CALAIS UPDATE

SchNEWS travels to Calais in the wake of the eviction of Africa House...

Following the eviction of Africa House two weeks ago (see SchNEWS 727), the remaining Calais migrants are now camped out in hidden ‘jungles’ and small scale squats scattered around the city.

The surly CRS cruise the streets in riot vans and constantly raid the camps and squats, sending the migrants sprinting to hiding places in the bushes or the nooks and crannies of abandoned buildings. As one Sudanese man commented, “Here we live the life of rats”. The success of the migrants in evading the CRS has led to an increase in arrests as they walk to the food distribution centre, something the CRS has agreed in writing not to do. No Borders activists are now trying to escort migrants on their way to eat.

The presence of No Borders activists is crucial in preventing police abuses. The establishment of a morning police watch with whistles and an air horn to warn migrants put a stop to the early morning raids that had plagued the new African squat. And although SchNEWS got called an “English dog” by a CRS officer with a ginger Poirot-esque moustache, the police can do little except glare and take passport details.

SchNEWS spoke to migrants who had fled wars, dictators and extreme poverty, people who had left their families behind and risked everything, including their lives, to try for a better life. They were bewildered at how the fabled democracies of Europe could treat them with such inhuman brutality and racism and could have such disregard for their own laws. A Sudanese man told SchNEWS, “In Africa, they say if you have a problem, go to Europe. But we are here and life is very bad. We have no answers.” But they spoke with respect for the No Borders activists and the work they carry out, a number proudly proclaiming “I am No Borders”.

However, numbers are currently low and activists limited in what they can achieve. Those on the ground are urgently calling out for more people to take the short ferry hop over (free if you sweet talk you way into a car) and make a real difference to desperate people.

* See calaismigrantsolidarity.wordpress.com