The Strategist

Migration: Who is Eager to Get in Albion?



07/30/2015 - 13:30



About 1.5 thousand illegal migrants on Wednesday night again tried to get from France to the UK via the Eurotunnel under the English Channel, one worker was killed, reported the French newspaper Monde.



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dannyman
- Our team found the body this (Wednesday) morning, firefighters confirmed the death of the person, - the newspaper quotes words of the representative of Eurotunnel group.

According to the newspaper, since early June, already nine people have been killed while trying to illegally sneak into Eurotunnel.

The victim of the night incident was a native Sudan from 25 to 30 years, said the publication, citing a source in the local police.

The migrant who tried to climb a truck, moving down from the platform, was crushed by the vehicle.

- It happened that night, and at six o'clock in the morning (7:00 MSK) the police has got a lot of work - the newspaper said.

On Tuesday night, about 2 thousand of illegal immigrants have tried to implement a similar crossing.

Illegal migrants, living in the prefecture of Pas-de-Calais, are looking for any opportunity to cross the English Channel and to get in the UK.

Now, there are about 1.5 thousand migrants in Calais. Their number has increased significantly in recent years. Most of the migrants fled to France from Eritrea, Sudan and Somalia.

They are trying to break into the UK not only through the tunnel, but also climbing into trucks crossing the border.

Many immigrants cannot wait up to cross the border and eventually settle in Calais.

Who they are and where they are coming from?

Immigration is a big problem for the UK. At the moment, the country is faced with the fact that thousands of migrants try to enter its territory from France.

During the parliamentary elections in May last year, the UK Independence Party, which opposes immigration, was third after the victory of the Conservative Party and its main competitor - the Labor Party.

Prime Minister David Cameron is working to cut social benefits for immigrants in the run-up to the referendum in 2017, at which the population of the country should decide on the question whether the UK should remain in the European Union or not.

- You can see the plants on which half of the workers came from Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, - he said in October 2013 - You cannot blame them. They have to work hard.

He notes that more than half of the UK population wants the number of immigrants to be reduced.

But what is the real situation with immigrants in the UK? Here are few facts.

The workers of foreign origin account for approximately 16% of the total workforce of 31 million.

Among the workers of foreign origin, 60% were born outside the European Union, 16% of them came from Western Europe, 15% - from Eastern Europe.

Natives of the two poorest countries in the European Union - Bulgaria and Romania - account for 3.8% of the workforce.

In fact, residents of the UK overestimate the proportion of immigrants in the population of the country. According to a survey conducted by Ipsos MORI in the beginning of this year, most of the population believes that there is 21% of them.

In fact, immigrants make up 13% of them, according to the National Bureau of Statistics of the United Kingdom.

Over the past 20 years, the level of immigration in the country has grown significantly.

And despite all the talk about "Polish plumbers" and Nigel Faraj’s call to withdraw from the EU to "regain control" over the borders of the country, the majority of migrants who want to settle in the UK come from countries outside the EU.

Particularly, these are Chinese and Indians.

What do they do?

Foreigners come mainly to work or study. And nearly two-thirds of those who come to the country to work, already have a job offer at the time of arrival.

In a study of British Social Attitudes Survey, which was conducted in 2013 and published in June 2014, 24% of respondents say that the well-being is the most common motive for migration.

While legal foreign residents are entitled to receive social benefits, 93% of the 5.3 million people who seek help, such as unemployment insurance or disability benefits, have British citizenship.

How are they perceived?

76% of Romanians and Bulgarians, who came to the UK last year, arrived for work.

In comparison, 61% come from 15 countries - the first members of the EU and 67% come from eight Eastern European countries that joined the EU in 2004.

However, the population perceives the situation differently. In a study from Oxford University, which analyzed the language of 19 British national newspapers, it is noted that the words used to describe the Romanians are associated with crime and anti-social behavior.

source: bloomberg.com