Refugee camps in northern France have become some of the biggest vectors of Europe’s largest refugee crisis since 1945. Thousands of migrants and refugees live here undocumented, bereft of adequate housing, food, and other conditions required for a stable lifestyle. Ignored by the French authorities, these camps exist unregulated, and away from the rule of law.
In 2015, more than a million migrants and refugees crossed into Europe. In the first two months of 2016 alone, 135,000 people crossed over, mostly from the Middle East and Africa. More than 80% of the refugees are from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan- areas where there is civil war and other internal strifes. Other causes that are resulting in people crossing over to Europe from countries like Morocco, Somalia, Iran, and Pakistan include human rights abuses, extreme poverty, and an upswing in terror activities.
This mass movement of people across borders has led some European countries to be more recalcitrant about border control.
Most of the refugees that are camping out at Calais, a few miles away from the coast of southern England, are hoping to someday cross the border where they may be allowed to live normal, healthy lives.
Inhabitants of these camps, called Calais’s “Jungle”, sometimes try desperate measures like breaking through the fences and entering the Eurotunnel terminal, or even hiding on Eurotunnel trains. Some get killed in the process.
Photographing the 'Jungle' of Calais' refugee camp https://t.co/BL1210MI4Npic.twitter.com/meNVYNsGsC
— Archinect (@archinect) May 20, 2016
The reason that most refugees don’t want to seek asylum in France is because, apart from complicated employment laws for refugees and migrants, the French police often treat them with extreme cruelty, often using tear gas to maintain security around the camp, and ignoring their deplorable living conditions. Some refugees escape violence in their home countries only to find that they are treated similarly in Calais. Those that seek asylum are often housed in conditions worse than those found in the Jungle.
But England is becoming increasingly reluctant to welcome migrants and refugees from Europe, especially as a referendum on England’s EU membership comes up in a month. Last year, the UK funded extra security at the Eurotunnel terminal as well as more fencing.
Care4Calais is an organization dedicated to distributing food and clothing to refugees that are living in impoverished conditions in Calais, France.
Clare Moseley, one of the founders of the organization, was reading an online article on refugees, but what made her upset were the streams of enraged online comments, some of which asked for Britain’s military to wipe out the scores of migrants and refugees in northern France waiting to cross the English Channel.
It motivated her to move from Liverpool, England, to Calais in France to do what she could to help these immigrants and refugees.
Other British volunteers strongly believe that their national identity is grounded in a history of multiplicity and diversity. They decided to volunteer because they wanted to do anything they could to improve the lives of people living just a few miles away from them.
In the absence of any filtering system or police checks in the refugee camps that make up the Jungle, living conditions are unsanitary to say the least. Last fall, after the water supply was discovered to be containing traces of E. coli bacteria, two non-governmental organizations took the local authorities to court.
When the previous governing body of Calais demolished the camp, instead of solving any problems, living conditions got worse. Inhabitants of the demolished areas simply shifted base to different, much smaller settlements, ending up in more crowded and unhygienic conditions than before.
The horror of the Calais refugee camp: 'We feel like we are dying slowly' : https://t.co/XfbI8ZTBso
— Slavebrain (@myslavebrain) May 9, 2016
The lack of proper amenities to facilitate clean, healthy lifestyles by the French authorities is what has motivated volunteers and organizations to build whatever little infrastructure exists within these camps.
Volunteers have set up small educational centers, medical clinics, as well as libraries. They also provide food, clothing, medicine and other basic necessities.
In a small ray of hope, a bill to accept unaccompanied child refugees from Europe was passed in Britain earlier this month only after facing tremendous public pressure. Similarly, political will needs to be mustered in France to improve the conditions of people living in camps.
While the governments of France and U.K. are trying to implement policies which will make it more difficult for refugees to live in their countries, global citizens like these volunteers are setting examples for others all over the world- to help those in need.