Tag: UK

Update from Calais (France): It is not the UK’s problem

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Thanks again to ‘pungentpeppers’ here is an update from the stalemate in Calais where hundreds of Middle Easterners and Africans have congregated for months demanding they be let into the UK.  (See our previous Calais posts here).

Camping in Calais where camps are divided by ethnic groups (by their own choosing!)

In a clear ploy to tug at heartstrings, The Independent begins and ends with sob-stories about the poor men who scratched together thousands of dollars to get this far in order to break into what they call “The House” (the UK).

But the British government again lays out the cold hard truth—in the European Union, legitimate asylum seekers are to ask for asylum in the first safe country in which they land.  For these men was it Italy, Malta, Greece, Bulgaria—any of the border countries?  And, indeed if they were legit, they could ask for asylum in France.

Going one step further, the UK says the condition of French “camps” is France’s problem! Yup!

The French government has asked Britain to consider a renegotiation of the agreement which led to the closure of Sangatte and share more of the financial and policing “burden” caused by the migrants. The French interior minister, Manuel Valls, said last month that the situation in Calais had reached an “impasse”. The response from his British opposite, Home Secretary Theresa May, has been a polite restatement of the status quo.

A Home Office spokeswoman said tonight: “The conditions of any camps in France and the policing of them is the responsibility of the French authorities. If individuals have a genuine need of protection they should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach.”

Indeed, the real passion and anger is among those with the least power and the most to lose.

For two consecutive weeks, the streets of Calais have been the scene of demonstrations by angry migrants waving placards proclaiming “Freedom to move”, “Liberté” and “No border, no nation – stop deportation”

The  list of grievances of the marchers – Afghans, Kurds, Sudanese, Eritreans, Egyptians, Syrians – is long and multifarious, from an unrealistic demand for Britain to open its border to a plea for the “basic dignity” afforded by washing facilities and an end to what they say is harassment by French police.

Read it all.

British-Syrian TV pundit causes firestorm, says Syrian refugees should not come to UK

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment
If all Syrians coming to America were like the UK’s Halla Diyab, the Leftwingers would be leading the charge to STOP Syrians from coming here.

She suggested they go to neighboring countries where they are among people of their own culture!  And, the horror, she questions who will pay for all the Syrians?  For that, she is labeled ‘Syria’s Sarah Palin.’

One country she lists as a better place to send Syrian refugees is deportation-nation Saudi Arabia!

From Al-Arabiya News (hat tip: ‘pungentpeppers’):

A British-Syrian TV pundit is threatening to sue social media users who slander her or threaten her life after her recent controversial views regarding not allowing Syrian refugees to come to Britain were aired on a BBC program.

Halla Diyab, a writer and producer based in London, told BBC One’s This Week news program that Syrian refugees would be better off seeking asylum in neighboring Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt – rather than coming to England where they will face a cultural barrier such as not being able to speak English.

Syrian refugees shouldn’t be “picky and choosey,” she told the BBC’s Andrew Neil.

She also voiced concerns over how much allowing Syrian refugees into the country would cost British taxpayers.

Many people publicly condemned Diyab’s views referring to her as “Syria’s Sarah Palin”;’ however, the British-Syrian pundit is now concerned the criticism has went too far with some angry viewers saying she is an Assad-loyalist and others making comments about her morality.

There is much wailing and moaning from the ‘humanitarian’ crowd who call her insensitive.  You can read all of that yourself.  I guess she, or they, don’t know that some of their ‘humanitarian’ brethren would agree with Diyab (here).

Then she asked who will pay for all of this?

And, if peace comes, will they go home or will taxpayers continue to support them?  Yikes! The ultimate sin to ask those questions!

During one part of Diyab’s BBC appearance, now available online, Diyab takes a sip of coffee, and asks: “If Syria returns to peace, will the British government force them to go back to Syria or will they stay here forever?

“As a British taxpayer, will I be requested to subsidize for a new Syrian population in this country?”

“It would be much better for them to stay in neighboring countries that are close to Syria culturally and demographically, like the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon,” she added.

And, the you-know-what hit the fan on social media.  Hang in there Halla!

The answer is yes, of course, these refugee resettlements are always permanent, even when the word ‘temporary’ is bandied about.

Regarding our photo caption.  Consider for a moment what would happen to the immigration issue if a large majority of immigrants arriving in America, or the West generally, said they would vote for conservatives.  In a heartbeat, the political Left would be demanding we halt all immigration!  Heck, they might be at the border with guns!

UK: Pressure on Brits to take Syrian refugees may be succeeding

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment
UK Foreign Minister William Hague also warned British citizens to NOT go to Syria. Is he worried about British citizens joining the Jihadists?

Yesterday, UK Minister of Foreign Affairs Hague signaled that the United Kingdom would be looking to possibly resettle “vulnerable” Syrian refugees.  Whether the general public, which largely does not support more immigration (Syrians this time), will be persuaded I suppose rests on the definition of “vulnerable”  and for how long they will be allowed to stay.  Will this be permanent resettlement?

It should make Britain’s celebrities happy if not the ordinary citizen.

From the Gulf Times:

William Hague, the minister for foreign affairs, has confirmed the government is working on a plan to accept “particularly vulnerable” refugees from Syria.

The government had been resisting the idea of accepting refugees for months, but the senior Conservative party MP said the government was now actively considering which Syrian people should be allowed to come to Britain. It comes after Prime Minister, David Cameron, signalled a partial retreat over the issue under pressure from a cross-party group of politicians, saying he was now “open-minded” about accepting the injured, particularly children.

Speaking on BBC TV’s Andrew Marr (politics) Show, Hague revealed that plans were under way to bring over some refugees, but stressed the main priority would be providing aid to the region.

“The home secretary (minister for domestic affairs) is working on that, and will have more to say about that in the coming days,” he said. “I think there is a case for particularly helping people who are particularly vulnerable. I think we have to look at it in that way.”

Frankly, I think it’s the Muslims the average British citizen sees as NOT “particularly vulnerable.”

UK: Politicians may be moving toward accepting Syrian refugees, but British public still says NO

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment
Syrian asylum seekers block the port of Calais, demand entry into the UK. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/10357103/UK-border-police-to-consider-entry-for-Syrian-refugees-waiting-in-Calais.html

A new poll shows that most Brits want to either “keep the door firmly shut” against Syrian “asylum seekers,” or don’t know, as British politicians are warming to the idea under withering pressure from the humanitarian industrial complex.

From the Mirror:

YouGov asked:

“Some European countries are agreeing to each admit a few hundred of the people in the Syrian refugee camps. Do you think the United Kingdom should or should not also agree to admit a few hundred refugees from Syria to settle here?”

The answer? The British public are a lot less keen than some of our political leaders.

Just 39% of us think we’ve got room for a few hundred displaced Syrians. 47% think we should refuse to admit them, and 14% don’t know. Supporters of Ukip were more inclined to say no – 71% did – and over half of the Tory voters polled also said we should keep the door firmly shut.

Those demonstrators at Calais, France last fall sure didn’t help the cause of Syrian “refugees.”

Someone should do a poll in America!  Should the US take thousands of Syrians this year?  I think the results would be very similar to those found in the UK.

Syrian refugee smorgasbord

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Every day our news alerts are jam-packed with the latest stories on the SYRIAN REFUGEE CRISIS.   Here is a little round-up of the latest news.

MP Yvette Cooper, leader of the revolt: Bring in the Syrians!

Great Britain:  ‘MP’s revolt over failure to admit Syrian refugees’:

The Coalition is under mounting pressure from Conservative and Liberal Democrat MPs to perform a U-turn to allow some Syrian refugees to come to Britain.

Mark Harper, the immigration minister, angered some MPs yesterday by saying the United Nations plan for Western countries to accept 30,000 of the 2.3 million Syrian refugees would have only a “token impact”.  [Then the you-know-what hit the fan—ed]

Lebanon:  ‘U.N.: Syrian refugee’s murder of son highlights desperation’:

BEIRUT: The case of a Syrian man who was arrested Tuesday for strangling his 8-month-old son because he was crying reflects the desperate plight of refugees, UNICEF’s spokesperson said.

According to security sources refugee Hasan Ayesh strangled his son late Monday in his home in Minyara, in the northern province of Akkar, reportedly because the boy wouldn’t stop crying.

Mind you, it’s all about his status as a refugee, not the possibility that he might be a brute or mentally unstable to begin with.  Sheesh!

U.S.:  ‘Aid Agency Chief: Syrian Refugees Creating ‘Regional Crisis”:

David Miliband head honcho of the International Rescue Committee told Morning Joe that the international community must “massively scale up” its response.  But, surprisingly he never mentioned his organization’s testimony in the Senate recently to resettle 12,000 Syrians here this year.  I’m wondering if they have done polling that tells them not to mention bringing them here!

In light of upcoming international peace talks between the opposing sides in Syria’s civil war, former British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said the numbers of refugees resulting from the war has created a “regional crisis” that demands attention.

“This is a regional crisis that demands a big international engagement,” Miliband, who is president and CEO of aid agency International Rescue Committee, told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” Tuesday.

The conflict in Syria has resulted in a “scale of brutality … that hasn’t been seen for a very long time,” Miliband said.

As a result, millions of people are taking refuge in neighboring countries. He called for the international response to be “massively scaled up.”

You can watch Morning Joe’s interview, here.  Joe doesn’t look too worked up.

Russia:  ‘Russia grants asylum to almost 500 Syrian refugees – FMS’:

This is a surprise, I wonder if they are taking mostly Christians since they don’t have a burning desire for more Muslims.

The number of Syrian refugees seeking asylum in Russia is on the rise, head of the Federal Migration Service Moscow department Olga Kirillova said.

“Due to the exacerbation of the sociopolitical situation in Syria, the number of citizens seeking asylum on the territory of Russia has grown significantly,” she said.

More than 1,000 Syrian citizens filed refuge requests with the Federal Migration Service Moscow department in 2013 and 478 were granted temporary asylum, she added.

Bulgaria:  ‘Bulgaria Begins Construction of Border Fence with Turkey’:

The construction of the wire fence at the Bulgarian – Turkish border will begin on January 20, Minister of Defense Angel Naydenov announced.

“The site preparatory work and the construction of the facility will start Monday,” Naydenov said, cited by Focus News Agency.

The construction period will stretch over 45-60 days depending on the weather conditions.

Border fences can be built pretty quickly if a country is motivated.

Sweden:  ‘Syria crisis: Influx of refugees into Swedish town’:

Some Swedish towns are struggling to cope with an influx of Syrian refugees, after the government there guaranteed asylum to fugitives from the civil war.

The right-wing Swedish Democrat party claims ethnic Swedes are angry at the cost of social benefits and rising pressures on schools, housing and health care.

In the past eight years, the town of Sodertalje has accepted three times more refugees than Sweden’s biggest cities.

Ah, Sweden, our canary in a coal mine.