Leftist campaigners protest plans to establish migrant camps in Wales — because they want them to receive more luxurious housing, free education, and paying jobs instead.
The Penally Army Centre near the village of Tenby is one of several sites where the government is looking at establishing open accommodation for migrants as they continue to stream across the English Channel in unprecedented numbers, as the current practice of housing them well-appointed hotels becomes increasingly controversial.
Of the proposed Penally camp, BBC Wales reported on September 15th that they had “been told all 250 asylum seekers would be men and would be free to move around the area while their claims are dealt with.”
This has caused some concern among residents, but a recent protest by the so-called Stand Up to Racism West Wales campaign centred not on the potential impact on local people or the government’s failure to halt the Channel crisis — but on the fact that the camp accommodation is not generous enough to migrants.
“We believe that refugees should be treated with the dignity that they deserve and offered decent housing, education and jobs,” the leftist campaign declared in a public statement.
“Forcing people into military bases and camps to live a ‘living hell’ is degrading, dangerous and potentially disastrous,” they said — a description of barracks accommodation which may raise eyebrows among military servicemen and veterans, who were or are expected to submit to under military discipline and without the conveniences or freedom to come and go as they please which will be extended to migrants.
The Labour-led Welsh government — roughly equivalent to a U.S. state executive, but where the “governor” (first minister) is selected by the regional legislature rather than the public — also complained that the central government “didn’t consult the local community, local services or us about their plans to use a military base in Wales for asylum seekers.”
While this appeared to be a tacit acknowledgement of local people’s concern, even anger at the prospect of large numbers of idle young males being deposited in their communities, the left-wing executive went on the say that “We believe people fleeing war and conflict deserve the best possible start in a new country. We must do better.”
This suggests that their issues with the planned migrant camps are closer to those of Stand Up to Racism, and that they still want to take migrants but give them even more generous treatment.