![2[1].jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/5abadf_f310244424a443b29215dadb17bba49b~mv2.jpg/v1/crop/x_5,y_0,w_1069,h_1080/fill/w_101,h_102,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/2%5B1%5D.jpg)
By Niccolo Balducci
Setting the Scene
In 2015, Safia finally reached France with her children after a gruelling journey from Afghanistan. She, like many other refugees fleeing the war-torn regions of our planet, was hoping to turn a new leaf in the United Kingdom. Indeed, the country’s multi-ethnic makeup, combined with its economic prosperity, has long made it a beacon of hope for numerous migrants. For Safia however, held up at one of the many infamous refugee camps in Calais, a mere 26 miles from Kent, that is all Britain would ever amount to. She and her children would quickly be relocated to the Jules Ferry Centre, where she would have to share an apartment-sized accommodation with around 15 other women. Unable to see her husband, she would be forced to spend the following months lying to her children about their prospects of eventually reaching the UK, all whilst being stuck in an anxiety-inducing legal limbo.
The Reality of the Crisis
This is just a sample of the many stories one can come across when visiting the several refugee camps scattered across the outskirts of the French port town of Calais. Many of these communities are tucked away deep in neighbouring woodlands, hidden from sight and from the wrath of government agents. The seclusion of these camps is only one of the many factors aggravating their inhabitants’ deprivation. Indeed, lack of plumbing, proper infrastructure, heating, and other basic necessities have turned these areas into genuine shantytowns, where a tent overhead is the best luxury a refugee can hope for.
Even if you need not worry about food being on the table, or the outbreak of some disease, the issue of police raids would usually find a way to rear its head. Indeed, gendarmes frequently come down violently on these makeshift camps, often by forcefully evicting and arresting residents.
Alternatively, they will confiscate most of the migrants’ personal property, leaving many without shelter or goods. Unaccompanied minors have suffered the brunt of these raids, as they have made it increasingly difficult to locate unsupervised children. Many of these children are placed within government-run facilities alongside adult migrants. As a result, reports of abuse, or of children being recruited into smuggling bands, have become commonplace in recent years.
It is these very migrant centres that numerous refugees are so desperately attempting to avoid. Not only is overcrowding a significantly more pronounced issue, but the legal status of these settlements’ inhabitants can very easily become ambiguous. Indeed, the French justice system can only initiate deportations once it determines an individual is residing in the country illegally. However, this can only be done upon appropriate identification being presented, which many migrants are unable to do. Consequently, refugees in Calais under French supervision are stuck in a legal limbo, where they are simultaneously unable to continue their journey to Britain and not allowed to return home. These developments have led to considerable suffering, from families being torn apart, to food and shelter shortages. More recently, an explosion of Covid-19 infections has been facilitated by the close concentration of migrants.
The Future for Calais Migrants
Calais’ worrisome relationship with the refugee situation shows no sign of change. The United Nations has condemned both the actions and inactions of the French government, and has been echoed by countless NGOs. Despite this, Paris and the Calais administration have done little to remedy the crisis. In fact, they might just have aggravated it. Since the dismantling of the largest refugee settlement in Calais in 2016, known as the “Calais Jungle”, the government has adopted a policy of “no fixation points”. This effectively means the police have made it their mission to dismantle any semblance of refugee camps, fuelling the desperation of numerous migrants and casting an even bleaker outlook on the situation. For Safia’s contemporaries, it is difficult to imagine how things could get worse.
Comments