PRO and anti-immigration supporters once again gathered on the green opposite Bexhill Town Hall to voice sharply divided opinions over the proposed asylum centre at the former Northeye Prison site in Little Common on Wednesday night.
On this occasion, however, it was a far more peaceful affair where, despite impassioned speeches, the mood remained relatively calm.
A small group of pro-immigration supporters had gathered with posters bearing slogans such as “Say No to racism” and “asylum seekers welcome” but they weren’t showered with torrents of verbal abuse as had been the case at the initial protest outside the former prison in early March.
One of the group, who lives in Sidley but said he did not want to be named, said: “This is so divisive but we are dealing with a proposal to house these poor people in what is a former prison. It is simply not humane.
“This country needs to do much better when it comes to immigration and we need as a nation to be far more welcoming.
“They have travelled thousands of miles in search of a better life and yet having gone through so much trauma they are then going to be told they will be housed in a former prison. It is an absolute scandal.
“We are standing up for refugees’ rights. They want to come here to start a new life, to work and to make a contribution to society. They deserve to be applauded, not vilified.
“Where is our compassion? They embarked on a journey where they can drown on a cross-Channel journey on an ill-equipped dinghy or small boat in search of a better life.
“The situation they find themselves in is not their fault. Asylum claims need to be speeded up and when successful these poor people need to be welcomed and integrated into our society. They want to work and they want to contribute.”
However, those views contrasted sharply with those of Niall McCrae, who lives in Bexhill and was brandishing a banner along with two others on the roundabout which read “say no to Northeye.”
He said: “I believe this proposal breaches the social contract between our representatives and those they represent.
“If this proposal goes ahead it will severely disrupt our lovely, sleepy seaside town and change its dynamic forever.
“I have young daughters and I genuinely fear for their safety if this goes ahead. Women and young girls won’t feel safe. They won’t be able to walk free as they can do at the moment without worrying and that is so sad.
“In fact, it is my worst nightmare and to be honest I think many of them are not refugees but economic migrants.
“If they have been in genuine fear for their lives due to persecution in their own countries then that is a different matter, but how many of them are? That is a legitimate question for the residents of Bexhill to ask.
“I fear things are going to get much, much worse. We love this town and that is why we are here to make our feelings known.”
