A French perspective on Calais

The jungle camps have existed for much longer than you think


The situation in Calais certainly is not new as the ‘Jungle’ camps first appeared in the late 1990s, but it is getting worse every day. As of October 2016, the estimated number of migrants who currently live there ranges from 6,500 to 10,000. Soon, the ‘Jungle’ will be completely dismantled and the migrants relocated.

Firstly, it is outrageous that in almost twenty years, neither France nor the UK have actively tried to make the living situation better for the migrants in the camps.

If they can afford to co-fund the construction of a fence and reinforce security in Calais to prevent them from crossing the border, then surely they could have afforded to build infrastructures to improve the migrants’ living conditions in camps over the last two decades.

I highly doubt dismantling the camps and making it harder to cross the borders is a long-term solution, if a solution at all, especially considering that parts of the camp have been demolished in the past only to come back bigger later.

Rather than using taxpayers’ money to invest in such drastic measures, I think the money would be better spent on building decent sanitary facilities, more accommodations, healthcare and psychological support for the migrants, basic education needs for the children and so on. The situation would be far more simple to handle that way, I believe.

Secondly, I understand that French and British citizens may be tired of this situation – especially truck drivers, Calais locals and police forces. However, I think we should also take into consideration the migrants’ point of view as this is a lot harder on them.

Imagine living in the same conditions while being socially excluded or even rejected and not benefiting from any help that could structure your life and environment (such as education). Wouldn’t it be normal for you to go as far as risking your life and that of others to get out of this situation?

The media often portrays them as demented and uncivilized people who attack buses and trucks, but maybe their actions would make more sense to us if we lived under the same treatment.

What they need is for us to show a sense of acceptance and then give them the chance they deserve to have a decent life by providing them with basic needs.

It is important to denounce how slow and inefficient both the French and British governments have been in handling this issue.

While undocumented migrants and the ones claiming asylum in France should be taken care of by French authorities, those with proof of identity and who have family legally living in the UK should be able to cross the Channel to claim asylum in the UK.

Finally, both governments ought to act fast to solve the issue as the ‘Jungle’ is currently being demolished and hundreds of migrants moved from camps.