It is understood 11 migrants taken from Kent to London are now being housed in a Norwich hotel By Mariam Issimdar & Matt Precey BBC News, East A group of migrants mistakenly taken from Kent and left stranded in central London have been moved to the Norfolk city of Norwich. How is Norwich, which is part of it? City of Sanctuary UK design, replied? According to reports, 11 migrants, believed to be from Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq, are currently being held in a Norwich hotel. The Home Office says the group initially told officials they had a place to stay. Image copyright Danial AbbasImage caption The group of migrants were seen carrying blue plastic bags containing their belongings in London

“The situation was not good”

image caption, Afghan migrant Hassibullah was flown to Norwich at midnight after being blocked in London Hashibullah, a 24-year-old student from Afghanistan, was one of 11 flown from Kent to London. “I was with other people in Dover for 25 days and then I went to Victoria station in London. They told us [we were going to] a hotel there,” he says. “I don’t understand but the bus driver told us to get out.” He says he didn’t know what to do when he got to London. He was told to “find his own way” on his own, he says. He recounts how police arrived and closed the station before two taxi drivers arrived and picked them up and told them they would be taken to another location. That location was Norwich. He came to the UK in a six-metre (18ft) boat with around 80 or 90 other people on a journey that took around seven hours. He left Afghanistan, he says, because of the Taliban, and his family borrowed €3,000 to pay smugglers to take him to the UK. “The situation was not good,” he says. Asked what he expects to happen now, Hashibullah says: “I don’t know.” “I want to stay here and I don’t want to go back to Afghanistan,” he adds. “I want [from] the government pays little attention to us because we have more problems in Afghanistan.”

“We are a bonded estate”

image caption, Rachel Anderson, 51, lives near the hotel used to house migrants Rachel Anderson, 51, lives near the hotel used to house migrants. “It’s surprising to hear that,” says Ms. Anderson. “I wish there had been more communication and I would have been told this. “I don’t know who these people are, so I don’t know what else is involved – just the fact that they’re not telling us enough. “It is a real estate community and it is very close to the hotel. “I don’t want to be critical of people coming in, but we’ve had situations in the past because we’re a tight estate – and if you’re going to put people in a hotel near a tight estate, who knows what could happen?”

“They have to be housed somewhere”

image caption, Paul Skinner says migrants needed to be ‘housed somewhere’ Paul Skinner, 50, runs a local business. “My view is that they need to be housed somewhere and they’re living in miserable conditions, where they’ve come from,” he says. “Obviously I’m also concerned about local people who also have their own housing issues. And you have a conflict of interest there, with views on both sides, but at the end of the day it’s a terrible situation. “It’s a difficult situation.”

On stage: Alex Dunlop, BBC East

I’m parked near a hotel in Norwich where earlier I saw about a dozen migrants standing outside in small groups chatting and/or smoking. I approached three men who said they were from Syria. I asked them if they knew about the 11 migrants who had come to Norwich from London. One of the Syrians indicated that he knew about the 11 and that they were in the same hotel. However, his English was limited so it was hard to be sure. About 10 minutes after I arrived, two hotel security staff approached me. Shortly afterwards, they asked all hotel guests outside, even those inside the hotel courtyard, to go inside. When I asked security why, I was told it was for a “roll call”. Every migrant I approached afterwards was quickly asked to go home. Minutes later, a couple who tried to leave were advised by a doorman to stay inside. Immediately after, I was asked by the security staff – who were always very polite – to leave. I asked to speak to the hotel manager but was told he was not allowed to speak to me. They suggested I direct my questions to the Home Office.

“He shouldn’t be here”

image caption, Philip Warhurst says he believes immigrants are getting preferential treatment “They shouldn’t be here. Just like,” says Philip Warhurst, who is retired. “My boyfriend, who is 31 and working, can’t find a house. There is no chance. But they can just walk in and get one and that’s it. He pays all his debts and claims, but they don’t.”

“Looks a bit shabby really”

image caption, Barber Tom Sand says he insists on a down payment for a haircut Tom Sadd, 28, runs a barbershop and says he has had many immigrant customers. “It looks a bit shabby really,” he says. “They just dropped them off at the hotel.” He says there have been cases where immigrants have come for haircuts without enough money to pay. As a result, he now insists on paying in advance by card. “For them [the migrants] It must be confusing, never mind for us English people and businesses. “They’ve just been dumped in Norwich, they have no idea where they are, and they’re just wandering the streets, bored and trying to find things to do. “I’d like to settle down, take them somewhere official and not hotels.” Stephen Evans, chief executive of Norwich City Council, said on Friday he was unaware the team was heading to Norwich. “We haven’t been told,” he says. “I checked again with colleagues at City Hall and they haven’t been told. So we don’t know who they are, we don’t know where they’ve been in the city, and I think that’s part of the problem here. “Councils are asking for earlier engagement with the Home Office and to be consulted. Local government and central government work best when they work together.” A Home Office spokesman said: “The welfare of those in our care is of the utmost importance and asylum seekers are only released from Manston when we have assurances that they have accommodation to go to. Any suggestion otherwise is wrong. “We worked at pace to find accommodation for the individuals as soon as we were informed and they are now being supported.” Find BBC News: East of England at Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story proposal email [email protected]

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