A CALL for Oxford University to house asylum seekers, including those from Afghanistan, has prompted debate among Oxford Mail readers.

The suggestion came in a meeting hosted by Asylum Welcome, an organisation that supports asylum seekers, refugees, and vulnerable migrants living in Oxfordshire.

GRAHAM MARTIN: “If we can’t house our own how can we house others and why should we house others?”

RICARDO SUMNER: “True. The middle class who are loaded are not bothered as it will not affect them.”

SAMUEL MARKS: “It would be great if the government cared about our homeless, but they don’t. And the sort of people now saying ‘look after our own’ are the same people who vote for political parties that cut support for homeless and cut support for veterans. If you are a Tory supporter and you are one of the people currently saying ‘look after our own first’ - then please let us know what you have done to press the current government into helping anyone... disabled, homeless, abused, sick, addicted, mentally ill... All of the above have been hung out to dry by this government. Let's not pretend that leaving the Afghans out to dry will suddenly mean the government start caring about impoverished, damaged or poorly British people.”

TONY BAUGHAN: “We are struggling to house local people.

CAROLINE WALL: “The people that are saying “we’ll take them in” are only in it for the money they will receive from the government. I personally agree with the above comments – basically charity begins at home.”

LORRAINE JACKSON: “In it for what money? I’ve not heard of this. I really do believe there’s enough money to go around it’s all down to fair distribution, particularly in Oxford.”

NYKKI GREAVES: “Who are ‘our own’?What if some of our homeless people are foreigners? Are we picking and choosing! Who are you to choose who has a home or not!

“Let’s hope we never get into a situation where civil war and brutality drive us from our homes.”

FREDERICK PLEDGE: “Our own refers to the indigenous of our once great country just in case you aren’t sure what ‘our own’ means.”

LEIGH BUTLER: “Oxford has a bigger problem with the homeless that we can’t house. One problem at a time.”

SARAH SMITH: “No we should help the homeless and the people who are overcrowded first but the government doesn’t care.”

ALEXANDER HULL: “We’re not overcrowded, we’re not helping our own right now anyway even though we could.”

SARAH SMITH: “There are many people living in overcrowded houses – I’m one of them. I work, pay taxes and still don’t get help. The government needs to start to help the ones that have needed help first before helping anyone else.”

KAREN BLACKMAN: “We have a lot of ex-military that are homeless. Shouldn’t these be our priority and our overcrowded families?”

JAMES WELLER: “People are are not seeing what’s happening right in front of them, don’t let the media control you.”

LISA GOODMAN: “How about the 350 empty homes you reported last week?”

PHILIP MERRY: “No way we have to help Oxford’s problem first.”

MATT WAITE: “These lives do matter but we gotta think about our homeless first.”

IAN BRADBURY: “Yes why not, let them all in, they can have my bed I’ll sleep in the shed.”

ALAN CHAMBERS: “Definitely not. There are families here already that need homes start here first.”

ANDY PRICE: “I thought a university was supposed to concentrate on education. Why not ask Nando’s to help feed everyone as well?”

KIM GROVE: “They can’t. Not enough chicken.”

RICKY NILSSON: “You might have missed how much land and property that Oxford Uni owns?”

JANE JONES: “No why should we have them here, they are only here to get a place to live.”

LEWIS WALSH: “Where are all these people going to stay in Oxford? We can’t cope now.

“What about the homeless people of Oxford city?

“The homeless people should come first.”

NEIL HEWITT: “With a conservative estimate of around 400,000 individuals/households homeless in the UK, it makes perfect sense to import a further 20,000 people to add to this pure misery!”