Clashes as French authorities pull down homes in Calais 'Jungle' Camp
Police fire teargas at migrants who threw stones, and shelters set on fire, after authorities dismantle dozens of makeshift shacks in refugee camp.
Clashes have broken out in Calais121 between migrants and riot police after authorities began to dismantle parts of the
sprawling refugee camp known as the Jungle.
A British refugee aid group said it believed the homes of up to 200 people Of the approximately 3,500 living in the
camp had been demolished so far, and that a number of other makeshift shelters were burning.
Some homes appeared to have been set alight by the heat of teargas canisters fired at crowds by riot police, said a
spokeswoman for the British volunteer group Help Refugees, while some residents seem to have set others on fire in
protest.
"Police are still periodically firing teargas to keep back the crowds," she said. "We can see six homes on fire now."
Video footage(41 from a volunteer inside the camp showed residents running away from clouds of teargas. Reuters said
police fired teargas at about 150 migrants and activists who threw stones, and at least three shelters were on fire.
The work began calmly in the early morning, with orange-vested work crews painstakingly dismantling several dozen
makeshift wood-and-tarpaulin shacks by hand before two diggers loaded the debris into large trucks. Police in riot
gear shielded the work, and initially there were no reports of unrest beyond a report of one British activist being
arrested.
Volunteer groups said the work began with officials telling residents they had an hour to leave before their home was
demolished.
The prefecture of Calais, which late last week won a court battle allowing demolition to begin, wants to clear large
parts of the southern part of the site, on dune land just west of the town's busy docks. It adjoins the road leading to
the ferry terminal, a draw for migrants seeking to smuggle themselves on to trucks bound for the UK.
Volunteer groups have warned that moving people from the camp will do little but disperse many elsewhere around
Calais. A UK-based group, the Refugee Rights Data Project, said that of 460 Jungle residents asked what they would do
if the camp was dismantled, said they would remain in Calais or move to a more basic refugee encampment in
nearby Dunkirk.
The study suggested authorities' plans to evict people "is unlikely to provide a viable solution to the current
humanitarian crisis on our doorstep", said Marta Welander, founder of the Refugee Rights Data Project.
Of those who lost their homes on Monday, some had moved into space elsewhere in the camp, Help Refugees said,
while others had been seen carrying sleeping bags into Calais.
"We don't really know yet what people will do, but it seems likely some will just be dispersed to other areas around
Calais," a spokeswoman said.
Clare Moseley, of Care4Calais (51, another British volunteer group, said prefecture officials arrived at the camp at 7am
and gave residents an hour's notice to leave or face arrest. "The police presence is massive," she said. "They have the
whole area cordoned off." French media reported that about 40 vans of riot police were in position near the site.
Workmen start to dismantle a section of the camp. Photograph: Pascal Rossignol/Reuters
Help Refugees said some of its volunteers had been blocked on Monday morning from entering the camp, home to
refugees and migrants from countries including Syria, Afghanistan, Sudan, Eritrea, Iran, Pakistan and Egypt.
A spokeswoman said the demolition began in a section of the camp with a mostly Iranian population: "People were
being told they had to leave," she said, "otherwise they would be arrested. A lot of people seemed quite confused."
A spokesman for the Calais prefecture denied there was a vast new clearing operation underway. He said French
officials from asylum agencies and Other state agencies would continue to go from tent to tent to talk to talk to
migrants about their options, as they had done last week.
He said: "There is a reinforced police presence today to allow those officials to enter and talk to people. But this is a
gradual process which will take place over several days and weeks. There will be no bulldozers."
Fabienne Buccio, the head of the Calais prefecture, said three-quarters of the homes in the southern part of the camp
were now empty after officials encouraged residents to leave over recent days.
Police were needed, she said, in case what she described as "extremists" tried to stop migrants accepting offers of new
accommodation or buses to centres elsewhere in France
French authorities said earlier this month they intended to bulldoze half of the main camp, warning between 800 and
1 ,000 migrants and refugees to leave a seven-hectare southern section of the site. Buccio previously told Le Monde she
intended to reduce the size of the camp by about half.
An anti-riot policeman throws a tear gas grenade during the dismantling Of the camp Photograph: Philippe
Care4Calais is among the groups that have opposed the dismantlement plans in the French courts. A legal appeal
against last Thursday's ruling had been lodged last week, Moseley said, and was expected to be heard soon.
A Help Refugees spokeswoman said Monday's work did appear to be the start of wider clearance. "That's what it's
looking like. They did say it's going to be slow and respectful, giving people options, and I suppose they have in a way.
But at the same time they're not giving people access to information. One person was seen being given their options as
their shelter was being dismantled, so the respect they talked about last week isn't really happening."
While some residents have moved into shipping container shelters and a small number have left on state-provided
coaches to centres elsewhere in France, many more than the official estimate of 800 to 1,000 people remained inside
the main camp. A census carried out by two charities recorded 3,455 people living there, with one group telling the
Guardian this week that this included 445 children, of whom 305 were unaccompanied.
parts of the southern part of the site, on dune land just west of the town's busy docks. It adjoins the road leading to
the ferry terminal, a draw for migrants seeking to smuggle themselves on to trucks bound for the UK.
Volunteer groups have warned that moving people from the camp will do little but disperse many elsewhere around
Calais. A UK-based group, the Refugee Rights Data Project, said that of 460 Jungle residents asked what they would do
if the camp was dismantled, said they would remain in Calais or move to a more basic refugee encampment in
nearby Dunkirk.
The study suggested authorities' plans to evict people "is unlikely to provide a viable solution to the current
humanitarian crisis on our doorstep", said Marta Welander, founder of the Refugee Rights Data Project.
Of those who lost their homes on Monday, some had moved into space elsewhere in the camp, Help Refugees said,
while others had been seen carrying sleeping bags into Calais.
"We don't really know yet what people will do, but it seems likely some will just be dispersed to other areas around
Calais," a spokeswoman said.
Clare Moseley, of Care4Calais (51, another British volunteer group, said prefecture officials arrived at the camp at 7am
and gave residents an hour's notice to leave or face arrest. "The police presence is massive," she said. "They have the
whole area cordoned off." French media reported that about 40 vans of riot police were in position near the site.
Workmen start to dismantle a section of the camp. Photograph: Pascal Rossignol/Reuters
Help Refugees said some of its volunteers had been blocked on Monday morning from entering the camp, home to
refugees and migrants from countries including Syria, Afghanistan, Sudan, Eritrea, Iran, Pakistan and Egypt.
A spokeswoman said the demolition began in a section of the camp with a mostly Iranian population: "People were
being told they had to leave," she said, "otherwise they would be arrested. A lot of people seemed quite confused."
A spokesman for the Calais prefecture denied there was a vast new clearing operation underway. He said French
officials from asylum agencies and Other state agencies would continue to go from tent to tent to talk to talk to
migrants about their options, as they had done last week.
He said: "There is a reinforced police presence today to allow those officials to enter and talk to people. But this is a
gradual process which will take place over several days and weeks. There will be no bulldozers."
Fabienne Buccio, the head of the Calais prefecture, said three-quarters of the homes in the southern part of the camp
were now empty after officials encouraged residents to leave over recent days.
Police were needed, she said, in case what she described as "extremists" tried to stop migrants accepting offers of new
accommodation or buses to centres elsewhere in France
French authorities said earlier this month they intended to bulldoze half of the main camp, warning between 800 and
1 ,000 migrants and refugees to leave a seven-hectare southern section of the site. Buccio previously told Le Monde she
intended to reduce the size of the camp by about half.
An anti-riot policeman throws a tear gas grenade during the dismantling Of the camp Photograph: Philippe
Care4Calais is among the groups that have opposed the dismantlement plans in the French courts. A legal appeal
against last Thursday's ruling had been lodged last week, Moseley said, and was expected to be heard soon.
A Help Refugees spokeswoman said Monday's work did appear to be the start of wider clearance. "That's what it's
looking like. They did say it's going to be slow and respectful, giving people options, and I suppose they have in a way.
But at the same time they're not giving people access to information. One person was seen being given their options as
their shelter was being dismantled, so the respect they talked about last week isn't really happening."
While some residents have moved into shipping container shelters and a small number have left on state-provided
coaches to centres elsewhere in France, many more than the official estimate of 800 to 1,000 people remained inside
the main camp. A census carried out by two charities recorded 3,455 people living there, with one group telling the
Guardian this week that this included 445 children, of whom 305 were unaccompanied.
Response: The migrant situation is a huge humanitarian issue; however, the French
authorities seem to believe that dismantling the camps where these migrants are
working is going to solve the problem. This article is clearly biased towards
the migrants and against French authorities. The authors used statistics and
numbers to help pull at our heart strings and shock us at the number of
migrants who are now being thrown out of their makeshift homes. The authors are
telling of how many people have been recorded living in these camps and they make
sure to mention that out of the 445 children counted, 305 of those children are
unaccompanied. Inserting statements such as these influence how the reader
assess the situation. Besides the clear bias the information they use is valid
and reinforces their point throughout the whole article. Because the author's
bias there is most likely some information left out of this article that could
clear up the French authorities true intentions. Personally, I think that
expelling migrants from the only "home" they know is far from any
kind of solution. There are now hundreds of migrants heading into Calais to
live on the streets and others heading to other nearby camps. Dispersing this
camp just leads to the other camps growing larger, it has no real effect.
Citation: Chrisafis, Angelique; Peter Walker. “Clashes as French authorities pull
down homes in Calais ‘Jungle’ Camp.” 29 Feb. 2016. Guardian News and Media
Limited. 1 March 2016. < http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/29/french-authorities-begin-clearance-of-part-of-calais-jungle-camp>
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