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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]From a PP’s comment about the UK importing workers from Sudan, it’s clear some people just don’t understand the difference between refugees and asylum seekers and immigrants.

A refugee is someone who has been forced to flee his or her home because of war, violence or persecution. An asylum seeker is someone who is seeking international protection from dangers in his or her home country, but whose claim for refugee status hasn’t been determined legally.

The UK isn’t out recruiting workers in Sudan. Most Sudanese are refugees or asylum seekers. They are not assessed on whether they speak English and have work qualifications. [/quote]

Wouldn’t it make more sense to support them in Africa?  Why have them come to one of the most expensive housing markets in the world?[/quote]

Yes. It makes a lot of sense to support them in Africa. In reality that is where most Sudanese refugees are. There are 1.3 million in Chad alone, which itself is a poor country. The UN supports the refugees and it is much cheaper but I suppose there are limits to how many can be absorbed. If  people are approved as refugees by the UN, they can apply for resettlement in other countries. That can take decades if it happens at all. If things settle down then most will return home.

In reality, most refugees end up in neighbouring countries. For example, there are 5 million refugees in the Middle East including 3 million in Turkey. I think many people don’t realise this.[/quote]

And anyone who has seen how Afghan, Syrian, Sudanese etc. refugees live in Turkey, Lebanon, Libya or wherever would understand why many are eager to get out as quickly as they can if at all possible.

The overriding principle that guides the asylum / refugee system in the west is non-refoulement (ie, no repatriation). This came about because of notorious cases like the MS St Louis when the US and other countries refused to accept Jews fleeing Nazi Germany, resulting in many being returned to their deaths. However, many non-western countries (such as Turkey, Lebanon etc.) are not signatories to the respective UN convention, which limits western countries from returning refugees to third countries that they passed through on their journey.

The current system is something of an anachronism and really only exists because there has been no international consensus on what a better system may look like.[/quote]

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