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Tensions on street

May 18 2009
East European migration is still causing pressure on homeless services, but what‘s been done? The pressure on homeless services from the thousands of economic migrants lured from Eastern Europe by the prospect of well-paid jobs, is causing concern in Whitehall and on the streets. Many arrive with no money and struggle to find work, leaving them with no choice but to sleep rough, and rely on soup runs and day centres. This is worrying some Home Office officials and causing tension, even violence, in some areas. Around 15 per cent of the homeless people in London are from new EU countries such as Poland, Romania and Bulgaria. The UK's borders were opened to them two years ago and they now account for one in six people in the capital's hostels. Homeless services are struggling to cope with this massive influx - more than 600,000 - and clashes between British and East European rough sleepers are on the rise. In an incident in Trafalgar Square between British and Eastern European rough sleepers on 1st June, one man suffered severe head injuries after being hit with a bottle, and four men have since been charged with GBH. The fracas is just one of a recent spate of similar clashes. The Pavement has received letters and emails with reports of similar attacks. One reader wrote: "I am concerned about the tensions that are building up on the streets." Another copied our magazine in on a letter to Charing Cross police informing them of a violent incident involving East Europeans. This type of incident - and the drain on homeless organizations - has reached the ears of government. A leaked document by Home Office minister Joan Ryan highlighted how many East European immigrants arriving in the UK end up homeless and without work, resulting in an escalation of tensions between groups of rough sleepers. The document, Migration from Eastern Europe: Impact on public services and community cohesion, claims many immigrants living rough are becoming drunk and aggressive, and are helping to fill hostels. Ms Ryan described how East European immigrants end up homeless, usually due to restrictions on their welfare entitlement: "This leads to antisocial behaviour, street drinking and aggressive begging as well as 'tensions' between vagrants, as one in six places in homeless hostels in London is now taken up by Eastern Europeans, who often arrive with no plans for a job or home." Most immigrants arriving in the UK are ineligible for social housing: they tend to be young, single and without dependants, factors that place them firmly in a low-priority group for housing allocation. Eighty-two per cent of Accession Country (A8) immigrants registered for work in the UK since May 2004 have been aged 18-34, and 93 per cent stated that they had no dependants. A spokesman for Westminster Council said: "In our street counts in Westminster, we noticed a rise in the number of people living rough. The rise is predominantly down to 'A8 nationals' - people who have arrived from accession countries. Westminster has obvious attractions for incomers, but we also have Victoria Coach Station." "We are certainly not against Eastern Europeans coming here to work; quite the opposite. If you look around the building sites, they're building London. The problem is when people come here with no money and with not much English, thinking it's easy to get a job." Indeed, the true price of the influx isn't felt in Whitehall, nor by those involved in the few violent incidents. The tragic case of Polish economist Karol Gryc, who came to England hoping to find a good job and create a better life for his family, is testament to the problems many migrants face. The 43-year-old father of two left his family behind in Warsaw for the promise of a good job and money in the UK. He ended up sleeping rough before being found hanging from a tree with just 26p in his pocket. At his inquest, coroner Dr Shirley Radcliffe described the case as "very, very sad" after the court heard how Karol had despaired at his new, lonely life in London and ended up taking his own life two months after arriving. "He gave up on life because he hadn't been able to find a job", she said. His body was found last year at the foot of a tree in Brompton Cemetery, south-west London, by a member of the public. Polish journalist Agnieszka Okonska said: "Economic migrants don't know who to contact for help. And that's why they might end up in Victoria without money, without any help and without hope."
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