6,000 migrants moved from Calais camp
France in mammoth push to shut ‘the jungle’
CALAIS, France — France began the mass evacuation Monday of the makeshift migrant camp known as “the jungle,” a mammoth project to erase the humanitarian blight on its northern border, where thousands fleeing war or poverty have lived in squalor, most hoping to sneak into Britain.
Before dawn broke, long lines of migrants waited in chilly temperatures to board buses in the port city of Calais, carrying meagre belongings and timid hope that they were headed to a brighter future, despite giving up their dreams of life across the English Channel in Britain.
Closely watched by more than 1,200 police, the first of dozens of buses began transferring them to reception centres around France where they can apply for asylum. More police patrolled inside the camp, among them officers from the London police force.
Authorities were expected to begin tearing down thousands of muddy tents and fragile shelters today.
Migrants have flocked to the Calais region for nearly two decades, living in mini-jungles. But the sprawling camp in the sand dunes of northern France became emblematic of Europe’s migrant crisis, expanding as migrant numbers grew and quickly evolving into Europe’s largest slum.
“It’s not good, the jungle,” said Mahmoud Abdrahman, 31, of Sudan. “Eating not good. Water not good, shelter not good, no good toilets.” He said he would leave today when lines were shorter, gesturing to a black knapsack that was all packed to go as proof he was ready.
Ultimately, Abdrahman said, he wanted one thing more than anything else.
“I need peace,” he said. “Anywhere.”
Home to migrants from Afghanistan, Sudan, Eritrea, Syria and elsewhere, the closing of the camp fell like a stone on many as the reality of the evacuation sunk in and plans had to be made. Uncertainty and a lack of precise information left many fearful.
“What should I do?” asked a 14-year-old newly arrived Afghan.
“It is really hard because we have found some good friends over here,” said Tariq Shinwari, a 26-year-old Afghan.
The camp shutdown left some, such as Imran Khan, an Afghan who was fingerprinted in another country before coming to France, with a tough choice — get on a bus and risk expulsion or go on the run as winter approaches. Under European rules, asylum seekers must be returned to the country where they were fingerprinted on arrival.
“I will decide tomorrow what to do,” the 35-year-old said.
By nightfall on Monday, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said 1,918 people had been processed and sent to 80 centres around France. Another 400 unaccompanied minors were being housed in heated shelters at the camp.
The numbers were lower than the 3,000 expected to be evacuated Monday. The operation is expected to last a week, Cazeneuve said. “This is an operation we want to be peaceful and under control. So far it is,” he said.
Authorities say the camp holds nearly 6,500 migrants, while aid groups put the number at more than 8,300, with more than 1,200 unaccompanied minors among them.
Unaccompanied minors, many with family members in Britain, were to be housed on-site in containers set up this year as their files are studied in London to see if they qualify for a transfer. The humanitarian organization France Terre d’Asile says 1,291 unaccompanied minors live in the camp.
In a breakthrough, Cazeneuve announced late Monday that Britain had agreed to take in unaccompanied minors with family ties in Britain, an important step after months of prodding by France.
Officials have said that there will be a solution for each migrant, though expulsion may be among them for those who don’t qualify for asylum.