M0nica
The proportion of people coming a cross in boats is insignificant compared with those coming in ;egally.
While illegal immigrants must indeed be returned to their homelands, the far bigger question that arises is why have successive governments not dealt with these problems earlier with proper manpower planning and funding the higher education system to concentrate on training young people for the professions we are short of so that we do not need so many legal immigrants.
With illegal immigrants we need to do what we can to resolve the causes that lead them to flee their country. Of course most of them are young men. Most of these immigrants come from countries and cultures where there can be be no question of women travelling alone. The obvious risks to them are too obvious to explain.
But coming here is not a casual decision. Think about it, how awful would conditions in Britain have to be for you to send your 16-20 year old son or grandson, off on a journey that is fraught with danger, the cost of which means you have sold everything you own plus borrowed extensively from family and gone into debt with criminals to achieve.
He will not be travelling economy class from his own country to us. He will be making a journey where at any point , if he is caught, he could be tortured, killed or just disappear. He will walk for miles through inhospitable landscape, take dangerous sea journeys on small boats, the channel is not the only small boat crossing. You will see him go not knowing whether you will ever see him again. How bad would problems at home be for you to be prepared to send your son or grandson on that journey?
I absolutely agree that illegal immigrants must go home, but think about who, why and how they come here and think about what we should be doing to make this horrendous often fatal journey the best that any young man can hope for.
Thank you Monica I could not have put it better.
After all, as of last year the stats were that about 94% if those entering our country were legal.
We need a sense of proportion, and to recognise that irregular migrants are 43% down on last year.
I hear you GG13 loud and clear as regards how some of these young men call out inappropriately to women.
It is no more acceptable than what we had to put up with as regards groups of white young men going back to when I was young, but that is not right. the actual number of sexual offences is small although of course a matter of great concern.
My personal experience is limited, we have one smallish house in the area, and I regularly see them in the parkway gym is very multi cultural but of course would not include irregular migrants, and is a place full of different languages. I don't Want them to "be like us" , I like difference, as long as respect is there. At the gym, tbh, those borderline sexual glances come from most of the men, it's just much more covert from UK men in this particular historical time.
They have clearly been told loud and clear about what not to do. ie, max groups of 3 walking around: the basketball court or a footie area has more and young men working off their energy
Watching them, following them just to see, is what is already quite a multicultural park, I have honestly not seen what you describe.
Whether it being a multicultural situation where the muslim men around would not in anyway tolerate it happening to their womenfolk - but its not just that - teenage muslim girls wander along the path quietly chatting like any other teenager, laughter about some boy or other just like this hot summers teenagers of any background - I cannot tell.
I find the opposite: my experience personally is that an older woman, white hair, et all, dressed nicely, is respected.
