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Migrants Hated everywhere??

(251 Posts)
Cossy Fri 12-Jun-26 10:35:56

It’s pretty clear that some people in the UK despise migrants, I’m not sure why, but it could be a myriad of reasons from them simply being different to perceived, but not necessarily true, beliefs around their faith, to causing, or at least adding to, housing issues, taking up places in schools, using the NHS or any other valid, but not necessarily accurate reason.

I wonder do if these same people ever consider the vast amount of British people who live across the world, Canada/USA/Europe/UAE being the most common, and the reasons for moving are also varied.

In some countries the “natives” despise British interlopers, especially those who label themselves “ex-pats”. Reasons for disliking them? They don’t integrate, some don’t learn he language, some are disrespectful to locals. Mmmmm, sounds very familiar.

In some cases, decades ago, a good few criminals settled in parts of Spain, enough for it to be christened “The Costa del Crime”.

Doesn’t this illustrate that in some (not all) ways we are no different from migrants seeking solace in the UK or attempting to come here for economic reasons.

We are all humans, all in certain geographical regions initially purely by an accident of birth.

Violent, nasty, disturbed criminals aside, most of these migrants, whoever and wherever they end up seeks better, safer, more peaceful lives for their families.

I have very good British born friends living in the South of France, Spain and Turkey and relatives, British born, who live in both Canada and California and they’ve settled and now have families of their own.

I hate all the hostilities and wish we could find a solution to have a much quicker and fairer immigration system for both those coming in via legal means and those entering as Asylum Seekers.

Maremia Sat 13-Jun-26 19:47:50

Back to the OP.
There were massive protests today, in Belfast and Glasgow, against the recent racist violence.

twaddle Sat 13-Jun-26 19:50:14

Allsorts

Unlike you Twaddle I listen to the voices of people and their genuine concerns instead of blindly following a certain path.Have you actually experienced what Grannygravy has?, I doubt it. The vape shop should be shut and stock confiscated, maybe then they might think on their disgusting sexist behaviour towards young girls. I wish you could live next door to it for a week and report back

I really am going to object to the accusation "Unlike you" because I do listen and have listened for more years than I can remember.

You don't know that I don't live "next door" to vape shops or to people who show disgusting sexist behaviour towards young girls. Strangely enough, I don't live in a bubble and I'm very much aware of what goes on in the high street and in the big wide world. So don't you dare accuse me of "blindly following a certain path".

None of that means that I would ever vote for Reform or Restore. Maybe it's because I've been listening and thinking about the issues for a lot longer than they've been in the headlines that I've thought about what these "alternatives" offer and have realised how empty their promises are. I've also realised how potentially harmful to social cohesion, which is the basis of a strong state, their suggestions are. Strangely enough, I happen to love my country!

By the way, if you object so strongly to sexist behaviour, I assume you could never support Rob Kenyon.

twaddle Sat 13-Jun-26 19:50:29

Maremia

Back to the OP.
There were massive protests today, in Belfast and Glasgow, against the recent racist violence.

Good!

Deedaa Sat 13-Jun-26 19:52:23

My husband's grandfather was an Italian immigrant and my grandfather was an Irish immigrant. My daughter's husband is American and my son's ex partner is Hungarian. My daughter's boys have dual nationality and I believe my son's boy does as well. I do worry about my son's boy if immigration rules continue to be tightened. If we reached a point where his mother was told to leave what would happen to him? At the moment he splits his time between both parents, he wouldn't want to lose his mother, but he's autistic and I can't see him coping in what is basically a strange country where he doesn't speak the language. There are so many layers of immigration , I hope we don't end up with laws that take no account of people's circumstances.

LizzieDrip Sat 13-Jun-26 20:09:44

Maremia

Back to the OP.
There were massive protests today, in Belfast and Glasgow, against the recent racist violence.

This gives me hope that there are many good, decent people out there. The racist cannot win!

Fallingstar Sat 13-Jun-26 20:20:01

My DD told me that there were thousands turned out in Brighton against a rent-a-mob bunch of far right protestors who were massively outnumbered. Apparently there was a huge anti racist carnival 🎪. They know how to send these thugs packing in Brighton.

LizzieDrip Sat 13-Jun-26 20:30:43

Fallingstar 👏👏👏

Wyllow3 Sat 13-Jun-26 21:09:07

👍👍

Twas thus in Brighton after the Southport riots.
I'm heartened to hear of the response of these decent people who want nothing of the hate and divisive narratives preached by the far right, driving people into the most hateful posts of view towards perfectly decent people who happen to have a different religion or skin colour. Because of the appalling transgressions of the minority, yet ignoring those transgressions within their own communities.

I wish I had been able to join them!

greyfur Sat 13-Jun-26 22:18:32

GrannyGravy13

I live in a nice area.

The new (three week old) Vape & Candy shop is a haven for groups of foreign men. Cat calling young women and female children.

I am 100% sure none of you would like this in your road, a two minute walk from your GC schools…

Is it's so nice and you are so fearful why not be proactive? I feel sure your local Church may be a place to start.

Wyllow3 Sat 13-Jun-26 22:25:58

Well I don't think the police would approve either frankly, they need a warning of course if it's that bad. Children are at risk.

But I'd start with your local councillor or neighbourhood watch?

twaddle Sun 14-Jun-26 03:48:17

Message deleted by Gransnet. Here's a link to our Talk guidelines.

nanna8 Sun 14-Jun-26 05:39:44

You can only buy vapes legally in a chemist shop here because they are supposed to help people stop smoking. Vape shops are not allowed though I am sure there are illegal ones if you know where to look. Not openly selling them,though. Why doesn’t your government follow these rules ? I think we were also one of the first countries to condemn cigs as being life threatening and not allow them in shops and on public transport.

Basgetti Sun 14-Jun-26 06:43:55

Allsorts

My father fought all through WW2, just 18 when he joined up, one of hundreds of thousands, fighting for a free and safe UK. He was an Airforce man and long serving, he came out and joined the police force, if he was here now he would say “what was it all for” the country is going down the plug hole, thanks to a very weak government and previous ones, too frightened to do and say what is necessary. Trying to stick a plaster over a fatal wound. We don't hate migrants, we just want people who will love this country and work for it, not bleed us dry, don't even bother most of them to learn the language and what about all the illegal money laundering. This could all be stopped but i just think its easier for them to leave it, just make wet promises they don’t keep, that's why there is resentment nothing to do with not liking migrants.

Why grandfather fought in WW1 and as a fire warden in Balham during WW2.
He would have welcomed those seeking refuge.

Vintagewhine Sun 14-Jun-26 07:11:47

There were thousands of men from the British Colonies who fought and died in both the first and second WWs. They also should be remembered and respected.

Basgetti Sun 14-Jun-26 07:22:37

Vintagewhine

There were thousands of men from the British Colonies who fought and died in both the first and second WWs. They also should be remembered and respected.

Hear, hear. Most completely overlooked.

nanna8 Sun 14-Jun-26 07:32:18

I think just after the War ( second) people had a ‘peaceful’ phase because they had just had enough of killing and fighting. That was my early childhood. There were no riots and most people obeyed the law ( not all, of course!) My Dad was also in the Air Force and they had all had enough of putting their lives on the line, they were glad to settle down, work hard and lead a peaceful non political life. They would no sooner take part in any riots or marches than fly ( literally in my Dad’s case ) They were very,very patriotic then .

twaddle Sun 14-Jun-26 08:11:11

There were anti-Jewish riots in the UK in August 1947 after Irgun killed two British servicemen in Palestine.

"On a summer bank holiday weekend, Friday, 1 August 1947, anti-Jewish violence and rioting began. The tabloid press reported the "Irgun murders" in graphic detail. The Daily Express carried a large picture on the front page, showing the victims as they were found with hands tied behind their backs, shirts wrapped around their heads and hung from eucalyptus trees under the headline: "Hanged Britons: picture that will shock the world". The violence began in Liverpool and subsequently spread across Britain's urban centres from London to Glasgow.

Synagogues and easily recognisable Jewish properties and symbols throughout Britain were targeted by attackers. In Hendon, London, windows of the Raleigh Close synagogue were smashed and a piece of paper was found with the words "Jews are sin". Blackpool and St John's Wood synagogues received telephone calls threatening that they would be blown up, and the walls of Plymouth Synagogue were attacked and marked with anti-semitic signs and slogans: "Hang all Jews" and "Destroy Judah". In other attacks on Jewish targets, gravestones in a Jewish cemetery were uprooted in Birmingham, "Hitler was right" was daubed on properties in North Wales, and Jewish property in Halifax, Pendleton, Lancashire, Bolton, Holyhead and Southend were also attacked. In Glasgow, Scotland, bricks were thrown through the windows of Jewish shops. In Plymouth, synagogues were attacked and a dummy mine was placed at the entrance of a Jewish-owned tailor shop. In Birmingham, a half-block long and three foot high sign was painted into a wall declaring: "Gentiles Arise. Resist Jewish enterprise. Remember Paice and Martin." The back door of the JC representative's home in Cardiff was marked "Jews—good old Hitler". On 5 August 1947, The Times and Jewish Chronicle reported that in Eccles near Manchester, a crowd of 700 people "cheered each hit" as missiles pelted Jewish properties smashing their windows.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sergeants_affair

nanna8 Sun 14-Jun-26 08:48:40

We never heard anything about that at all and I was unaware that eucalypts grew in the UK in those days. I lived in London, 20 minutes from Charing cross by train so pretty central. I never saw gatherings of disgruntled people until the 1960s and they were very tame compared with now. Still, I was just there, what would I know ? We did have Hyde Park Corner where people would stand on a plinth and rant and rave.

twaddle Sun 14-Jun-26 09:10:49

nanna8

We never heard anything about that at all and I was unaware that eucalypts grew in the UK in those days. I lived in London, 20 minutes from Charing cross by train so pretty central. I never saw gatherings of disgruntled people until the 1960s and they were very tame compared with now. Still, I was just there, what would I know ? We did have Hyde Park Corner where people would stand on a plinth and rant and rave.

There were also race riots in Notting Hill and Nottingham in 1958.

Fallingstar Sun 14-Jun-26 09:21:33

I think we should all be very careful not to stereotype all migrants, implying they are criminally minded, don’t respect women, and are sucking the country dry. This stereotyping has been done before with catastrophic results.
I imagine very many of us live and work alongside migrants on a daily basis and have no issue with them, and I imagine someone who has been stereotyping will announce ‘but that is different I don’t mind migrants like this’. But by stereotyping they are all included, and as we have seen in Belfast none of the thugs stopped to ask if those they targeted were the type of migrant people ‘don’t mind’.

MaizieD Sun 14-Jun-26 09:24:36

… and I was unaware that eucalypts grew in the UK in those days.

It grew in Palestine, which was where the hangings took place.

petra Sun 14-Jun-26 09:39:15

greyfur

GrannyGravy13

I live in a nice area.

The new (three week old) Vape & Candy shop is a haven for groups of foreign men. Cat calling young women and female children.

I am 100% sure none of you would like this in your road, a two minute walk from your GC schools…

Is it's so nice and you are so fearful why not be proactive? I feel sure your local Church may be a place to start.

With respect greyfur you must live in a rarified world if you believe the church could fix this problem.
A friend of ours was badly injured by a gang from Eastern Europe who objected to his business.
He has now completely disappeared.
I volunteer in charity shop next door to candy/ vape shop.
It’s surprising how many people arrive in their top of the range small tanks just to buy vapes or candy 😉

Maremia Sun 14-Jun-26 09:49:50

The church congregation could add their voices to any concern about the shops.
Local concerned people supporting their local area.
It begins with 2 people having the conversation, gathering the data and evidence.

Cossy Sun 14-Jun-26 10:07:05

greyfur

GrannyGravy13

I live in a nice area.

The new (three week old) Vape & Candy shop is a haven for groups of foreign men. Cat calling young women and female children.

I am 100% sure none of you would like this in your road, a two minute walk from your GC schools…

Is it's so nice and you are so fearful why not be proactive? I feel sure your local Church may be a place to start.

There’s no denying that this is not nice, nor would I like it.

However, this does not represent most men, of any nationality.

I’m so sickened by the likes of Farage and Lowe exploiting the fears and anxieties and prejudices of ordinary people, causing diversion for political gain.

I live in Essex, very close to the newly created City of Southend. We’ve been multi cultural since I moved to my current house almost 40 years ago. I have neighbours of all nationalities and live in a very densely populated area. I know we have Asylum Seekers placed here.

My children attended a very mixed ethnicity primary school, 26 different languages at one point. I was a school governor, safeguarding governor and deputy chair for over a decade.

It was a massive learning curve for me. However I came away from that role with so many positives. I learned that many of my anxieties and fears were unfounded, I learned that children pick up racism and their own fears and anxieties directly from their parents and that if they have positive interactions with people “different” from themselves at a young age their fears and anxieties lessen as their empathy and tolerance grows.

My MP was David Amess, tragically and needlessly murdered by a young foreign man whilst running surgeries. His Tory successor continued to run surgeries as does his Labour successor after the GE.

My husband has his hair cut in a Turkish Barbers situated at the top of our road, we have an orthodox Jewish community living close to us, who peacefully go about their daily lives.

Southend High Street is awful. Many shops shut and mainly vape shops, coffee shops and lots of homeless folks, both British and non-British. Gangs arrive, of all colours, brandishing knives and worse and cause mayhem with our local young people on a regular basis.

However, in the years I have lived here I’ve never (yet) been a victim of a violent crime and the groups I see gathering outside shops are predominantly white. Reform have their councillors here, but we are currently a NOC council so Reform don’t have the majority. We have as many, if not more, people removing flags as hanging them up.

We simply cannot resolve our “small boats” issues or migration fears with violence and prejudice. It doesn’t work for anyone, it doesn’t help anything.

Rather than turning to the likes of Farage and believing all he and media say, why not resource using the many resources online to actually learn and understand why people feel they have no choice but to leave their countries of birth and make long, arduous, dangerous journeys across land and sea to many different countries.

Why not remember, or understand, that there is no system to use a plane or train to arrive in any of these countries in which they seek solace.

Why not understand that many of these people are not bile sexual predators or murderers but simply desperate human beings.

Those who don’t meet the criteria do get turned away. Traffickers do play a huge role in these people’s journals and not just across the channel. Some Asylum seekers do end up in our black market and in the sex trade, or domestic servitude.

The UK has a long and proud history of helping others, others worse off than us. It’s not an either or situation as our “own” home grown people do have help available to them.

Our situation here in the UK is far from ideal, systems, policies, NHS, Education and Welfare all need a massive review and overhaul, but this is due to many reasons and only a very smart part is the fault of those arriving here illegally.

IMO, prejudice of any type is appalling and often due to the amount of misinformation spread via social media, resulting in anger and diversion. Farage is a master of this.

MT62 Sun 14-Jun-26 10:08:02

nanna8

You can only buy vapes legally in a chemist shop here because they are supposed to help people stop smoking. Vape shops are not allowed though I am sure there are illegal ones if you know where to look. Not openly selling them,though. Why doesn’t your government follow these rules ? I think we were also one of the first countries to condemn cigs as being life threatening and not allow them in shops and on public transport.

Not too far from us is a little town that has gone to the wall since M & S closed its doors, soon after, Clinton’s, WHS, Superdrug, Wilkinsons all went.
Now it has eleven vape shops.
Watched a bloke going round these vape shops on YouTube.
Most of the shop owners didn’t want to be filmed. One shop had two young boys buying vapes.
I use to love going to this town as it was free parking & my bank was there, now shut down.
Now I wouldn’t go there if you paid me.