Outside a stone church on a rainy Saturday, hand-drawn signs can be seen through the drizzle. ‘House our homeless first,’ one reads. ‘No entry without documents,’ another says.
Cars rush past on the busy road nearby, drivers honking their horns in solidarity every few minutes.
Around 30 people gathered to protest against the male asylum seekers currently being housed at the Cresta Court Hotel in Altrincham on Saturday (November 16).
READ MORE: The arrivals that have divided a town
The arrival of the 300 men has divided opinion in the town – some welcoming the refugees with open arms while others have expressed worry.
Among those attending the “peaceful community protest” is 45-year-old Louise. “We have our homeless all on the streets and immigrants are coming in being housed,” she told the Manchester Evening News.
“Our veterans are on the streets. We have elderly who cannot afford to put the heating on and families living in poverty. I was disgusted when I found out. We had no idea.”
Altrincham resident Lola, 52, said she has concerns. “These men have not been vetted, they’re free to roam and have no curfew,” she claimed.
“They have come over without documentation. We have almost 300 men there who could be criminals. They could have been escaping the law in their own country.”
Altrincham and Sale West MP Connor Rand, has said he had been assured that background checks had been carried out on the men in the hotel and no issues were found.
The discovery comes after the government said it would stop using hotels to house asylum seekers.
One of the men currently residing at the hotel is Abel Nigussie, a 24-year-old from crossed the Channel from Eritrea in east Africa in a small boat in the middle of the night.
The 24-year-old says he was crammed in with ’80 or 90′ others making the treacherous journey in the hope of starting a new life.
“I was lucky,” he says as he sits on a picnic bench in the car park. “I have no money [to pay to cross the Channel] but some people tell me how to hide on the boat.
“I tried four or five times, everybody running, eventually I hide myself. There were 80 plus people on the boat. Many, many people. The journey took eight hours. It was dark, the waves were very high. It was very, very hard.”
A wave of far-right riots over the summer at asylum seeker hotels across the country has further stoked division and distrust among communities.
Geoff Sharp, 75, from Sale, is among those who claim the community is being kept in the dark about the ‘highly sensitive situation’.
“Our concern is there are people in there and we do not know who they are, that is it, purely and simple,” he said.
“We believe we have become the forefront of what people in Dover have had to endure these past few years. I go and speak to a lot of people, and I have not heard one person who is in favour of this, not one. And I speak to dozens.
“I was sent videos, so as a result, I was asked for my opinion. We are all reasonable people, and none of the comments have been nasty at all. We have tried to manage this as best we can.
“I went around yesterday and did not see anything that would cause concern, and hopefully, there will not be a problem. But is this going to end up being a processing centre where we see a constant stream?
“We are a decent community. We are a loving, helpful community. But the worrying thing is we do not know what is going on in there. It would be good to get a representative from the community to liaise with.”
Trafford‘s Conservative group leader Coun Nathan Evans has launched a petition against what he describes as the influx of migrants. The petition describes the use of the hotel as ‘unacceptable’ and has raised concerns about the economic impact of the loss of guests on local businesses.
The petition adds: “We are also aware of growing safety concerns within the community. Many residents feel uneasy about the implications of housing asylum seekers in Altrincham’s hotels, so close to our schools, we must prioritise the well-being of our constituents.”
Last week around 175 people attended a public meeting at Altrincham Methodist Church opposite Cresta Court. A group gathered outside in support of those coming to the country seeking a better life. Protesters held banners reading ‘Stand Up to Racism’ and ‘Refugees Welcome in Altrincham’.
And speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, nearby residents seemed to be equally split. “I think this is just the end of a problem that is caused by a massive situation,” said Sue, 45. “These guys have to live somewhere. I’m OK with it as long as they keep out of mischief.”
“The most annoying thing about this is the lack of information,” said Paul, 59. “I understand that this is a highly sensitive situation, but I don’t think it helps keeping people in the dark. My mother lives close by and is quite concerned.”
“A lot of people are deeply suspicious about the fact that they are all males,” said Pete, 62. “Why aren’t they here with their families? It’s very worrying.”
At the end of July, asylum seeker hotels were targeted across the country during a spate of far right riots. As misinformation spread online, anger grew about the presence of refugees in hotels.
For some members of the community, the ugly scenes were more of a source of concern than the arrival of asylum seekers in the area.
“They’ve got to go somewhere,” said Steve, who is in his late 40s. “I am not worried about the asylum seekers but more concerned about ****heads from the UK turning up to cause trouble.”
Many refugees come to the UK as a place of sanctuary as life in their home country becomes too dangerous.
Back at the hotel, Abel is explaining how he fled Eritrea as a small boy with his mum after his dad, a Pentecostal Christian, was arrested by police. To this day he has no idea what happened to him.
But after moving to Ethiopia he said the persecution continued and said his mum was arrested on suspicion of being a spy. He was later told she had died after being beaten while in custody.
“When I was young boy everything was good, but then it went bad,” he said. “In Ethiopia people thought my mum was a spy. They told us we were not Ethiopian. They told us go to another country.”
Abel says he left Ethiopia around nine months ago and made his way through Sudan, Libya and Italy, before arriving at the ‘Jungle’ refugee camp near Dunkirk.
“It was very very hard, ” he said. “I was in the jungle in Dunkirk in a tent. It was always raining, freezing. The Red Cross were very kind. They gave us food. I respect them a lot.”
Now he’s in the UK, Abel, who says he worked as shoeshine boy in Ethiopia, wants to study and hopes eventually to volunteer for the Red Cross helping others like him.
“Everything is good in the UK,” he said. “The people here have been very kind. I have been for little walks, but I don’t have money so I don’t go into town, I just stay in the hotel, breakfast, lunch, dinner.
“I want to be a good guy. I want to help people. I hope everything will be good.”
Fellow Cresta Court resident Abilla Lokla, 19, from Syria, says he arrived in the UK 10 days ago. Speaking through a translation app on his mobile phone he explains how he crossed the Channel in a small boat organised by people traffickers having travelled through Turkey, Bulgaria and France.
“The journey was very challenging,” he said. “I came for safety. In Syria the situation is war. It’s not safe. The journey [across the Channel] was very risky. There were about 20 people in the boat. I enjoy it here. The hotel is comfortable.”
What the authorities have to say
In a statement on Facebook, Altrincham and Sale West MP Connor Rand, said he had been assured that background checks had been carried out on the men in the hotel and no issues were found. “There is no information to suggest that accommodating the asylum seekers will lead to increases in crime or anti-social behaviour,” he added.
In a statement on Thursday Trafford council leader Tom Ross said: “I understand the ongoing concerns raised by residents about the use of the Cresta Court Hotel in Altrincham for accommodating asylum seekers, which was a decision made by the Home Office and not the council. I accept that this is far from an ideal situation for all concerned.
“We have been consistent in our views that the use of hotels is not appropriate for the housing of asylum seekers and we are supportive of the letter sent from our local MP Connor Rand to the Home Secretary. The government recognises that using hotels long term is not the answer, but it has inherited an asylum system that is broken and there is no quick fix to deal with the massive backlog of asylum seekers the country is facing.
“There are some false stories being shared on social media. I urge you to take your news from reliable sources, as misinformation has spread online about the situation.”
Coun Ross added NHS Greater Manchester was working with Denton-based gtd healthcare, a not-for-profit healthcare provider, to provide healthcare for the asylum seekers. It comes after Tory leader Coun Evans told a recent meeting he believed the healthcare had been contracted to a private provider.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “This government inherited an asylum system under unprecedented strain, with thousands stuck in a backlog without their claims processed.
“We have taken immediate action to restart asylum processing which will save an estimated £7bn for the tax payer over the next 10 years, and are delivering a major uplift in returns to remove people with no right to be in the UK. Over the long term this will reduce our reliance on hotels and costs of accommodation.
“We remain absolutely committed to ending the use of hotels for asylum seekers and continue to identify a range of accommodation options to minimise their use.”
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