Sunday Express

22 February 2009
The European Commission launches a new ­agency which could see thousands of asylum seekers from Africa transferred directly to the UK. Brussels wants Britain to “share the burden” of dealing with 70,000 asylum seekers who cross the Mediterranean from Africa each year to countries such as Italy and Malta. “We know that Britain offers free ­ accommodation and food, but we also want to work.

We are certain we’ll get to Britain. It’s easy. All we have to do after that is start earning.” If they fail, they simply wait for their next chance. The scene is replicated in up to half-a-dozen ports, with 2,000 migrants sleeping rough in the Calais region alone.

Another migrant calling himself Iqbar and claiming he was 19 and from Iraq said: “We just want to get started. We have great respect for the English, but believe that in the end it is the people who are prepared to work the hardest who should get the jobs. If the British can’t compete with £1 an hour then that’s their problem.”

Few of the dozens of migrants spoken to by the Sunday Express have passports. While many will claim ­asylum when they get to Britain, ­others will simply disappear into the black economy. “We’ve all suffered persecution, so a low-paid job doesn’t bother us,” said Omhar, who said he was a 20-year-old Iranian. “Once we are established we will bring our families over. We know everybody is welcome and it’s easy to get over if you keep trying.” The European Commission has drawn up plans to create a European Asylum Support Office to “harmonise” asylum laws across the EU". Home Affairs Commissioner Jacques Barrot said the agency, to be set up next year, would also arrange “intra-community transfers”, shifting asylum seekers from hotspots like Italy to countries like the UK.
Original article... HERE