Asylum seekers ignore "video nasty" on UK life

07.Jan.02,  first published by Reuters: read the original article here.

LONDON (Reuters) - A "video nasty" portraying Britain as ridden with crime and diabolical weather has failed to deter determined asylum seekers from crossing the Channel, the Independent newspaper has reported.

The campaign, aimed at refugees in the Sangatte Red Cross hostel in northern France, has convinced only 17 of the 17,500 residents to return home -- all expenses paid, the newspaper said on Monday.

Partly funded to the tune of 140,000 pounds by the Home Office, the campaign titled "Dignity or Exploitation -- The Choice is in Your Hands" featured a video of traditional British hardships such as foul weather and rail strikes and warned of the perils of trying to cross the Channel.

A spokesman for Geneva based International Organisation on Migration, which ran the project, said: "It has not been an incredible success. These people have spent a lot of money getting to Sangatte -- they have taken a lot of risks and are tantalisingly close."