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Calais camp, symbol of migrant crisis, set for destruction France programs slow death for Calais migrant camp
(about 3 hours later)
CALAIS, France — A French court gave the state the green light Thursday to raze makeshift tents and lean-tos used by hundreds of migrants at a sprawling slum in Calais, where many dream of slipping into Britain. CALAIS, France — A green light Thursday from a French court sets in motion the evacuation of a large swath of a sprawling migrant camp in Calais where thousands dream of getting to Britain, with promises of a progressive and humane process in what could be a slow death for the wind-swept outpost.
Tamping down fears of a violent confrontation, France’s interior minister promised to treat the migrants humanely and not send in bulldozers to evict them. But sceptics say the bid to end an embarrassing chapter in Europe’s migrant crisis is not over, warning that many migrants will simply scatter along the northern coast.
The camp in the northern port city — known as “the jungle” — has been an embarrassing chapter in Europe’s migrant crisis, and France announced this month that its densely populated southern half would be razed. The move prompted rights groups and migrant advocates to sue. The state announced this month that the densely populated southern half of the camp — known as the “jungle” — would be razed. A Tuesday night deadline for migrants to pull up stakes was pushed back after human rights groups and migrants took the issue to court.
The court in Lille ruled that the makeshift shelters used by the migrants can be destroyed — but that common spaces like places of worship, schools and a library must be left standing. In a partial victory for the state, the court in Lille ruled that the makeshift shelters where migrants sleep can be destroyed — but that common spaces like places of worship, schools and a library that have sprung up must stand.
Calais’ prime location — with a major ferry port, Eurotunnel rail system and truck traffic crossing the English Channel — has put it in the crosshairs of the migrant crisis. Weary travelers come driven by a dream that they will find peace and prosperity in English-speaking Britain. Lacking any papers, they have to sneak across the Channel, and at least 20 migrants have died trying since late June. The port city of Calais, with ferries and the Eurotunnel rail system to Britain, has for years lived with migrants escaping conflict, human rights abuses and poverty, hoping for the good life across the English Channel. Numerous small camps have been bulldozed inside the city. But the current camp, with an estimated 4,000 migrants, has transformed the port city into a high-security tension point, fueled far-right sentiment and defied efforts to make it go away.
Officials say moving migrants out of the Calais slum will be a better solution for all, since many have been languishing in poverty and hopelessness after nearby borders have been sealed by increasing security. Officials estimate the number of migrants who will be affected at 800 to 1,000, while humanitarian organizations say over 3,000 migrants live there. France’s interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve lauded the court decision. Cazeneuve denied that bulldozers and police — who began patrolling this month inside the camp — would flatten the sprawling makeshift settlement.
Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve lauded the court’s decision, saying it “fully supported” the government’s strategy for dealing with the camp. “It has never been our intention to send in bulldozers to destroy the camp,” Cazeneuve said in remarks broadcast after the court ruling was announced.
“It has never been our intention to send in bulldozers to destroy the camp,” Cazeneuve added. Officials estimate the number of migrants who will be affected at around 800 to 1,000. Humanitarian organizations say over 3,000 migrants live in the targeted southern sector.
Another filthy camp known as a haven for smugglers near Dunkirk, France, is being relocated to a more hygienic site with heated tents under the supervision of the charity group Doctors Without Borders. Authorities said they will increase daily efforts to move uprooted migrants into a container camp set up last month in the northern sector and encourage them to go to a temporary welcome centers where they can reconsider their plans and eventually apply for asylum in France. No time limit was set on what is likely to be a weeks-long process.
Moving the migrants out will be France’s most dramatic step yet to end Calais’ yearslong migrant problem, which has transformed the city of nearly 80,000 into a high-security tension point, fueled far-right sentiment and defied British and French efforts to make the issue go away. “There will be people who try to stay as long as possible,” said Francois Guennoc, an official with one of the associations that brought the legal action, Auberge des Migrants (Migrant Shelter). He has heard that some inside the camp have already left for other points, including Paris.
The same court in Lille ordered the state in November to clean up the camp by adding running water, toilets and garbage bins, count the number of minors without families — now 326 — and help those in distress. The ruling “is going to prompt people to set up small improvised camps all over,” said Michel Jansen of Doctors Without Borders. Like other critics, he said there are not enough available places to house the uprooted. And he pointed to the case of a Red Cross-run camp in nearby Sangatte — used during its three-year existence by some 68,000 refugees — that was shut down in 2002. Afterward, hundreds moved up the coast to set up small camps around Calais.
As of late, however, an increasingly vocal backlash against the Calais migrants has been punctuated by militia-style violence. Truckers have grown exasperated or fearful of increasingly bold migrants trying to sneak rides across the English Channel. Neighboring Belgium, concerned about an influx of Calais evacuees, began implementing border checks on Wednesday.
A sense of anxiety mounted in the camp Thursday ahead of the court ruling. Nearby Belgium, concerned about an influx of Calais evacuees, implemented border checks. Another filthy camp known as a haven for smugglers, near Dunkirk, France, is being relocated to a more hygienic site with heated tents under the supervision of Doctors Without Borders.
“Obviously, they are scared and concerned about what is going to happen,” said Ed Sexton of Help Refugees, one of numerous British charities working in the slum. “The people have been here months, living in terrible conditions, but they don’t want their shelters destroyed.” In announcing plans to close the Calais camp, authorities cited security and sanitation concerns and the increasingly tarnished image of Calais, a city of nearly 80,000 that takes pride in drawing tourists to its Opal Coast. An increasingly bold tactic of migrants trying to sneak into trucks is exasperating drivers.
Camp residents were offered the choice of being sent to temporary welcome centers around France, or staying in one of 125 heated containers set up last month behind the camp. But it is hard to dissuade weary travelers who come to Calais driven by a dream — circulated among migrants, peddled by smugglers. Increased security has compounded the dangers for migrants trying to get to Britain. At least 20 have died since late June, according to the prefecture.
Humanitarian workers predicted those who refuse to leave would simply gather in small groups elsewhere around Calais and the northern French coast. “We have this border in Calais particularly difficult to trespass,” said Prefect Fabienne Buccio, the region’s state official, after the ruling. “It is now extremely dangerous to cross over to England ... There is no reason for migrants to come to Calais since they can no longer get to England from here.”
“You’re basically going to scatter a lot of people,” said Maya Konforti of the group Migrant Shelters. A “descent shelter” awaits them, she said, “and, most importantly, we will get them out of the hands of smugglers.”
An Afghan who identified himself only as Jan said he would look elsewhere if the Calais migrant camp was closed. An Afghan living at the camp, Hayat Sirat, was not tempted by one of the new shelters.
“They are the government ... we can’t fight them,” he said. “Going to Britain ... is what people (here) want,” he said. “So destroying part of the jungle is not the solution.”
It’s far from certain, however, that razing the slum will be a turning point for Calais.
A Red Cross-run camp in nearby Sangatte — which was used during its three-year existence by 68,000 refugees — was shut down in 2002. Afterward, hundreds of migrants simply moved up the coast to set up small camps around Calais.
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Ganley reported from Paris. Ben Barnier in Calais contributed to this report. Ganley reported from Paris. Ben Barnier and Chris Den Hond in Calais contributed to this report.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.