French protest demands open borders for asylum seekers

No Border, a European organisation which seeks to improve conditions for homeless illegal immigrants and asylum seekers, held a demonstration yesterday in Calais, France, to defend the thousands of people trying to get to the UK by illegal means.

Europe is a natural destination for refugees from many parts of the world, from Afghanistan to Algeria, Iraq to Iran, Sri Lanka to Somalia. There are thousands of them dotted around European countries, having entered European territory primarily via Italy, Spain and other Southern European countries. Many of them do not stay in those countries however, preferring to move north to richer countries such as Germany, France, Scandinavia and Britain, in order to find work and start a new life. Their favourite destination by far, however, is Britain, which many of them believe offers the most advantageous conditions of housing, job and financial help. Those looking to be accepted into Europe as asylum candidates also believe that their chances of being accepted are higher in Britain. That is why thousands of them have congregated around Calais over the years, often in appalling conditions. The Channel Tunnel, the undersea rail link between the European mainland and England, is situated very near Calais and its seaport is the largest point of departure for sea ferries to Britain due to its being situated so close to England, the coast of which, in the form of the famous White Cliffs of Dover, can be seen from there on a clear day. Many of these migrants have died in attempts to get there. The demonstration cortege consisted of between one and two thousand people, depending on estimates, and contained left-wing militants and anti world trade protesters, as well as trade unionists. They were mainly French, British, Belgian, Dutch and German nationals. Around sixty of them had been arrested in the days leading up to the demonstration as they converged on Calais, mainly for the possession of arms or dangerous objects such as knives and axes. The demonstration was heavily surveilled by anti-riot police, who also deployed a surveillance helicopter and water cannons. Banner slogans included “Workers or Immigrants, it’s the same Fight” and “Immigration means Wealth for France.” There were no major incidents during the march but the issues that led to it remain largely unresolved. Britain and France have never been able to agree on a joint policy for dealing with the problem of would-be illegal immigrants into Britain. The British have accused the French of not dealing effectively with the problem of the thousands of migrants congregating around Calais, and the French blame the UK for what they claim to be its lax immigration policies. Both blame the European union for not having a uniform immigration policy. The most tragic episode in this ongoing situation was the creation of a massive refugee camp in nearby Sangatte by the Red Cross. Opened in 1999, it was based in and around disused industrial premises which were constructed, ironically, for Channel Tunnel equipment. It held thousands of people in squalid conditions for several years and was situated very near the Tunnel, provoking the ire of British authorities. People would leave the camp by various means and try desperately to reach Britain alone, or in groups, using Euro-tunnel trains. Methods used included jumping onto moving trains bound for Britain from bridges, and riding underneath trains after having accessed them by provoking their immobilisation by sabotaging railway equipment. Many people have been killed or injured during these attempts. Another method used was being smuggled aboard trucks using Eurostar trains. Some people managed to board trucks without their drivers knowing, often at gas stations or truck parking facilities, whilst others were smuggled by organised crime. This method also led to the deaths of individuals, notably by suffocation due to heat in summer months. In one incident, over twenty people died of suffocation in a truck used by an organised crime network. Rioting was also frequent at Sangatte, and in an incident which took place in 2001, over 500 people stormed the camp’s fences and tried to board trains and lorries en masse. The camp was finally closed in 2002, after an estimated 60 thousand illegal migrants had entered British territory after being held there. The number of migrants in the Calais area has dropped since then, and they are now estimated to number around 1500 at any given time, around 50 of whom manage to enter Britain illegally each week. The migrant population today includes mainly Afghans, Eritreans, Irakians and Somalians. Most of them live in appalling conditions in a shanty town constructed in the woods near the Tunnel, commonly known as “The Jungle.”