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| ‘We Are Ready to Leave’: France Clears Out Calais ‘Jungle’ | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| CALAIS, France — Hundreds of migrants, mostly young men from Africa or Afghanistan, lined up in the cold on Monday for buses to take them to temporary housing all over France, as the government set in motion a plan in the port of Calais to clear the sprawling migrant camp known as the Jungle once and for all. | CALAIS, France — Hundreds of migrants, mostly young men from Africa or Afghanistan, lined up in the cold on Monday for buses to take them to temporary housing all over France, as the government set in motion a plan in the port of Calais to clear the sprawling migrant camp known as the Jungle once and for all. |
| On Monday, streams of migrants from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Sudan and other conflict-torn countries trucked down the camp’s trash-filled, muddy lanes in small groups, pushing or dragging donated suitcases, or toting knapsacks front and back. | On Monday, streams of migrants from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Sudan and other conflict-torn countries trucked down the camp’s trash-filled, muddy lanes in small groups, pushing or dragging donated suitcases, or toting knapsacks front and back. |
| Some had suitcases on their heads; others simply walked out of the camp empty-handed, bundled up against the cold. Hundreds of journalists watched the operation. | Some had suitcases on their heads; others simply walked out of the camp empty-handed, bundled up against the cold. Hundreds of journalists watched the operation. |
| One Afghan banged a drum and another carried a giant cricket bat. Some passed the time playing chess or strumming a guitar. | One Afghan banged a drum and another carried a giant cricket bat. Some passed the time playing chess or strumming a guitar. |
| The squalid camp, growing and festering for over a year, has become a symbol of Europe’s faltering efforts to handle its migration crisis. Before Monday’s operation, the camp’s population was 6,000 to 8,000. | The squalid camp, growing and festering for over a year, has become a symbol of Europe’s faltering efforts to handle its migration crisis. Before Monday’s operation, the camp’s population was 6,000 to 8,000. |
| The concentration of migrants had repeatedly disrupted traffic in and out of the Channel Tunnel as they tried to smuggle themselves on cargo trucks to Britain, their presumed jobs-and-wealth Eldorado. | The concentration of migrants had repeatedly disrupted traffic in and out of the Channel Tunnel as they tried to smuggle themselves on cargo trucks to Britain, their presumed jobs-and-wealth Eldorado. |
| Judging by the crowds on Monday, many of the migrants appeared set to shed their dreams of Britain and were as anxious to be rid of the camp as the government was. | Judging by the crowds on Monday, many of the migrants appeared set to shed their dreams of Britain and were as anxious to be rid of the camp as the government was. |
| “It is a very bad situation here,” said Hassan Jibril, 35, a Sudanese man trying to keep himself warm in the Jungle’s warren of tents. “We are ready to leave.” | “It is a very bad situation here,” said Hassan Jibril, 35, a Sudanese man trying to keep himself warm in the Jungle’s warren of tents. “We are ready to leave.” |
| Awaiting the migrants was a complicated plan, fine-tuned by French officials since late summer, to disperse them in waves of bus journeys to dozens of towns and villages all over France. | Awaiting the migrants was a complicated plan, fine-tuned by French officials since late summer, to disperse them in waves of bus journeys to dozens of towns and villages all over France. |
| Some of the towns and villages hosting these 451 reception centers — abandoned barracks, hospitals, disused government vacation camps — have been demonstrating against their arrival in recent weeks; but the migrants do not know that. | Some of the towns and villages hosting these 451 reception centers — abandoned barracks, hospitals, disused government vacation camps — have been demonstrating against their arrival in recent weeks; but the migrants do not know that. |
| Some had clung to a hope that they might be able to leave for Britain by sneaking into one of the cargo trucks that use the Channel Tunnel, or even by walking through it. It was largely a false hope. | Some had clung to a hope that they might be able to leave for Britain by sneaking into one of the cargo trucks that use the Channel Tunnel, or even by walking through it. It was largely a false hope. |
| The reality is that the increasing fortifications and tall fences around the Jungle and the mouth of the Channel Tunnel made it impossible for all but a lucky few to make it out of this northern port city that overlooks the Strait of Dover. | The reality is that the increasing fortifications and tall fences around the Jungle and the mouth of the Channel Tunnel made it impossible for all but a lucky few to make it out of this northern port city that overlooks the Strait of Dover. |
| Not all seemed disappointed to stay in France. “France is a good country,” said Abdullah Umar, 24, who is from Sudan’s war-torn Darfur region. | Not all seemed disappointed to stay in France. “France is a good country,” said Abdullah Umar, 24, who is from Sudan’s war-torn Darfur region. |
| He was thankful for the many donated clothes he had received and, it seemed, to leave the camp. “The Jungle is no good,” he said. “There are problems. Sometimes there’s fighting. And it’s cold.” | He was thankful for the many donated clothes he had received and, it seemed, to leave the camp. “The Jungle is no good,” he said. “There are problems. Sometimes there’s fighting. And it’s cold.” |
| The French government, anxious to deflect criticism from charities over the destruction of the camp, calls its plan a “humanitarian intervention,” insisting that it is moving forward for the migrants’ own good. | The French government, anxious to deflect criticism from charities over the destruction of the camp, calls its plan a “humanitarian intervention,” insisting that it is moving forward for the migrants’ own good. |
| “The immense majority of migrants present at Calais are eligible for international protection,” the Interior Ministry said. Some, however, will not be granted asylum and will be expelled. | “The immense majority of migrants present at Calais are eligible for international protection,” the Interior Ministry said. Some, however, will not be granted asylum and will be expelled. |
| The humanitarian groups pressed the government to delay the Jungle’s shutdown, but there was little sentimentality among its residents over its demise. | The humanitarian groups pressed the government to delay the Jungle’s shutdown, but there was little sentimentality among its residents over its demise. |
| On Sunday evening, crowds of young Eritrean men moved down its principal lane, shouting in English: “Jungle is finished! Jungle is over!” | On Sunday evening, crowds of young Eritrean men moved down its principal lane, shouting in English: “Jungle is finished! Jungle is over!” |