It seems a French Member of the European Parliament said she believes that since the Syrians occupying the port of Calais want to go to the UK, they should be let in! MEP Gerard Batten (Independence Party member) shot back with the truth one rarely hears regarding political asylum and why the Syrians want to be allowed into the UK. For new readers, our original post is here.
From the story at the UK Daily Mail (emphasis mine):
French politicians have been accused of trying to ‘offload’ Syrian refugees on Britain in a growing row over who should give them asylum.
Scores of Syrians have occupied the Calais ferry terminal including a dozen who are on hunger strike and two threatening to kill themselves if they are not given safe passage to Britain.
But a French MEP has come under fire after urging the European Parliament to back their call to be allowed into Britain.
If you have been wondering why the Syrians aren’t satisfied with France, here is the long and short of it:
Unlike Britain, France does not pay benefits to asylum seekers while their claims are being processed. About 40 Syrians have refused to move from a passenger gangway.
Batten to the rescue with several major points!
Mr Batten, the UK Independence Party’s spokesman on security and defence, said later: ‘The suggestion that Syrian refugees in Calais should be sent post-haste to England is absolutely outrageous.
‘These people have made their way across Europe with the intention of landing up in the UK. This is contrary to the UN Convention on Refugees that says they should seek refuge in the first safe country they come to. [Important point #1 and it is rarely mentioned by anyone!—ed]
‘They want to come to Britain because of our reputation as a soft touch. [Important point #2—ed] They may indeed be refugees, but they are attracted to Britain because of the generous housing, benefits, and social services systems made available to foreigners.
‘If the French have not prevented their entry into France, as they were entitled to do under the Convention [Important point #3, the French let them into France—ed], then the French should offer them asylum, not try to offload the problem onto the UK.’
Germany’s Friedrich and now Britain’s Gerard Batten, could we be seeing the beginning of a trend?