MIGRANTS LIVING IN A TUNNEL
They came here from Lithuania eight years ago full of hope. Now they’re destitute — and warning others not to come to Britain
HOMELESS Eastern European men living in squalor under a bridge after struggling to find work have warned fellow migrants against coming to Britain, telling them: ‘You could end up like this.’
The group have set up a precarious home on a canal towpath where they sleep on old sofas surrounded by broken glass and litter.
The makeshift camp beneath a road in Salford less than a mile from Manchester city centre is a few hundred yards from one of many new apartment developments where trendy flats sell for as much as £365,000.
Two of the men, Lithuanians who would only give their names as Tolik and Valeriy, said they are struggling to find work and unable to claim benefits. Both came to Britain to work and send money home.
They said they cannot afford the cost of returning home despite flights to the Lithuanian capital Vilnius being advertised for as little as £24.99.
Valeriy, who has three children in Lithuania aged 13, 15 and 27, said: ‘Peo- ple should understand that if they come here they will end up like this.’
The 43-year- old, a truck driver by trade, was encouraged to move to the UK by a friend around a decade ago and worked in a chicken factory for three months. But he struggled with English and subsequently could not find work. He has been homeless in Manchester for eight years.
Valeriy said he has never told his children about his living conditions. He said: ‘If I told them they would probably come here and take me home but I don’t want to be a burden for them. Their life is not easy either. I would be an extra mouth to feed. Here I can find food.
‘I just wish I could find my happiness but I can’t find it.’
The overall Lithuanian unemployment rate was 8.3 per cent in February against 4.7 per cent in the UK the same month. The average wage in the country in 2016 was 827 euros (£700).
Tolik, who also lives in the shelter beside the former Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal, declared in broken English: ‘If I get some money I can go home. I want a normal life.’
The father of seven said he arrived in the UK eight years ago looking for work.
Tolik, 57, worked in his home country, which joined the EU in 2004, for 27 years and hoped to do the same in England. But after working in a factory in London he came to Manchester and was homeless within months.
No longer able to send money home, he is desperate to find work again and has been learning English in the hope of increasing his chances.
The men have retained some semblance of pride, their few possessions kept neatly in a set of plastic drawers. Clothes are hung from a railing to prevent them getting dirty.
The floor is littered with broken bottles, tin cans and food wrappers. But amongst the dirt is a bottle of Febreze air freshener and a sponge, hung up next to an old toilet bowl.
The perilous nature of their situation is illustrated by the presence of knives and a hammer. Tolik said: ‘I will not live like people live on the streets. We have a sofa and bedding, it’s very comfortable.’
He added that he showers three times a week in hostels, and washes his face at the toilets in a garage.
Neither man has said how their families are coping without them being able send money home.
The camp, housing four to five men at one time, is one of several used around the city by homeless Eastern European migrants who move between locations on a regular basis.
Bruno Kalsers, who also lives rough by the canal, worked as a postman in his Latvian homeland before coming to the UK ‘six or seven years ago’.
Unlike Valeriy or Tolik, the 29year-old said he did not want to go back and is happy sleeping rough without a job although he claims to have had jobs with
‘I haven’t told my children how I live’
Amazon and in a McDonald’s restaurant. But he added: ‘I like my freedom.’
Mr Kalsers said he previously claimed jobseekers’ allowance of £73.10 a week but did not want to be forced to look for work or attend interviews – and last received a payment ‘two to three months ago’ after which he moved to the camp.
Because of their status as rough sleepers who are not actively looking for work the migrants are ineligible for benefits normally available for EU citizens such as jobseekers’ allowance or child benefit.
Their right to UK residence is also questionable because this is currently only available for EU migrants who have been a worker, job seeker or student continuously for at least five years.
The co-founder of a homeless charity in Manchester who is helping the men living by the canal said ‘more and more’ makeshift camps are springing up in the city.
Hendrix Lancaster, 38, who helped found Coffee for Craig, which helps feed hundreds of homeless people across the city every week, said: ‘Their only option is going home but in many cases what would they be going back home to?’
Figures from the Department for Communities and Local Government showed the number of rough sleepers across the country rose 16 per cent from 3,569 to 4,134 in the 12 months to autumn 2016.
Almost one fifth, 17 per cent, were EU nationals. Most of the increase was outside London. While rough sleepers in the capital grew by 3 per cent, the year-onyear increase elsewhere was 21 per cent.