A good result in Blackburn last night?

[Solly]

If our nation had a border with Afghanistan or Kurdish areas of Turkey, I wouldn't disagree with us accepting them.

[MikeH]

That is a cop out. We are one of the countries who attacked Afghanistan, we have to take responsibility.

[Solly]

Take the terrorists and pay them for escaping?

It's only the rich who make it this far. If all the world's poor found a way of making it to the UK as well, would you be in favour of us supporting 10 or 20 million refugees?

Why? Why not?

[MikeH]

"It's only the rich who make it this far."

Proof!

"If all the world's poor found a way of making it to the UK as well, would you be in favour of us supporting 10 or 20 million refugees?"

Ah. So you are going to ignore my call for you to comment on Laz's post and come up with something preposterous instead. That's why we have such strict rules about who can and can't apply for asylum.

If it was numbers in the millions and then there would be legitimate concerns. This country just isn't that big. The numbers aren't that large though, it's not even as large as they are in the other large European countries.

[Solly]

In terms of actual numbers, Germany ranks first with 88,365, followed by the UK, which has seen 88,300 asylum requests (both including dependants).

We should let/make them work.

[Caligastia]

Originally posted by Boddington's
In terms of actual numbers, Germany ranks first with 88,365, followed by the UK, which has seen 88,300 asylum requests (both including dependants).

We should let/make them work.

Refugees are not given permission to work?

[MikeH]

From Laz's post:

Research carried out by Personnel Today in November 2001, found that 9 out of 10 employers want to take on refugees to meet skills' shortages, but do not due to ignorance of the law and confusing Home Office paperwork.
According to a recent Home Office study, migrants, including asylum seekers and refugees - are far from being a burden on UK tax payers. On the contrary, in 1999-2000, migrants in the UK made a net fiscal contribution of approximately £2.5 billion, worth 1p on income tax.

If you mean that they should be processed quicker or allowed to work in the first six months then I agree.

Ok so we've gone from you saying that they are a horrible threat and drain on the economy to saying that they should be allowed to work? Great progress!

[MikeH]

Originally posted by Caligastia


Refugees are not given permission to work?

Cali: Again from Laz's post above:

Asylum applicants are not allowed to work for the first six months of their asylum application date.

[Solly]

Set up sweat shops or something where they can earn their £33 a week by doing a full week's work.

Their choice to come here from France then.

[MikeH]

So you have skilled asylum seekers who would love to be working, and employers desperate for their skills but you want to see them working in some kind of primitive sweat shops for the sake of it?

You're a frikking genius.

[Solly]

If they are better workers then they should get the jobs. The sweat shops are for those who aren't skilled. They need a disincentive to stop them coming here.

[MikeH]

You don't think that the current system of sticking them in what's effectively a prison for several months in poverty would discourage people?

For a lot of genuine asylum seekers the chance to live in the UK and have a job would still be better than what they have at home.

I think it's great that despite our country being a bit knackered and run down, it's still somewhere people want to come and live and work.

Half my family are immigrants, from Ireland. I'm sure other people you know are similar. Your friend Provost Harrison for one.

I don't really like the idea that my Grandad would have been stuck in a sweatshop, although he was only a kid when he came over, so maybe he'd have been OK and you'd only stick the grownups in the sweatshops?

You never seem to think about these issues in terms of them being real people with real feelings. Perhaps you are so bitter and selfish and greedy that you can't see that anyone else could act from any other motive?

[Caligastia]

Originally posted by MikeH


Cali: Again from Laz's post above:

Asylum applicants are not allowed to work for the first six months of their asylum application date.

Thats ridiculous. What a waste of labour.

[MikeH]

I agree. Taz might be able to offer some insight into why it's like that though.

[Caligastia]

When I first moved here I had to wait 8 months before I was allowed to work, despite being married to a US citizen!