Calais Witnesses's Blog

Calais Migrants on hunger strike

Calais Witnesses — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 09:30:16 +0000

EMBARGO 12 NOON FRENCH TIME, WEDNESDAY 30TH SEPTEMBER

As of 12am French time today a group of migrants in Calais started a highly visible hunger strike in a public place. The migrants, from regions including Iran, Afghanistan, Sudan, Palestine, and Egypt, say they will continue the strike until Western countries co-operate to offer them asylum. They are also demanding that no migrant in Calais is readmitted to Greece, Italy or Malta.

The migrants face constant harassment from police. Every day some amongst their number are arrested, taken to the police station only to be released in four to six hours. Occasionally they are held for as long as two days. Repression intensified recently with the destruction of the jungle where many migrants lived, the trigger-happy use of tear gas including on pregnant women, destruction of personal belongings and the targeting of migrants observing fasting during Ramadan by arresting them at nightfall and throwing away their food. If the police try to separate the hunger strikers or arrest them on spurious grounds, they say they will continue the hunger strike while under arrest and move again to a public space to continue the action when freed.

No Borders activists are already supporting the hunger strikers by standing alongside them, but the migrants are calling for support from all over the world. Messages of support can be left at http://calaishungerstrike.wordpress.com and the hunger strikers welcome anyone who wants to join the hunger strike in solidarity whether in Calais or elsewhere.

Benjamin, 38, an asylum seeker from Iran, says: “The police tell us we cannot be here but we have nowhere to go. The world is ignoring us so we are making our suffering public by going on hunger strike in full view. Tourists moving through the port and exercising their freedom of movement will be forced to see our lack of freedom until Western governments work together to offer us somewhere to build a new life safely.”

With migrants facing increasing repression and winter approaching, the situation is urgent. But they say Western countries should not abrogate their responsibilities by readmitting migrants to the first European country they were fingerprinted in. Many migrants who are readmitted to Italy, Greece and Malta say the situation is much worse there than living clandestinely in Calais and that they are oppressed there. In Greece, readmitted migrants are often locked up for three months and increasingly for six months. On release, migrants still have nowhere to go and continue to be targeted by police who beat them and sometimes rip up their papers. Readmission is not the solution according to the hunger strikers – countries including the UK, Canada, USA and Sweden should take a proportion of the hunger strikers.

For further information, or to arrange an interview with one of the hunger strikers, call 0033634810710.

http://calaismigrrantsolidarity.wordpress.com HYPERLINK “http://calaismigrantsolidarity.wordpress.com/” http://calaismigrantsolidarity.wordpress.com

calaisolidarity@gmail.com

Refugees in Calais ‘Jungle’ barrred from crossing UK shores

Calais Witnesses — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 09:56:49 +0000

Article published in The Independent on Sunday:

Refugees in Calais ‘Jungle’ barred from crossing UK shores

By Emily Dugan

Britain will not take any of the 2,000 asylum-seekers to be evicted, among them Afghans and Iraqis

French police are expected to move this week to shut down the squalid refugee camp known as “the Jungle”, where around 2,000 asylum-seekers, many from Afghanistan and Iraq, have gathered in an effort to reach Britain.
The Government yesterday shrugged off calls from Antonio Guterres, head of the UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, to take some of the refugees before they are evicted. The Refugee Council also called yesterday for a small proportion of the refugees to be granted asylum, arguing that it could be the “right solution”.
Speaking from the camp, at the southern mouth of the Channel Tunnel, Saeed Khan, 25, described the horror and terror of life in the Jungle.
“I’ve been living in the Jungle for two and a half months,” he said. “I travelled straight from Afghanistan to France and I was planning to apply for asylum, but the system they have here made me think about it twice. They just don’t care.
“In France, if you apply for asylum, you sometimes have to wait for three to five weeks before you even get somewhere to live. They need to change the law here; it’s very harsh and designed for dogs, not people.”
Conditions inside the camp are also harsh, Mr Khan said, with little in the way of hygiene and medical facilities.
“The Jungle is cold and there are a lot of infections and skin diseases like scabies. There are two NGOs working here who bring food and without them we wouldn’t survive. We are living in plastic tents and the water is not clean. There are only three showers, but there are more than 400 of us, and there’s just one doctor. All he can do is give out paracetamol.
“In two and a half months I’ve only seen the UNHCR come here twice. They’re not doing enough. We all want to go to England.”
The dream of all the refugees in the camp is a new life in Britain. The difficulty lies in crossing the Channel. Mr Khan described the desperate attempts the asylum-seekers make.
“Getting into a lorry is the only way of getting across the Channel,” he said. “I’ve tried it eight times now, but every time the French authorities have found me. Once, they held me in prison for 24 hours, but all the other times they just said to ‘go back to the Jungle’. That’s the only words they know. They don’t explain what to do next or how to claim asylum.
“Why do people want to go to England? They want to live peacefully and have a human quality of life. I left Afghanistan because it was dangerous, but it’s scary here, too. People are putting their lives at risk again just to get to England and find peace. I fled because my life was in danger. I was an interpreter for Isaf [the International Security Assistance Force] for two years and then I was working in a unit that investigated inside the government. We looked at who was taking bribes. I didn’t get problems working as an interpreter, but I did when I was making investigations into my superiors; they didn’t like it.”
He added that even in France he doesn’t feel safe. “It’s unacceptable for me to stay in Calais, even if the Jungle stayed on. I’m always living in fear because I don’t know who’s living with me there. The Taliban killed a guy in Calais, so I never say who I was.
“My mother, father, brothers and sisters are all in Afghanistan. They’re safe because no one knows where they are. I have a house in Kabul and in my village, but it’s not safe. I can’t live in my own country or in my own house, Instead, I’m stuck in something that’s not even a tent. Nobody’s listening as we have no voice. Nobody cares.”

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/refugees-in-calais-jungle-barred-from-crossing-uk-shores-1790454.html

Closure of the jungle: the rights of people must not be kicked out

Calais Witnesses — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 18:53:17 +0000

Written by CFDA (French Coordination for Asylum Seekers)

Signed by: Collectif de soutien des exilés du 10ème, C’SUR, Emmaüs Saint-Omer, Fraternité migrants Angres, Salam, Terre d’errance Norrent Fontes, Terre d’Errance Steenvoorde

17 September 2009

http://www.educationsansfrontieres.org/article22491.html

Closure of the jungle: the rights of people must not be kicked out

In announcing yesterday, September 16th, the “closure” of the ‘Jungle’ next week, the French Immigration Minister Eric Besson turns a blind eye to the massive violations of human rights in countries from which migrants originate, and the extreme precarity of their living conditions. The Minister must not delude himself: to proclaim the “closure” of the ‘Jungle’ simply means to make invisible a problem which will persist, repeat itself and take place elsewhere. The inability of French and European authorities to apprehend correctly and in a coordinated fashion this situation will have a cost: the disgraceful conditions in which migrants and asylum seekers are forced to live, despite the daily assistance of many volunteers.
The minister has already scored points with his announcements in recent months: indeed, as he today says “there were about 700 people three months ago, now there are approximately 300″. Hundreds of these people, real men, women, children, have been scared into continuing their wandering to new places, new countries, and therefore are faced with new challenges and new violations of their rights.

To justify himself, the minister puts forward the “very sharp rise in crime in the Calais region”, “attacks on the inhabitants of Calais” and says that “companies can no longer work normally”. This does not correspond to the observations of organisations working on the ground. Rather than providing solutions to the real causes of this situation, the minister chooses to scape-goat “migrant-asylum seeker”, presented as a dangerous and delinquent person, and this under the guise of tackling smuggling.

Today, as with every announcement, the minister hides that these migrants he wants to displace come from countries where violations of human rights are massive, which explains their desperate flight, and their acceptance of such precarious conditions of life.

Whilst in July the minister spoke of 36 asylum seekers “allowed to stay”, he said today that 170 applications have been recorded since January 1st with residence permits and accommodation. These are the figures recorded by the organisations: many of these people, having passed through Greece and Italy and forced to burn off their fingerprints to avoid being deported, receiver neither the one nor the other.

How could Eritreans accept a “voluntary” return to their country? Why would Afghans or Sudanese accept, under a European text, Dublin II, their transfer to Greece, regularly denounced and condemned for repeated abuse and bad treatment of asylum seekers and migrants in general?

Tomorrow, Eric Besson goes to Greece, but unfortunately not to agree on the suspension of transfers to this country where the asylum system is regularly denounced by the UNHCR and the Council of Europe. In fact, this visit is announced “in the context of France’s efforts to strengthen the policy against illegal immigration.”

A politics that respects rights must have the courage to see that European policy is failing. The French authorities are losing an opportunity to open and to open our eyes on the human tragedy hidden these situations. Our organisations demand once again for the withdrawal or at least the revision the Dublin II regulation, which creates more victims than it brings solutions.

To end the Law of the ‘jungle’, you must put the European asylum system on its feet and stop denying the needs of individuals for protection and providing a mechanism that enables them to seek asylum in the country of their choice or where they have familial, linguistic or cultural ties. Whatever their choice, we must also ensure their reception conditions are consistent with the dignity of people by providing accommodation facilities open to all.

LIST OF DEMANDS

Calais Witnesses — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 13:28:45 +0000

Calais Witnesses fully endorses the statement and list of demands produced at the No Border camp in Calais regarding the situation for migrants in the Calais region:

People wishing to travel from Calais to the United Kingdom are living in inhumane conditions and suffer constant harassment. In this space there is just police repression and the laws of smugglers, while groups and individuals who support the migrants are criminalized.

This repression is generated by
- outsourcing in France of the British border controls,
- the general hysteria around migration
- and the Dublin Convention (2).

We defend the freedom of movement, we are opposed to the borders of racism and discrimination. First we demand:

1. entry to the UK for all unconditionally.

2. the cessation of attacks and destruction of places of life of migrants. Access to care and showers must be guaranteed.

3. freedom of movement for all in and around Calais: the ability to mov anywhere without restrictions, harassment or fear of being arrested.

4. the cessation of repeated arrests.

5. freedom of expression for all, including migrants, the right to protest and complain to the authorities individually or collectively.

6. To stop evictions whether by charter or not to countries at war or not.

7. The end of the repression of associations and individuals who support the migrants including the provision of means of transport.

8. provide free and impartial legal advice in the UK, the rights of asylum and immigration.

9. immigration policy British arbitrary detention without time limit cannot be exported to Calais. No new detention centre can be built and particularly a structure of the Guantanamo kind.

No Border camp in Calais on 29 June 2009.

* For more information on the situation in Calais consult “the law of the
jungle” a report developed independently

HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSE IMMINENT AS PLANS EMERGE TO DESTROY THE CALAIS ‘JUNGLE’ AND MASS DEPORTATION TO AFGHANISTAN

Calais Witnesses — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 11:11:07 +0000

For more information call: +44 (0)7884 040 683
calais.press@riseup.net

According to verified sources the destruction of the ‘Jungle’ [1] announced by French immigration minister, Mr.Besson, will take place this Tuesday 21st July. Activists on the ground in Calais have been told that the police preparing to destroy some or many of the ‘jungles’ housing around 1,800 migrants in Calais. The jungle of the Afghan Pashtu will be the first hit, but other jungles also risk being destroyed. 800 places have been “reserved” in different hostels.

France’s Interior Minister Eric Besson made it clear in January that he wanted to see all migrants removed from Calais and the surrounding area by the end of this summer. The project has already started with the bulldozing of camps at Loon-Plage and Teteghem and the destruction of squats in Calais over the past month. Now comes the main act in this summer festival of destruction.

After the Evian pre G8 summit of the 6th July, 2009 where an agreement was signed between the French and British governments, [2] details are emerging of plans to forcibly deport hundreds of people by charter flight to Kabul. Last November, 2 charter flights to Afghanistan were cancelled thanks to the mobilisation of all.

Humanitarian groups in Calais are attempting to inform migrants and a campaign of solidarity to prevent human rights attrocities is gathering pace on both sides of the channel.

In France, Salam [3] a humanitarian group who provide food daily to hundreds in Calais said yesterday, “We will continue our presence alongside the migrants everyday. Everything will be put in place to ensure they can exercise their rights and do avoid the charter flight to Kabul. We call out to everyone, DON’T LET THIS CHARTER OF DEATH LEAVE!”

Alice Cutler from UK based group, Calais Witnesses [4] said, “Many individuals in Calais who are simply seeking safety and are trapped by a European immigration policy that is denying basic human rights. Without urgent intervention that there is very real threat of mass refoulement [5] of asylum seekers back to countries of origin from which they have fled and where they could face torture, imprisonment and in some cases death.” [6] The British government share equal responsibility for the proposed atrocities in northern France.”

A statement that is being circulated to condemn the plans is calling for observers to go to Calais urgently, “In the wake of the clearance of migrant camps and residences in Patras, Greece and in Paris last week, we believe that strong condemnation of these plans and independent observers and monitors in Calais are urgently required. We call on you to pressure the British and French authorities to respect their international obligations to provide protection under the Geneva Convention and respect human rights. We demand the immediate cessation of any attempts to clear and destroy refugee camps as well as plans to deport migrants who have a right to seek asylum in Europe.”

For more information:
Calais Migrant Solidarity (UK based group)
http://calaismigrantsolidarity.wordpress.com/
http://calaismigrantsolidarity.wordpress.com/2009/07/16/open-statement-about-calais-situation-to-all-concerned/

CALAIS WITNESSES
Laura Maragoudaki/ Alice Cutler
Tel: +44 (0) 7884 040683
calais.witnesses@googlemail.com

SALAM ASSOCIATION
www.associationsalam.org (France)
Sylvie COPYANS + 33 (0)6.26.38.66.19
Vincent LENOIR + 33 (0)6.12.52.53.72

Notes to editors:
[1] The Jungle is the name given to the makeshift camps were migrant are living. On 4 July 2009, in her article for the Guardian newspaper, Donna Covey, chief executive of the Refugee Council, wrote: “The conditions for the migrants in Calais are atrocious. They are camped on waste ground and in squatted houses in the town, they queue each day for soup kitchens provided by local volunteers, and have little access to facilities as basic as running water. Included in this group are unaccompanied children.
It is to all our shame that they are left to live in such appalling circumstances.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/libertycentral/2009/jul/04/migrants-calais
For a comprehensive report on the humanitarian crisis at Calais, please see the 2008 Report by Coordination Francaise pour le Droit D’Asile (in French), at:
http://associationsalam.org/docs/SALAM_Rapport_CFDA_092008.pdf
A short summary of the report in English is attached to this mail.

[2] The UK has promised France £15m for border protection in return for help deporting immigrants
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8136059.stm

[3] Please see featured announcement by ASSOCIATION SALAM on 16/07/09 at:
http://associationsalam.org/infos/index.php?Infos-salam English translation attached below.

[4] CALAIS WITNESSES is a network of individuals who work towards supporting rights for refugees and migrants and have first hand experience of witnessing the situation for migrants at the UK French Border of Calais.

[5] On 5 November 2008, the UK and French governments’ attempts to carry out a mass deportation to Afghanistan through a joint charter flight were overruled by the European Court of Human Rights on the grounds that the operation would violate article 4 of the European Declaration on Human Rights, which forbids the “collective expulsion of foreigners”, as well as the trilateral agreement signed in 2002 by UNHCR with the Afghan and French governments, which stipulates that “the return of Afghans who do not enjoy protection… will be carried out in a gradual, ordered and humane way”. In an open letter to then interior minister Brice Hortefeux, MEP Hélène Flautre highlighted the risk that the repatriations would entail as “irreparable”, referring back to the recent case of an Afghan, Mohammed Hussain, who was repatriated by Australia and ended up being kidnapped, tortured and finally beheaded.

[6] The 1951 Refugee Convention prohibits the return of refugees “in any manner whatsoever” to places where their life or freedom would be threatened [otherwise referred to as Article 33; the nonrefoulement provision of the Refugee Convention]. As explained by the UK House of Lords, “Article 33 can be breached indirectly as well as directly. Thus for a country to return a refugee to a state from which he/she will then be returned by the government of that state to a territory where his/her life or freedom will be threatened will be as much a breach of Article 33 as if the first country had itself returned him there direct.” Many of the migrants in Calais will have travelled overland through Greece or Italy, where they will have had their fingerprints taken. Under the Dublin II convention they would be removed to Greece or Italy on claiming asylum in France or the UK. The likelihood of an Iraqi getting asylum in Greece is 0% (UNHCR, 2007).http://www.unhcr.org/protect/PROTECTION/47302b6c2.pdf Therefore they are being denied their right to seek protection. Crossing a border without the right papers is not illegal if you are doing so to claim asylum.
In addition, the Greek government frequently carry out non-official forcible returns from Greece to Turkey. Most take place under cover of darkness across the Evros River or off the Turkish coast. Pushbacks at sea or on the border do not nullify the nonrefoulement obligation and migrants deported to Greece face a high risk of being forcibly removed to other ‘non-safe’ countries outside the EU. (Human Rights Watch 2008) http://www.hrw.org/en/node/76211/section/14
http://www.refugeeresearch.net/node/197