Meanwhile, a genuine 10-year-old is stranded in Jungle
AS the furore over the ages of ‘child’ migrants being let into Britain continued yesterday, ten-year-old Imran was alone in The Jungle.
With no family to call on or turn to for help, the young Afghan is still no closer to his dream of a safe life in the UK.
Since he arrived in Calais four months ago, Imran – nicknamed after the former Pakistani cricket captain Imran Khan because he was hit on the head by a ball during a game of cricket at the camp – has lived in constant fear of violence and theft.
He is also painfully aware that his makeshift home is soon to be bulldozed.
His fate contrasts with that of other migrants who say they are under 18, but in some cases look much older, and who left for Britain this week.
Imran, slightly-built and under 5ft, is among dozens of children left in The Jungle. Volunteers say there are still at least ten unaccompanied boys aged under 12. Some as young as eight, they have taken to sleeping with 10in knives under their pillows. Many risk their lives each night trying to board lorries bound for Britain.
The Home Office says the operation to process all unaccompanied minors so they can come to Britain, regardless of whether they have family here, is under way. But it has come under fire for not acting quickly enough
Imran – who has as learned enough during his journey from Afghanistan to know not to reveal his birth name – told the Mail yesterday: ‘I just want to know... am I going to England today?’
‘The next day I ask... am I going to England today?’
Mary Jones, who runs the Kids’ Cafe at the camp, said: ‘Imran is one of the many left behind.
‘He hasn’t got anybody, he is by himself. He often asks to stay at my house, which unfortunately he can’t do.
‘Nobody knows what is going to happen to these children when the camp is demolished.’
‘He is one of the many left behind’