Hundreds turn out for protest against Crowborough migrant camp

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1. >**Protesters chanted “Starmer out” as they took to the streets for a second weekend to protest against plans to house 600 male asylum seekers in an army camp.**

   >The government has announced that at least 600 single men will be homed in the new year in Crowborough Training Camp.

   >The march followed an angry public meeting on Thursday night, during which private security guards had to step in when local politicians were shouted down and chased out of the community centre hall.

   >Organisers said they thought 2,000 people joined the march on Sunday morning.

   >Locals marched through the town, some with their children, to demand the government drops the plan to use the army camp for asylum seekers.

   >Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood will announce on Monday she is ending the “golden ticket” for asylum seekers.

   >Refugee status will become temporary and subject to regular review, with refugees removed as soon as their home countries are deemed safe.

   >There will be a 20 year wait to apply for permanent settlement and the right to support, including housing and weekly allowances, will be revoked.

   >Chair of Crowborough Shield, a grassroots organisation which has sprung up to challenge the Home Office, Kim Bailey, said proposed changes to asylum laws will not change anything in her town.

   >”20 years sounds reasonable, but it won’t make any difference to our current situation,” she said.

   >”It won’t make any difference to what happens here.”

   >Crowborough Shield has raised more than £12,000 to fund legal action.

   >”I’m in constant contact with out legal team and I’m confident we can get it stopped. The strength of feeling is just incredible. Their whole plan is wrong.”

   >Locals say they are installing panic alarms in their homes over safety fears.

   >”It’s absurd what they are doing,” Kim said.

   >”Vulnerable men from war torn countries, to Crowborough? You have the police firearms training centre and a public shooting range right there. People with PTSD who will be hearing gunshots all the time will be triggered by it and they are going to try to escape that environment.”

   >Kerrie Knight, a Pink Lady organiser from Kent, said: “This is not about race or religion, this is about love. This is about risk and safety, this is about common sense. Something our leadership does not have.”

   >Another protest is planned for next weekend.

   >Local independent councillor Andrew Wilson said: “We all need to come out every weekend until we can turn this thing around.”

2. So not in hotels, not in training camps, where then?

3. Seems there’s going to be backlash wherever or however the government proposes to place migrants. Not really sure what the solution is, but the town of Crowborough certainly seems up for the fight.

4. Aww it’s nice that they are so worried about their wellbeing.

5. The real problem is the lack of robustness in allowing the boats to the UK in the first place.

6. I wonder if there’d be the backlash if locals were assured that the camp would be surrounded by tall high security fencing with security officers patrolling and the migrants weren’t allowed out until their case had been successful?

   Would people be as concerned if they weren’t allowed to go out and mingle amongst the locals?

7. As far as I can tell there is no robust evidence that asylum seekers in the UK commit crime at higher rates than the general (or comparable) population, and many claims to the contrary lack supporting data or are based on mis-applied statistics.

   I’m genuinely happy to be proven wrong with some actual evidence !

8. Make it a prison, and send them straight back out when their claim gets denied. It’s a good starting point to combat the amount that come here under the false pretense of “fleeing” a place that’s unsafe, even though they also travel through multiple safe countries before coming here.

   Remove the incentives. And you’ll see a reduction when word gets back to Calais and further.

   People truly fleeing war and famine and whatever other danger to life issues in countries (like we’ve done with Ukraine), is completely acceptable. But you know 99% of these people (mainly males), are coming here because they get given basically everything, and even if you commit serious, life altering crimes, you still get to stay here. Hell, you even get paid to leave and then come back again a few weeks later.

   People not thinking this is an issue are the issue. It’s not about race. Or religion (tho those from certain cultures have religion ingrained into it can become issues).

9. 100s? Sounds like a minor issue.

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