Immigration or humanitarian crisis?

[AtW]

Perhaps a more viable option would be family exchange project - say real naughty boys from England with at least 2 ASBOs will go to live a year in a friendly Syrian family, and good behaving kid from there would give at least temporary happiness to families in the UK?

[Chuck]

If they are refugees or asylum seekers, they should claim refuge in the first safe place they reach. Crossing through several perfectly safe countries to a preferred destination suggests migration.

Even Channel 4 News, which is extremely sympathetic to their cause, found it difficult to find anyone living in the Jungle in Calais who wasn't trying to reach England for a free house, free education and a job.

[BrilloPad]

What do you suggest?

Damn good question! I am really not sure. Its one of those almost impossible situations.

I am hoping to keeping hearing solutions until there is one that makes sense.

Even if someone here comes up with a great solution it is unlikely to be implemented. The politicians only care for the csolution that makes them most likely to get re-elected.

Over to the collective CUK wisdom! We can crack this!

[vetran]

the point the article is making is that we are encouraging the migrants by allowing them in.

If we said no entry, stay in Jordan which is a safe place and we will help you there! Then there wouldn't be dead kids in lifeboats.

I think he has a good point.

[original PM]

well any of them trying to get into Britain are illegal immigrants as they have already passed through other countries where they are not being persecuted.

is it a humanitarian crisis - possibly but I think we are avoiding addressing the root cause of it

[darmstadt]

If they are refugees or asylum seekers, they should claim refuge in the first safe place they reach. Crossing through several perfectly safe countries to a preferred destination suggests migration.

Even Channel 4 News, which is extremely sympathetic to their cause, found it difficult to find anyone living in the Jungle in Calais who wasn't trying to reach England for a free house, free education and a job.

Do the British press call it 'The Jungle' because the people are coloured?

[vetran]

Do the British press call it 'The Jungle' because the people are coloured?

I believe the residents named it.

[unixman]

I think the mainstream media like BBC should stop referring them as "migrants". They are not migrants but refugees and asylum seekers. They would not have fled their country with just the clothes they are wearing with their children on their shoulders if they were migrants. Its heart breaking to see bodies of children wash up on the sea shore. Some empathy needs to be shown towards those who are displaced forcibly.

This is right. However the travelers fall into all of these categories. Some are refugees, some asylum seekers and some economic migrants. In the short term, in order to help genuine refugees and asylum seekers, we simply need to help all - deserving and undeserving - since it is not easy to tell these groups apart. That is probably not sustainable in the longer term because the more help we offer, the more it will attract those who wish to migrate simply for economic reasons.

So in the short term, help everyone. In the medium term, concentrate on helping the asylum seekers and refugees. Somebody who has crossed 12 civilised countries in order to illegally enter Germany, Sweden or the UK is probably not seeking asylum and is not a refugee. However you can't tell that this is their intention when they hit European shores i Lampedusa. Some sort of triage system is needed there.

In the longer term, destroy the traffickers in Libya. Fix the European position and policies. Eg. Equalise minimum wages and welfare benefits across European countries, and/or change freedom of movement within the EU. . I don't think we can fix Syria.

[Churchill]

I think the mainstream media like BBC should stop referring them as "migrants". They are not migrants but refugees and asylum seekers. They would not have fled their country with just the clothes they are wearing with their children on their shoulders if they were migrants. Its heart breaking to see bodies of children wash up on the sea shore. Some empathy needs to be shown towards those who are displaced forcibly.

Something is chasing these migrants/refugees out of their own countries - what are we going to do when whoever is chasing them follows them into Europe?

We're screwed, it's just a matter of time.

[stek]

Something is chasing these migrants/refugees out of their own countries

Western arms sold to anyone who will pay?