While describing the traumatic journeys of immigrants, local residents reacted to the 'information gap' about the hotel used for asylum seekers

In Altrincham, near Manchester, asylum seekers are just settling into the Cresta Court Hotel; many of them just days after making the perilous journey across the English Channel.

But their presence causes controversy as the newcomers find sanctuary in a northern town.

The government said Asylum seekers’ use of hotels will be terminated but without any warning this was just created.

Now young men gather in groups outside the hotel, drinking coffee or smoking cigarettes.

“I’ve been here for a few days and I haven’t encountered any hostility since I arrived. In fact, they showed us a lot of respect,” a Kurd in his 20s tells me in Arabic.

Conversely, someone shouts from a passing car: “Go back to the boats!”

About 200 meters down the road, people are gathering at a church to voice their concerns.

Residents had just learned of the new arrivals, and that was because thousands of reservations, as well as meetings and even wedding receptions, were suddenly canceled as the hotel made good on its commitment to accommodate the refugees.

“There has been an information gap,” says a mother of two children.

At a public meeting to voice her objections, she asked whether the immigrants were “illegal” and, if so, whether the hotel was “really an open prison” near several local girls’ schools and a kindergarten.

Her voice shakes as she tells the room that she has canceled a night out with her girlfriends due to safety concerns.

‘We don’t know what they can do’

Community police officer Colin Dytor says the men’s refugee status is a Home Office matter but tries to calm the room.

He added: “I can assure you that there have been asylum seekers in Trafford for a number of years and there has been no increase in crime attributed to them.”

Local resident Roger Roper objects, saying the Britannia Ashley Hotel in Hale the officer mentioned is for mostly immigrant families. “These are about 300 young men. We don’t know anything about them.”

“We don’t know what they can do if they don’t have documents or passports.”

Another woman says she is worried about her daughter going out at night because the men come from a country that “doesn’t value women.”

Two women from a pro-refugee campaign group dispute this point from across the room, but the majority applauds in agreement.

The concerned resident continues: “Will there be a curfew or will they be able to wander around after seven o’clock? Will my daughter be safe? No!”

Inspector Dytor responds: “We can’t just lock up people who haven’t committed a crime. We live in a very tolerant and open society and we need to maintain that.”

‘Some of the comments online were racist’

Further objections are mounting over the cost to the town and the additional pressure on already stretched GP services.

A spokesman for Serco, which runs the hotel, said: “No decision has yet been made by the local authority on how healthcare will be provided to those in the hotel.”

Connor Rand, the Labor MP for Altrincham and Sale West, issued a statement saying he had been assured by the Home Office that background checks had been carried out on these individuals.

Outside the church, protesters hold signs saying “Stand Against Racism” and “Refugees Welcome to Altrincham”.

A protester who gave her name as Jane said: “Some of the comments online were racist. When you say refugees should be vetted to make sure they’re not pedophiles, I think that’s racist.”

‘We were left in the dark’

Inside, Gwyneth and Roger Roper say voicing concerns isn’t racist. The couple had a Ukrainian family in their home for 14 months and say they welcome documented refugees.

It was Gwyneth, the chapel’s president, who secured the venue after the town hall was canceled at the last minute a few days ago.

He says: “I can’t say I agree or disagree with what happened because we were kept in the dark and treated like mushrooms.

“It is wrong for local, central government and the Home Office not to consult us on an issue that could impact the local community.”

Councilor Nathan Evans, leader of the Trafford Conservative Group, which organized the meeting, agreed and said there was a “wall of silence” where residents had “real concerns”.

He adds: “There are between 100 and possibly 150 people staying in that hotel a night. They all go to Altrincham to spend money. The money is gone from the town. Nobody is going to compensate the businesses for this.”

Asylum seekers told about dangerous journeys

Newcomers returning to the hotel tell me about perilous journeys from places like Syria and Afghanistan, unaware of any local turmoil.

A Kurdish man says he was smuggled across countries in the back of a truck, not knowing where he was when he was released.

He explains: “Finally, we arrived at a beach and the smuggler told me to get on the boat. When I said I was afraid of the sea, he slapped me several times. Then he reached for his gun and said, ‘You’. ‘We are in a safe country now, get on the boat.'”

One young man, who did not want to speak on camera, said he saw people drowning in the canal as a dirty boat sank nearby.

Fahad, another refugee, says he panicked on his boat when the waves started beating the ship full of 70 migrants, but they insisted on ensuring escape conditions in the French migrant camps.

Heated national debate becomes local issue

The government has promised to end the use of hotels for migrants but blames the move on a Rwandan policy that halted asylum claims by people arriving in the UK on small boats, causing a backlog in processing.

While thousands of people crossing the canal spark heated national debate, Altrincham residents are learning how it becomes even more acute when the issue becomes a local issue.

Local Labor MP Mr Rand said in a statement that he wanted to hear about people’s concerns about the Cresta Tribunal and that was why he called the public meeting.

He said “this is not the first time a hotel in our community has been used for this purpose,” citing the “huge backlog” in the asylum system and nearly 119,000 asylum seekers awaiting a decision on their claims.

“Labour is committed to a fair and controlled asylum system,” he said, but warned that “a quick fix is not possible”.

Mr Rand promised to “continue to meet with Home Office officials and ministers to ensure that the claims of those at the Cresta Court Hotel are processed as quickly as possible so that this situation can be resolved.”

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