Children leave camp ahead of bulldozers
BRITAIN/FRANCE: The largest group of child refugees to date, including more than 50 girls, arrived in Britain yesterday from the Calais Jungle, as officials scrambled to evacuate as many youngsters as possible from the French camp before its demolition begins today.
More than 80 children were transferred to London in buses, including two reserved for the first significant batch of girls brought to the UK under a Home Office rescue plan.
Ministers believe about a third of the 1300 unaccompanied minors living in the Jungle camp may be eligible to come to the UK.
Yet by Friday night (local time) only about 75 children had been transferred, as part of a botched operation that has seen critics questioning the ages of some of the new arrivals.
Some newspapers have claimed one migrant who arrived last week could be as old as 38. Those leaving Calais included 55 girls, believed to be aged between 14 and 17 and mainly of Eritrean origin, who smiled and waved at photographers.
Officials are racing against time to move the children from the Jungle camp, which is expected to be cleared and bulldozed by the end of this week.
Charities and MPs fear some of the most vulnerable migrants including children as young as 10 could be exploited and abused by criminals if they are not swiftly resettled. More than 100 children went missing when a previous camp in Calais was dismantled.
‘‘With the camp demolition now expected to begin, many of these children could just disappear back into the arms of the trafficking and prostitution gangs,’’ said Yvette Cooper, the new chairwoman of the Commons home affairs committee.
"With the camp demolition now expected to begin, many of these children could just disappear back into the arms of the trafficking and prostitution gangs." Yvette Cooper, chairwoman of the UK Commons home affairs committee
The UK Home Office has prioritised the cases of about 200 children in Calais who are able to join relatives already in Britain. They include Shamsher Sherin, the 13-year-old Afghan boy to whom pop singer Lily Allen apologised ‘‘on behalf of my country’’ during a recent visit to the Jungle camp.
However, charities say at least 200 more unaccompanied children, and possibly as many as 500, should be allowed passage to Britain under changes introduced to immigration law this year by Lord Dubs, who fled the Nazis as a child. A small number of these so-called Dubs children were among yesterday’s arrivals but the fate of the majority will be at stake when the French authorities start dismantling the Jungle.
While thousands of adult migrants are expected to be moved forcibly to other parts of France, The Sunday Times understands the remaining children will be housed in shipping containers on the existing site while their applications for resettlement are processed.
The move was heavily criticised by refugee groups. ‘‘These children are not being treated as humans and the actions of the French and British governments reinforce the message that their lives have no value,’’ said Social Workers Without Borders.
The youngsters could be surrounded by violent scenes as many adult migrants are refusing to vacate the Jungle. All leave for police in the region has reportedly been cancelled. Aid workers also fear the camp’s demolition will lead to the growth of other unofficial sites in northern France.
Amber Rudd, the home secretary, told parliament this month that ‘‘we should particularly prioritise those under the age of 12 because they are the most vulnerable’’.
However, virtually all the children transferred to Britain are believed to be older. Until yesterday, only a handful of girls had been brought over from Calais. Citizens UK, a charity involved in the resettlement process, drew up a list of eligible children this summer but the French and British authorities only started the chaotic transfers 10 days ago, resulting in older migrants pushing their way to the front of the queue.- Sunday Times