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Migrant boat capsizes in English Channel; at least 31 dead

40 Comments
By MICHEL SPINGLER and SYLVIA HUI

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40 Comments
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What is the draw to risk one's life to got the UK? 

Easily accessible benefits and an asylum system so flawed to be laughable.

13 ( +18 / -5 )

Why not stay in EU? Not exactly Mexico is it. What is the draw to risk one's life to got the UK? (No offense intended to my British cousins).

10 ( +15 / -5 )

since when do we call illegal aliens "migrants?"

9 ( +16 / -7 )

How desperate must these people be to risk this. 

They are already in France, with Germany, Holland and a host of other generous and affluent countries open to immigration nearby. These migrants are known to turn down French offers to apply for asylum in that country. They aren't all that "desperate."

8 ( +15 / -7 )

“It’s a day of great mourning for France, for Europe, for humanity to see these people die at sea,” Darmanin said. 

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson convened a meeting of the government's crisis committee, and said he was “shocked, appalled and deeply saddened."

Crocodile Tears...

5 ( +11 / -6 )

The UK has to do a better job of protecting its borders to discourage more illegal entry attempts like this tragedy.

5 ( +13 / -8 )

“How many more times must we see people lose their life trying to reach safety in the UK because of the woeful lack of safe means to do so?" said Tom Davies, Amnesty International U.K.’s refugee and migrant rights campaign manager.

Illegal mass immigration is not "asylum". People should honor definitions of words.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

How stupid is the UK immigration system? Well, if these people had not died but made it to shore and been picked up by immigration they would have several well known, in the illegal immigrant world, tricks. They are.... in no particular order....

Lose your passport. Then lie about where you are from. The authorities then have to find out and confirm where you are from.

Say you are gay, converted to Christianity or targeted by "who ever is in charge of where you are from"....

Tell the truth, they will not put you in jail but release you until a final decision is made. You have to register once a week. Sign up for the first week then go missing.

There are somewhere between 600,000 and 1,200,000 undocumented migrants in the UK

4 ( +5 / -1 )

When was the last time you visited London?

Or maybe .... because they speak English ? In Europe if you don't speak local you'll have a hard time doing anything.

3 ( +9 / -6 )

Reckless, yes my Mother Japanese, once a permanent UK resident would have to jump through a number of hoops if desiring to return.

Although I cannot think of reason Mum would want to.

Both Mum and Dad could return for up to 3 months I believe.

UK immigration policy is a conundrum, confused.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Let be clear these tragic drownings were totally avoidable.

The UK and French Governments refusal to work together, other than proportion blame, finger pointing.

All exasperated by the French police authorities literarily refusing to intervene while witnessing theses rubber inflatables packed with families women and childing preparing to make the hazardous crossing.

Not realizing what fate awaits them on arrival.

Migrants crossing the English Channel.

https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/migrants-crossing-the-english-channel/

So as one foot on UK soil without supporting paperwork, you are an illegal migrant.

That could mean months even years locked up, interned in what amounts to a prison camp.

However these ruthless people smugglers insist for 5000 euro per head the UK streets are paved with gold.

And they are not.

Immigration Detention in the UK

https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/immigration-detention-in-the-uk/

The number of detainees are close to a 100 fold increase since 2017.

The French authorities have in effect just turned a blind eye.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

There is a whole world of difference between asylum, migration. and refugee status.

What is the difference between a refugee, an asylum seeker and a migrant? Does it really matter to understand their definition? Yes, absolutely.

https://www.habitatforhumanity.org.uk/blog/2016/09/refugees-asylum-seekers-migrants-crucial-difference/

The crux of the matter is, UK and EU have a similar policy. That the irony.

Of course there is nobody official or otherwise pointing this out before these families clamber into the dinghy's.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Many of these would be immigrants want to go to the UK because they speak at least a bit of English (certainly more than they speak French, German, Italian, etc) and Britain provides generous state benefits (certainly relative to the impoverished hell-holes they hail from) and there are already large immigrant communities there for them to join.

So, basically a heady mixture of post-colonial legacy, modern technology, 70 years of soft liberalism on the part of British governments and the chance for free housing and spending money.

Brits need to toughen up or this is only going to get worse.

1 ( +8 / -7 )

Expect more to come.

1 ( +5 / -4 )

Tragic.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

What is the draw to risk one's life to got the UK? 

The English language, low unemployment, and established immigrant communities from their background.

However, you'd still be insane to try to cross the channel in November in a rubber dinghy.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Hard to imagine that with modern technology the Channel cannot be adequately policed to stop this happening. How desperate must these people be to risk this. RIP to those who lost their lives.

0 ( +6 / -6 )

Thanks Simian, was genuinely confused.

0 ( +5 / -5 )

The is little doubt across western Europe there is an adoption that restrictions on immigration focused on ethnic competition for material resources, jobs that concentrate and digress into national political factors.

All have had dramatic consequences for political institutions, political behaviors in UK, Germany and France.

These deaths/drownings are a result.

There is an underling toxic political malaise, between the Government of France and the UK.

From and grumpy tolerance, when UK was a EU member state to poisonous outright hostility.

This could be a the underlying reason, why the relationship has broken down, manifested in the fact that even cooperation on migration has fallen foul of this loss of trust.

That is putting it mildly.

This situation both politically and diplomatically could have not hit rock bottom.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

One refugee says in French, "I want to stay in France."

One refugee says in English, "I do not want to be in France. Please let me go. I want to go to Britain."

How will a hassled French police officer on the spot treat these two?

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Mr KiplingToday 03:13 pm JST

How stupid is the UK immigration system?

You can thank 70 years of liberalism for that.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

GobshiteToday 10:03 am JST

When was the last time you visited London?

I acknowledge that it has been easily over a decade, however I am not sure to understand, they stopped speaking English in London ?

-1 ( +4 / -5 )

This latest tragic incident reminds us of the inevitable fallout from the big power politics of Western countries meddling in the Middle East which shows no sign of abating. Millions of ordinary, decent people are paying the price of decisions made by untouchable, well-heeled players in the corridors of power who continue to reap personal dividends from the mayhem. Let's hope that at least the criminal gangs of smugglers who make obscene profits from the desperation of refugees can be identified and brought to justice. In the meantime governments must do more to give humanitarian aid as winter sets in.

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

Life can be very hard and grim in the UK. My salary was so low that I tried going on the dole once for a few weeks and it was not a pleasant experience, though it helped me through a really rough patch with a young family and living in a squat.

Since then I have learned better how to stand on my own two feet without accepting government bailout money. I have a small house but my pension goes nowhere, so I am amazed at what some people can scrounge. You regularly hear complaints to the council such as, "Four bedrooms is just not enough for our large family. Give us a bigger house!"

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

by my opinion and knowledge refugees can apply for asylum in first safe country without war and with democratic regime.

let me raise a question why they are want go to UK?

is France not safe country or not democratic oneor Germany/or e\any country say in EU?

this mystery for me remains unsolved.

say if refugees from Syria or Iraq dont look for asylum in UAE or say Libya.both safe countries,considered as democratic by West...same culture,same language,food,religion...why to go go to EU or say UK?

-3 ( +3 / -6 )

Try learning French with its irregular adjectives-what a pain!

English is truly a world language.

And the temperatures in the UK are well down.

Anyway falling into the waters of the Channel are not going to last long….

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

Simian LaneToday 07:46 am JST

above poster, they choose the uk because compared with anywhere else, regarding placement, benefits, housing etc, the uk, would you believe, is one of the best or kindest places to go !

Or maybe .... because they speak English ? In Europe if you don't speak local you'll have a hard time doing anything.

-4 ( +4 / -8 )

It’s disgusting that people have to go to such lengths to escape the religious fanaticism in the Middle East.

-5 ( +3 / -8 )

How terribly tragic. I can understand why they would want to leave thier former countries to live in the West. But is it worth risking detention or losing life?

Were they wearing life jackets?

-5 ( +0 / -5 )

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