Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
EXCLUSIVE We won’t give up on our dream to reach England... We deserve a happy life too
REFUGEES in Calais say they are devastated by the deaths of 27 fellow asylum-seekers but insist they still dream of reaching the UK.
The refugees living in tents on wasteland near the French city’s main hospital told the Mirror of their determination.
Jon, a 27-year-old former electrical engineering student from Eritrea, said he and 13 other asylum seekers cheated death in the ocean on the day the 27 perished. He had set out on a small boat and paid £200 for his space on it.
The group waited in the shadows on the northern French coast from 9pm on Tuesday, watching as police intercepted a number of attempted crossings.
Freezing but determined, the group took to the Channel in a flimsy craft as police dispersed at 5am on Wednesday.
The boat quickly started filling with water until they were up to their necks.
They gave up and swam to shore. Five hours later, he learned of the deaths.
Jon said: “The boat was full, it was too
It is just absolutely devastating it simply didn’t have to happen MATT COWLING CHARITY WORKER ON THE 27 DEATHS
rough and we returned. These people have come through many tough areas – and they all die here in Europe trying to reach England. It is so bad.”
Jon left Eritrea in 2015. He said as a result of its authoritarian regime, there was no opportunity for a good life. Wednesday was his second near miss. In a previous attempt he was one of nine in a boat, including his brother.
When they realised how overloaded the boat was, Jon and his brother jumped off to give the rest a chance. “They all made it,” he said.
“The boat was going to sink, we would probably have all died.”
Refugees in Calais said people-smugglers’ prices of at least £2,000 per head for a 45-metre boat, with around 40-50 people squeezed in, meant the gang involved in Wednesday’s tragedy had taken at least £80,000 from those who died in the sea. Other estimates put the price as high as £6,000 per person.
Adul, a 31-year-old from Ethiopia, shares a pitch with 18-year-old Mohamed from Sudan, who fled his war-torn home nation aged just 14. Adul
dreams of reaching the UK, where he has a friend who works for a courier.
He fled Ethiopia in 2014 and has been in Calais for nine months. Adul says being victimised by racists made him leave Belgium and then Germany, where he had been staying.
As a charity handed out sandwiches, he told the Mirror hopefully: “In the UK, I don’t think it is like this.
“My friend went to England and he is happy, he has a family now.
“He works, he provides, he smiles. “This is what I want to do. I want to work, to contribute. We deserve a life too.” He said the sea conditions were too rough to attempt crossings in November. But he said in spite of this week’s tragedy, he would still take the risk when conditions improved.
“Sometimes, if the boats are full, they [the smugglers] might let one extra person on for free,” he said.
“Yes, I would do this. I cannot afford to do it the other way.”
Three weeks ago French authorities chopped down woodland where the refugees were camped, meaning around 600 were displaced and are now dispersed across Calais. The people we met were the few who remain. Charity Care 4 Calais welcomed us to a distribution site.
The organisation provides refugees with food, warm drinks, phone chargers and even a football or two.
As smiling men kick a ball around, it is hard to imagine what they have endured to reach this point.
Afghan brothers Mohip, 27, Erag, 18, and Ramen, 17, fled their home together and arrived in Calais hours before the fatal journey set off.
They are three of 12 siblings, seven brothers and five sisters. One brother lives in London. Erag admitted a white lie, saying: “My mum rings me and I tell her we are staying in a hotel.
“We have one brother in London and I have friends there too.
“They work in pizza shops, and are very happy. This is what we want too: To work, to learn. We speak English in Afghanistan, we learn it at school, so of course we want to come to England.
“The Taliban is in charge now back in my country and they have banned teaching English in schools.”
Matt Cowling, operations coordinator at Care 4 Calais, said of the 27 deaths: “It’s just absolutely devastating. It simply didn’t have to happen.
“We know how determined these guys are to cross. The system we have is all wrong. We have to ask ourselves ‘is this the best we can really do?’
“The policies [of UK and French governments] are clearly not working.”
Imogen Hardman, also from the charity, said the actions of the French authorities tended to mirror the perceived attitude towards asylum seekers of the UK government.