countries willing to take them. They chose Canada, only because it's closer to Poland and they could go back to visit if things ever settled down. She was and is a trained registered nurse who was unable to work in Canada until she learned to speak English. How was she to feed her family when she didn't even speak the language?

If you are in genuine fear of your life/persecution then you go where you are told so as not to risk being sent back where you came from.

yanH

If you're given a choice like that then that's a very different matter from what I was discussing. I was talking about asylum seekers that arrive in southern europe and then travel another few thousand miles to the UK before claiming asylum.

Dorothy

Perhaps the country they initially land in will not grant them asylum. You don't know their circumstances, so why comment?

yanH

If the country they landed in is a signatory of the UN Convention on Human Rights then that country has no choice but to assess their claim. All EU countries have signed this document.

esperanza

Technically, I believe it is correct that no asylum seekers should arrive directly in Britain, due to the fact that we are not the nearest country for anyone. That doesn't mean that Britain should not offer asylum to anyone, just that those seeking asylum should be registering their claims elsewhere, then allocated to Britain.
Sometimes I think people feel that Britain is unfairly burdened by asylum seekers, but I remember reading something a few years ago about how the numbers in France, Spain, Germany all dwarfed the British statistics.

One thing that I've never understood about asylum seeking, is that whilst I can see its obvious benefits in individual situations, the large scale logistics just don't make much sense to me. If an entire country is in a state of civil war, does that make the entire population eligible for asylum? How can any country offer asylum to an entire population?

Grayling

Doesn't the same apply to Australia?.....that's pretty far away from Africa etc. but there are plenty of African refugees there.

G