Resistance is growing to French government plans to bulldoze the southern half of the “Jungle” refugee camp near Calais. Residents were told on Friday that they will be forcibly moved out from next Wednesday morning. Refugees and the NGOs that work with them have taken legal action to stop the evictions. The hearing is set for Tuesday 23rd February at 2pm in Lille, the regional capital, about 100km from Calais.
Stand Up To Racism has called a demonstration outside Downing Street in central London at 6pm on Monday (22nd February). For details see the Facebook page.
The southern part of the camp includes the Women and Children’s Centre, the newly built Youth Centre—which offers help to young people, including the many unaccompanied minors, three mosques, one Orthodox church and three schools as well as the camp’s only library, and the Good Chance Theatre.
Fabienne Buccio, the French government’s local representative in Calais, said: “The time has come to move on, no one must live in the southern part of the camp, everyone must leave this section.”
Officials say they want to clear the unhygienic camp, but no viable alternative accommodation options have been offered for the refugees to move to, so they will effectively be rendered homeless. The real solution is to allow the few thousand people there to come to Britain to claim asylum as they are asking.
Residents in the camp believe that this is just the next stage in a plan to bulldoze the whole camp. Already 600 people were forced to move last month when a 100m strip of the camp was bulldozed.
The call to let refugee children into Britain was joined by 145 celebrities who signed a letter to David Cameron yesterday calling on the prime minster to interveneIncluding Idris Elba, Benedict Cumberbatch, Helena Bonham Carter, Stephen Fry, Jude Law, Steve Coogan and Colin Firth.
Join the Refugees Welcome Here demonstration on Saturday 19th March.