tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21629015.post7203916660818477485..comments2024-03-04T12:44:00.261+00:00Comments on Debi Alper: The Refugee postDebihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09600815804658702077noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21629015.post-58501653002257196012007-01-11T20:21:00.000+00:002007-01-11T20:21:00.000+00:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21629015.post-19694806271098745212007-01-11T20:13:00.000+00:002007-01-11T20:13:00.000+00:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21629015.post-12956211333262786562007-01-11T10:11:00.000+00:002007-01-11T10:11:00.000+00:00It's amazing how easy it is NOT to know about this...It's amazing how easy it is NOT to know about this if your attention is focused elsewhere. Yet the research was so simple to do - as Minx has confirmed by taking it a stage further. I didn't need to use any of my personal contacts in the end - just used a standard search engine.<br /><br />Because of the way I live and think, I was already very aware of the situation and naively assumed everyone else would be too. That was my original mistake which I've hopefully now corrected.<br /><br />In spite of the blood spilled in the comments sections of the previous posts, I can see some good has come out of it if it means it pushed me to provide the details and open people's eyes.Debihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09600815804658702077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21629015.post-51308093095615767172007-01-11T08:20:00.000+00:002007-01-11T08:20:00.000+00:00It's wonderful you've posted this, Debi. Well done...It's wonderful you've posted this, Debi. Well done for bringing this to people's attention. One just hopes that things will improve for those caught up in this, and that someone somewhere is trying to change things. :)S. Kearneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03976476273818980832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21629015.post-72724490448228821632007-01-11T08:13:00.000+00:002007-01-11T08:13:00.000+00:00Debi, you have done and are doing a great job in r...Debi, you have done and are doing a great job in raising this subject. What distresses me is how easily a child's psyche is damaged by experiences such as these. They're children, they can't make sense of it or rationalise it. One must wonder what the long term effects these experiences will have on them and how that will resultantly impact on society in times to come. It strikes me that with all the goodwill in the world, people tend to think of and cope with the immediate issues or problems and not the longer term ramifications of their actions. Humanity truly needs to see and plan beyond today.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04871239587214383387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21629015.post-23684818381318348972007-01-11T07:00:00.000+00:002007-01-11T07:00:00.000+00:00That's terrible, Debi. I hate to admit that I wasn...That's terrible, Debi. I hate to admit that I wasn't aware that this was going on. <br /><br />It's great that someone like you cares enough to bring it to our attention. It's easy to ignore these things when not enough is being said. Why do they feel the need to lock these children up like this? If there are alternatives that have proven successful in other countries then I don't know why the UK doesn't try them out.<br /><br />I admire you for speaking out. In doing so, maybe things can change for these children.Mariehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08507037483019197630noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21629015.post-54701419285808715782007-01-10T23:59:00.000+00:002007-01-10T23:59:00.000+00:00Thank you for the post and links, Debi. I followed...Thank you for the post and links, Debi. I followed them all and then took myself off to have a look at what was happening in my own county. The Cornwall site linked to hundreds of sites around the country and none of them made happy reading. I ended up having a look at CBBC, the children's channel, where there is quite a large section devoted to refugee and immigrant children. On here were some stories of children (in their own words) who have been 'shut up' in Dungavel in Scotland for over a year....<br /><br />"Newroz Ay and her family live in a detention centre in Scotland called Dungavel. <br />13-year-old Newroz is originally from Turkey but her family had to leave because they were scared of being harassed because of their culture. <br /><br />They are Kurds - an ethnic minority from Turkey who want their own homeland. <br /><br />"I'm from Kurdistan I have been living in England for nearly four years. <br /><br /><br /> <br />To begin with England was really good for us. I went to school, learnt English and I had many friends but now I have come here to the detention centre it has been very difficult for me. <br /><br />I can't see my friends anymore. I can't go to a proper school either and it's very boring in here coz you can't do anything. <br /><br />We first came to the UK in a lorry - we lived in Kent for a bit, while the government decided if we could stay in the country. <br /><br />It was beautiful - we went sometimes in town with our friends having fun and also went shopping with my mum. <br /><br />But now we've been sent to live at a detention centre. <br /><br /><br /><br />Dungavel detention centre <br />I live in one room with my brother Dilavan, my little sister Nidia and mum. <br /><br />My family are always crying coz they want to get out of here. We ask my mum what's going to happen to us and she says she doesn't know. She can't sleep at night. <br /><br />We can't do anything - it's just like a prison <br /><br />I want to go outside I want to have fun with my friends like normal children do. We didn't do anything wrong." <br /><br /><br /><br />--------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br /><br />At the end of the link I found this...<br /><br /> Newsround contacted the Home Office and they wouldn't say how much longer the girls are to be kept at Dungavel. <br /><br />Their view is that the girls' parents should never have brought them to Britain in the first place. <br /><br />In a statement they told us: <br /><br />"We understand that the whole family need a stable life, but these unfortunate children are in this position all because of what their parents have done, and this is a regret for everyone." <br /><br />But lots of people are very angry that the children have been kept inside for almost a year.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />(And they didn't do anything wrong!)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03665385782194826703noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21629015.post-52060615364414627652007-01-10T23:47:00.000+00:002007-01-10T23:47:00.000+00:00I have lived in ignorance up until now, I admit. ...I have lived in ignorance up until now, I admit. I had not known any of this. Good on you, Debi, for providing the research that informs us, the members of the British public who read here, and more I hope, after this post. Good on you dba lehane for enlightening us further in this debate.<br /><br />I will return soon to see more of this topic, I assure you.<br /><br />Links with facts draw you in and encourage understanding. I hope to get there, pursuing it all, at least some way, by the end of the forthcoming weekend.<br /><br />Children need to be children!<br /><br />Let's not take that basic human function and right away from them!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21629015.post-70341094454233672842007-01-10T16:45:00.000+00:002007-01-10T16:45:00.000+00:00I can't say how relieved I am that it has now been...I can't say how relieved I am that it has now been accepted that there are very serious problems.<br /><br />I've never claimed to be objective - but I didn't have to search hard for evidence to prove my claims that children are falling through chasms.<br /><br />And not all the links are to the Refugee Council. The Chief Inspector of Prisons, for example?<br /><br />Some of the links do suggest alternatives. Meanwhile at least we can now all agree that the problems exist and that, as a result, some already deeply traumatised children are suffering further pain once they arrive in the UK. We have to keep asking the questions and, yes, jta, always be prepared to help individuals we come across.Debihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09600815804658702077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21629015.post-63942815398849154532007-01-10T12:30:00.000+00:002007-01-10T12:30:00.000+00:00Thank you, Debi.
The system, no doubt, will adapt...Thank you, Debi.<br /><br />The system, no doubt, will adapt to the new situation we face, but meanwhile there are things everyone can do. We can all respond to perceived needs when we encounter such youngsters, by providing winter coats, decent shoes, or a square meal--whatever we see lacking. The ongoing influx can make the problem seem perennial and insoluble, but to individual kids a small bit of help can make all the difference. Be proactive. Look for opportunities. And, of course, vote accordingly.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21629015.post-57334044237920448772007-01-10T12:17:00.000+00:002007-01-10T12:17:00.000+00:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com