TRADUCTION AUTOMATIQUE 
Click here to get straight to the latest updates from Calais, below photos & links
The Pashtun 'jungle' dawn, Tuesday 22nd September
INFO LINES If you are coming to Calais to show solidarity and want information you can call a UK mobile based in the UK (ie normal call charges) on 07534 008380. You can also call the Calais office (from outside france) 00 33 634 810 710 from France 0634 810 710. Also check out all the categories on the right for info —>
Or click here if you want to come to Calais see also Lift shares to Calais
How to donate to Calais Migrant Solidarity (new UK bank account)
Take action at UK Border Agency offices – details here
Facebook group and Calais Solidarity Twitter
VIDEOS:
Video of daily life of migrants/police violence in Calais in August or download it here
Video of the ‘dignified’ destruction of the ‘jungle’ in September
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2009/aug/03/calais-jungle
Film about No Borders June camp
Solidarity actions in Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Scotland, Derby and Manchester, London
Interview in Shift magazine about the June camp and personal account of the camp in June
New zine about solidarity work in Calais
Latest information from activists and migrants on the ground in Calais
Only part of the picture, much more than this is going on and is ‘normal for Calais’
*24 November – UNHCR comments on Calais
Situation in Calais ‘overall improved’ according to Wilbert van Hovell. I’m afraid we totally disagree with such a grotesque statement. It is also worth remarking that the representatives of UNHCR in Calais have been meeting with the sub-prefect and local authorities but they are not saying a word about the human rights of the refugees – or ‘migrants’ according to the term they want to use.
While the french newspaper “North Coast” (below) has rather emphasized critical aspects of the vision of UNHCR on the situation in the Calais, another french newspaper “la Voix du Nord” insists on the complacency of the UNHCR regarding French government, with a validation of “voluntary” returns.
Do not forget that the UNHCR is the global specialist in such returns for which the freedom of most “volunteers” begins with a strong twist of the arm. See Report of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), of June 24, 2009, entitled “HRCP QUESTIONS VOLUNTARY NATURE OF REFUGEES’ REPATRIATION” (http://www.hrcp-web.org/Publications/RRefugees.pdf) about repatriations of Afghan exiles settled in Pakistan (2 million)
“la Voix du Nord” (France), 19 novembre 2009
Wilbert Van Hövell, the High Commissioner for Refugees : « La situation des migrants à Calais s’est globalement améliorée »
<<The situation of migrants in Calais has overall improved>>
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has been in place in Calais for six months. His issue: coordinate international action for the protection of refugees in order to protect their rights and their well being. Wilbert Van Hövell, regional representative for Western Europe in Brussels, recalled yesterday their local players. Bilan.
- The good points
« Since the end of the ‘jungle’, we have observed that the number of migrants in Calais has diminshed, that is a positive point», assured Wilbert Van Hövell who has met with the associations, the council, the police, the sub-prefect « The work of preventing any new squat plays in favour of this fall (in numbers). We think it fell from 1 000 to 250 people. The situation has improved since October and aid is always accssible to migrants… it’s good.» According to him the distribution centre on Rue de Moscsou improves the living conditions of these persons in transit, « and it’s a good thing. Furthermore, the Mayor has made available premises for a cold weather plan. This is positive… » In effect the sub prefect of Calais is offering from now on the possibility of walk-up asylum claims Le fait que la sous-préfecture de Calais offre désormais la possibilité d’effectuer des démarches pour les demandes d’asile « porte ses fruits. The number of demands (for asylum) have declined and there are a number who have opted for a voluntary return to their countries ». For this representative of the UNHCR, international action against the networks of people smugglers is also a good thing.
- Copie à revoir
« Locally, there is a lack of structures to welcome minors in transit, a structure with housing, a translator, in order to offer them an opening, explanations, a welcome… as well as to adults who make the journey to ask for asylum. There are some people who present themselves to the authorities, it’s not obviou, they must be helped. In countries like Belgium, migrants in this sitiuation can wait in welcome centres.»
- Unresolved problem
For Wilbert Van Hövell, there are less migrants in Calais, « it’s probably because they have been displaced elsewhere. This indicates that the problem of immigration won’t be any more resolved on an international level». In the north Pas-de-Calais, en Belgium, the Low Countries… the figures aren’t known, but it appears that migrants no longer consider Calais to be the only landing point north of Paris.
- The charter flights? What does the representative from Brussels think of the debate in France aboout organising charters?
« We are in favour of returns to countries (of origin), it’s a good thing to keep the integrity of the asylum system. There are steps you can take, they’re not successful, then you’ll be returned. But I am not in favour of returns to countries in a state of war and it’s a good thing that the state has suspended these expulsions. We advise waiting. The rest, they are voluntary returns».
http://www.lavoixdunord.fr/Locales/Calais/actualite/ /Secteur_Calais/2009/11/19/article_apres-la-jungle-la-situati ion-des-migran.shtml
*22nd November
Coquelles: Hunger strike/ food refusal finished. The 6 detainees who were refusing food have resumed eating.
One woman from an Arab country was not eating for 5 days.
The other 5 are from Afghanistan one is an under age boy who has not had an age assessment.
They all being ordered to be detained some 15 days and put under pressure to apply for asylum in France, and threatened they will be deported back to their countries if they do not apply.
Ethiopia house under attack
The police went to the Ethiopian squat yesterday morning 9.30 and arrested 6 people. Others managed to hide. The police were there two days before asking how many people live there and taking pictures. It looks like they are preparing to close down the squat. Ethiopia house was already evicted the 3rd November, everybody who did not manage to escape or hide was arrested and all people’s property destroyed. CMS activists and Salam helped with giving blankets and clothes to the people after they were released. Lots of people live there, from Ethiopia, Eritrea and other West African countries. Many Eritreans have moved there after the destruction of the Eritrean squat (Africa House) and very recently many Sudanese moved there after their shelters by the beach were destroyed.
As we are very few on the ground until Thursday, urgent help is needed. Please come to Calais now if you can. Thursday lots of new people arrive but than it may be too late.
*18th November
6 Afghan men are on dry hunger strike against their continuing detention in Coquelles deportation centre. They have refused food and water for three days and they aren’t receiving any medical care.
More arrests
3 Afghans arrested tonight near the bridges. Arrests witnessed by CMS.
* 17th November
Destruction of a migrant camp in Dunkerque
This morning the police arrested around 30 people out of 70 – 80 living in a camp in Dunkerque.
Dunkerque is another french harbour city, where people are trying to get to england. We filmed the police destroying the migrants homes, without beeing able to stop them. One of the things we could do, was to take some of the clothes, blankets and other belongings of the migrants out of their homes, bevore everything got destroyed. It was aweful.
Arrests in Calais
In the evening of the same day, back in calais, the police was driving around with lots of vans in the inner city. It seemed that this time they were trying to arrest migrants that were in the parks. We drove arround in the city and witnessed 5 arrest – we don’t know how much we didn’t see.
We are having the impression, that the police actions are getting more intensive. In calais there are really few activists at the moment. So if you are thinking of coming, you are welcome and needed.
News and press release
Then there are other news from today and a press release concerning the destruction of the camp in Dunkerque
VIDEO: http://refugies.over-blog.com/
PRESS RELEASE
With a profusion of means (bulldozer, crane, tractors, lorry), a big array of staff from the PAD, under the protection of an important posse from the police, the authorities have once more carried out, with great expense, the dimantling of the migrant camp of the town of Loon Plage. Just where eight days earlier, the town council, in agreement with the port authorities, had given coverage to the setting up of showers in favor of those same migrants!
There on the field at the same hour, our associations have witnessed, powerless, the arrest of some fifty migrants who have been handcuffed and led in the air and border police (PAF) offices.
The engines that were brought on site then carried out the dirty work consisting in destroying the shanty shelters and what they contained with the exception of the few blankets, clothes, shoes, kitchen utensils, that we were able to salvage.
Our associations are outraged by this operation which, once more, as in Sangatte, as in Calais and elsewhere, will not solve anything, but will continue to convey a sad image of our “national identity”, synonymous with blind repression, exclusion, and repeated attack on human rights.
Is this how Mr Besson actively participates, in the beginning of winter, in the international solidarity week!
Dunkerk, 17th of november 2009.
Signatories : Salam, Mrap, Ldh, No border calais, Modem Loon Plage, Calais Migrants Solidarité, Emmaüs Dunkerque.
And an link to an Artikel from the UNHCR about the situation in calais at the moment: http://www.unhcr.org/4b02d4fc9.html
The problem is not the smugglers, the problem is the border
A quick comment to the UNHCR article…The smugglers are a product of the border regime. Open the borders and the smugglers will disappear overnight. Instead, after the destruction of the jungles and squats and the increased State repression encountered by the migrants, the smugglers have doubled their fares and the average price of ‘guarantee’ journey from Calais to England in the back of a truck is now 1500 euros. Another remarkable feature is that the Afghan mafia has virtually disappeared from the Calais area after the destruction of the Pashto jungle and the Kuridsh mafia has grown stronger; however the police apparently do not know where they are or who they are, despite having pictures of them. Instead, they have jailed an innocent man for two years. Another mystery is that some days there are so many police and immigration officers not even a mouse could cross the border, other days there is nobody and lots of people go through. It is like opening and closing a tap.
That the smugglers have no interest that the refugees stay in France is an obvious fact, seen the money they are making. I very much sympathize with the dedicated UNHCR staff who are having trouble with them, we have encountered similar problems with the mafia, perhaps for different reasons since we are not advising people on how to apply for asylum in France.
Instead it is difficult to explain what interest the French State has to pressurize people to apply for asylum in France, without referring to the UK- French agreements; as a matter of a fact the French government are detaining people for longer periods and the police are telling them they will be deported to Afghanistan if they don’t apply. Many capitulate to the pressure.
The role of the UNHCR is at least ambiguos: without doubting the good will of their staff in Calais, we who have a suspicious mind have always asked ourselves why did the UNCHR open an office in Calais precisely at the time when the UK/French agreements went underway to further close the border.
To get asylum in France is problematic, but according to numbers the chances are better than in the UK, that have no scruples refusing most refugees from Afghanistan, Iraq and other countries at war and send them back on charter flights if they do not return ‘voluntarily’. There is a regular deportation charter London- Kabul leaving every Tuesday. However the situation in France is far from happy, especially since the lack of support and accommodation means utter destitution for those who apply for asylum; the judges have ruled recently they must be given accommodation, but in fact they are still sleeping in woods and under bridges, and being arrested by police every moment for no reason.
Just a quick comment, more to follow.
Chiara Lauvergnac
11th November
More arrests and destructions
The Pashto jungle was raided again last night, allegedly 20 arrests and several shelters destroyed. None of us was there at the time.
Instead we had a fun night with the cops outside the Palstinian/ Egyptian squat they went there again and again: PAF (border police) no CRS, they did not go in, maybe because we were there? They contented themselves with harassing and trying to intimidate us. No arrests.
* 10th November
Arrests and destructions
A new camp near the old Sudanese jungle was destroyed this morning.
Shelters in the new Pashto jungle get destroyed every day. Police usually arrive shortly before midnight or in the early hours in the morning, people run, those who are caught are arrested. Several have injured themselves running from police, a group of people cut their hands on a barbed wire to get over a fence. The CRS than proceeds to destroy their shelters and blankets, slashing the plastic covers with knives. That’s the reason why during the day you see so many migrants walking with rolls of tarpaulin under their arms, they need to get new ones. The sub-prefect has told Medicines du Monde the police will destroy any tents they put on so they dropped the idea and are only giving survival kits- that will be destroyed anyway as soon as the police lay hands on them. Another fine example of the ‘dignity’ and ‘humanity’ Besson is talking about.
Lots of people including several underage boys sleep in the jungle in small, well hidden shelters. The bridges, where there is at least some shelter against the rain, are almost deserted by now: very few people sleep there because the police harassment is too much, they go there up to three times a night. Another hot spot for arrests are the parks.
Activists from CMS have been going to the jungle and bridges and it seems to be a bit of a deterrent against police attacks. Unfortunately we do not manage to go every night/ morning. Please come to Calais!
A large squat where Palestinians and Egyptians live, about 25 people, has been also attacked. The police went there Sunday night, arrested one man others run and escaped. The advantage of some derelict buildings is that they have many exits. A big group of us were there on that night, who had come to Calais for a meeting, we all run there to support and the police left. They haven’t returned…yet.
Medicines du Monde survival kits- Activists and migrants demand human rights and accommodation
- Today, MdM went ahead with the distribution that was described in the Nov 2nd update. One item that was added to the kit was some tarpaulin to protect migrants from the rain. One migrant remarked that such makeshift shelters are easily destroyed by the police. Activists decided to hold an exhibition near this distribution, and also, to provide banners and paper sheets for migrants to write whatever they wanted. We had a table with leaflets to distribute to the locals. A huge banner, saying ‘migrating is resisting,’ was hung on the nearby church, which just happens to hold works at the moment. Police presence was inexistant for the first hour, but then several police cars patrolled around the area. No attempts were made to arrest anyone. Here are some pictures (more to come):
Nice flashy rucksack, with a MdM button on it
As it was said again and again, the idea is to monitor police violence, and when evidence of destruction is available, to simply sue them and get money back to pay for the same and distribute. Of course, that is true as much for tents as it is for rucksacks and whatever else you put your logo on. Why the hierarchy caved in and came up with a no-tent distribution is a mystery. I’m guessing it’s because they are scared, or feel like defering to the authorities.
- The Sudanese camp has been destroyed again this morning; the burning/destruction hinted at in the twitter was confirmed as well. We know the CRS have been attacking the new Pashtun jungle several nights in a row. Yesterday night, one activist was patrolling this area on a bike, and one CRS van went on its way, instead of raiding. Patrolling around on bikes is enough to discourage arrests. If you can come to Calais, please do. We have an office where you can sleep, have a shower, eat. We even have the internet now. When we’re low in numbers, there’s not much we can do.
- A press release is in the works. Blog will be updated soon.
* 6th November
Yesterday, around sunset, South Wales activists visited the Ethiopian squat and helped people fix a window; they also distributed candles, razors and clothes. And then, they helped build a door with wood and some tarpaulin; the squat became so nice that the CRS mistook it for a hotel and went on their way. Kidding. Here’s a picture of the result:
* 5th November
CRS out en masse to arrest Afghans last night
At least four arrests at the train station (witnessed by CMS activists) and 6 arrests in the ‘jungle’. (not the original Pashto jungle that has been razed to the ground, but people sleep rough in the woods nearby, ready to run, especially people who have no papers and are afraid of being deported. Some underage boys sleep there too.)
Ethiopia house re-squatted
Having nowhere else to go, people returned to the Ethiopian squat after they came out the police station. CMS gave some blankets, a mattrass, carpet, food. Salam brought more blankets. Knowing the way they operate, we believe the CRS will be back soon to try and close the place down. Resistance needed!
4th November
ETHIOPIA HOUSE EVICTED
About 9 this morning 10 – 15 vans full of cops went to Ethiopia house, arrested everybody, destroyed the people blankets and property, usual routine. The people arrested were about 20, those who had papers have now been released the others are still missing.
The Prefect, Mr. Bousquet said at the last meeting: “It is not the right of the police to destroy blankets and clothes”…. still it happens, usual routine.
* 2nd November
Some activists have attended a meeting by Mèdecins du Monde [Doctors of the world] to know more about where the project of tents distribution was. The idea was to mark them with a humanitarian logo that would make the police suable for destruction. It was initially thought that the project was abandoned, but the information was denied by one member of MdM. Today, we learned more. MdM will indeed distribute stuff, but no tents at all. For some reason, the board of directors decided against it. So what MdM will actually distribute is: a rucksack, and inside it: a blanket, a sleeping bag, some kind of raincoat, and a hygiene kit. It has been objected by all present that this is useless against the rain, and the representative of MdM is quite aware of the weakness of this. He will try to continue to put pressure on the administration.
Nevertheless, the feeling of the meeting, overall, was one of subordination to, and fear of, townhall and the sous-prefecture. All organizations seemed to be saying that the new distribution place was great, and they needed to be extremely careful what they do with it, or around it. ‘The agreement is extremely strict. We can only distribute food there, nothing else.’ If something else is done, Townhall will crack down and close the place. I remained silent, but I was thinking, ‘So the fuck what ? We can distribute food anywhere we want !’ So MdM will have to distribute elsewhere than at food distributions.
The last part of the meeting involved finding housing solutions for migrants. Nothing of consequence was proposed; not to my knowledge anyway; I was a little bored at that point. C, a very energetic volunteer who was still with us just a few days ago, proposed to launch a petition to suspend the solidarity offense, so anyone could house migrants, for the winter. We are working to refine it; it might be ready soon.
* 1st November
Yesterday night, an activist wrote on the walls with chalk several words in Arabic, Pashto, and Tigrenian, in an attempt to make it possible for locals to communicate a little with migrants, and to show that not everyone accepts the shit. Here’s some pictures:
Thank you in Pashto
Are you ok ? in Pashto
Whoever doesn't know ?
* 31st October
A friend reports this. I’m copy&pasting her:
Just got some news from Belgium 120 activists from west of Europe are
blockading 2 detention centres at the moment in Belgium. These are the
detention centres in Brugge and Votten. The blockade will be for the whole
day.
Also, in the last few days, activists in Calais have been busy sticking up pictures around town with paste. Here’s a few of them:
Calais, seen from the ground
Humanity, seen from Calais
Yes we put one there too. That was my favorite. It lasted a few days. The rest of the pictures can be found there. May I also say that the fountain is still red, as we speak ?
Back to the tents situation, we have been wondering who exactly had ordered the clearing of the bridges. Cops told us it was a private site, owned by the Regional Council, but after a little investigation, we have found that no one wanted to speak to us about who took the decision. The Regional Council denies having taken the decision; that means the cops lied. To those cops who might be reading and who might know some English (A ∩ B=∅ probably), I want to say that it’s ok, we already knew you had no values, we expect you to lie to our face. Please continue, it might be difficult for us, adjusting to any other reality.
So anyway, Mèdecins du Monde (‘doctors of the world’) had this idea of distributing loads of tents, and marking them with their logo, making it humanitarian material. That’s kinda what I was thinking of a few months ago; lending stuff and marking them as ours, and then when cops throw them away, to try to reclaim them and get compensated. But activists have heard the organization gave up on that, due, apparently, to threats by the prefecture that all such tents would be destroyed. It seems the prefect was quite pissed too and the hierarchy of MdM simply caved in. [7pm update: a conversation with one member from MdM reveals that the plan is not entirely abandoned; a discussion is due soon and a decision will be taken.]
This is by the way the only authority whom we know has some responsibility in the clearing of the bridges. At the meeting of the 27th, the prefect was heard saying the tents under the bridges would be gone. It’s almost like the prefect took the decision all on his own. Who’s a big boy ?!
* 29th October
Bridges ‘cleared’
There isn’t one tent left in the bridges area. We’ve managed to salvage a small part of the belongings, until the police intervened to ask that we get out of this private site that is the beneath of the bridges. There was no arrest, and one migrant managed to take stuff away, accompanied by two CIU who apparently felt like showing off some magnanimity.
A policewoman has proven herself to be particularly arrogant, considering the absence of arrests and the fact the migrant above was able to take stuff we put on the side, and also, insulting, towards me and another activist. This wouldn’t be the first time according to him.
26th October
The police attack migrants at food distribution
Salam said today:
“Today the repression is stronger than ever and we see even police coming to arrest the migrants during the meal including in the area reserved for that purpose and organized by the Region and the Town Hall!”
So we must do something good, for refugees when they want to eat.
I have some ideas.
But first, it’s to go to the place and stop the police! We know how to close the door!
At least 9 men detained in Coquelles have been given deportation papers to Afghanistan
We are seeking to organize legal support/ further representations to the ECHR with GISTI. Also prepare for action if there is another attempt to deport by charter flight! At least two minors detained have been said to be over 18 after hospital visit and X rays of the hands to assess their age – we know these age assessments are not reliable.
Fachos and skinheads
Yesterday night a bunch of young skinheads passed several times near the bridge under which Afghan sleep (not far from the former place of distribution of the Belle Etoile). They were aboard a red car, very «beautiful & sport ». They were shouting monkey noises and throwing stones. The Afghans told us they pass here every day. Maybe more tonight because of the weekend. We stayed an hour and our presence seemed to prevent them from come back. We should try to increase the time with the migrants under the bridge at night.
25th October
CRS vans at the bridges
Yesterday around 9 pm we witnessed 4 CRS snatch vans and loads of cops going to the bridges, they arrested 4 children, everybody else run away or went hiding. I got so angry I wanted to get myself arrested too, these boys are clearly under 18, they are refugees from Afghanistan or Iran, they are sleeping under bridges and the police go arrest them there. These cops – and who sends them – have no shame no dignity. We tried to follow the snatch vans as they drove towards the jungle but lost them because bicycles are too bloody slow.
Three Afghan grown up men were also arrested from that area around 8 pm, we met them in the morning: they had just come out the police station after being kept there all night.
In the bridge area we also met a thirteen years old who is sleeping there, he was in the company of an older man, they did not have any problem that night but the thirteen years old has been previously arrested while sleeping under the bridges.
This morning we also cycled to the ex-Pashto jungle again; we met four migrants from Afghanistan who are sleeping in that area, they say there were no arrests last night but 20 – 25 arrests the night before. There are no more new camps in that area, that I know of, they have all been destroyed by police, but people are sleeping rough everywhere, especially people who have no papers and are hiding, least they get arrested and taken to deportation centre; those who sleep under the bridges all have papers i.e. have applied for asylum in France, or they are minors and cannot be deported; the police arrest them very often than they are released. A new camp near the Iranian jungle ( where the No Borders camp was) was destroyed the other day. We also went past the ex- Hazara jungle, similar situation.
Afghan minors arrested, inside CRS van
A new camp destroyed
After a couple very busy days with lots of people coming and going we are low in numbers again; please keep coming, but call our communication phone first, 0033 634810710 and let us know if you are coming, and for how long if possible, otherwise things get confusing and we really need to concentrate on the work we are doing. People always welcome to come, for long or for short, but perhaps communication needs improving – Chiara
24th October
7 arrests yesterday at the bridges. All men arrested had papers i.e. had applied for asylum in France. Those who have no papers hide in less obvious places. But the police go there, search the people, control the papers than say that something does not match and have to take the people to police station for further controls. Of course all these men have been brought to police station again and again. When they arrested 7 they said ‘they had enough’ and drove off. 6 were taken from the bridge nearer to Town hall, where some Afghans live, and one from the bridge opposite, Iranians and some Afghans. This is ‘normal’ in Calais. Only arrests have hugely increased after the destruction of camps began. Usually these men are released after a few hours, and have to walk all the way back because late at night there are no buses. There were three CRS vans at one bridge and one at the bridge opposite, about 15 to 20 cops took part in this operation. What’s a good use of public money.
*23rd October
Yesterday, the CRS were out en masse. Some 15 people were arrested at the park, all under the eyes of no borders activists, who were feeling a little unhelpful as there was nothing they could do to stop the thing. One activist was on a bike and yelled ‘Slavery! Tyranny!’ at the cops, one of whom invited him to ’say it to his face’. Not being completely stupid, the activist decided not to get within arms reach of a CIU with a club, and fled from the scene. Sadly, the incident did not prevent any one arrest. Elsewhere at the bridges, 5 Iranians were arrested by the CRS around 10pm, and they spent the night at the police station.
Search before arrest/ the Earth from Above exibition
Also, this morning, the bridge facing Belle Etoile’s ex-noon distribution was cleared. Activists were cycling around the area, and saw 3 vans of CRS going up the road opposite the river. There were municipal employees with white suits and masks; this indicates a new clearing of people’s belongings. One activist has already been told, when he was waiting at the Eritreans while it was still there, that it was dangerous staying there. ‘You could get the leper,’ he was told. That’s how racist they are. Another camp was destroyed this morning, near the Iranians camp.
All this in at the time of the arrival of European parliamentarians today. This is some kind of spontaneous visit by members of various green parties of Europe. The schedule was something along the lines of: meet the associations, meet the migrants, see the security at the port, and hold a press conference. Activists had been thinking of presenting a file compiling the history of repression in Calais, unfortunately there wasn’t enough time. We are thinking of sending it later. I personally had some reservations about talking to people who are part of the very system of movement control whose legitimacy we deny. It certainly was depressing for me to hear one say ‘Even those who have a claim!’ [don't get protection/asylum] I’m sure that, to that person, those who don’t should still benefit from Europe’s largesse. That’s the difference between No Borders and sympathetic European parliamentarians. Everyone has an overriding claim to freedom of movement.
* 22nd October
Full house! Finally, after a long time of having very few people on the ground, lots of people showed up, mainly from France. All very enthusiastic and energetic, lots of good work done. Please keep coming! (and call the communication phone beforehand).
* 21st October
A charter from UK carrying 25 Afghans stopped at Roissy and picked up three more Afghans detained France. They were all deported o Kabul. One of those from France was arrested in the jungle in Calais, one in Paris and one in Ventimiglia, close to the border with Italy. A fourth Afghan arrested in Calais hit his head on purpose and was taken off the flight. He was later released.
* 20st October
There was a large demonstration aganist the charter flight in front of Lille airport, over 300 people attended. Later we marched form the airport to the detention centre. The detanees responded shouting ‘freedom’, ‘no borders’ and ‘we love you’.
21:08 No charter from Lille this evening. Cancelled! But there may or may not be a flight from Paris tomorrow morning (21st)
There’s a joint charter flight from UK and France today, leaving Lille airport at 22:00. There’s a demonstration at 20:00 at the airport in Lille. Around 50 Afghans detained in various detention centres in France are expected to be on the flight. The only details on the UK part for now is that the flight is leaving from there.
*18th October
~Activists hear about an unusually important wild duck migration from Calais; it would be a sign of an extremely harsh winter coming. In other words: borders urgently needed to be abolished.
At midnight last night we distributed some building materials and blankets with some of the Pashtun. 830AM we had to watch as the CRS arrested these same people where they slept in their continual attempts to clear the bridges. We followed 2 vans of CRS and their 'snatch van' to the old Pashtun jungle where they arrested 10 more people. With the cold weather and the police constantly chasing migrants, we cannot provide help fast enough. All over Calais there are the burnt our broken remains of camps, and many people are now too afraid to come to the food distribution for fear of arrest. some are even too afriad to talk to us when we try to work with them. If you can donate materials please contact us!
17th October
In the evening the bridges were attacked by CRS again, people at the bridge next to where the Eritrean squat used to be threatened to jump into the water and the police left, but they arrested some Afghans on the side. Apart from desperate reactions such as threatening to jump into the water nobody has tried to defend the people sleeping out, or the new shelters and camps. We went around together with some Salam volunteers and others to try give some blankets and tents and saw so many new camps destroyed and burned down near the ex Pashto jungle. Search and destroy. Hundreds of people are sleeping out in these conditions, many are under 18, many are severely traumatised, one 16 years old Afghan boy broke his foot the other day trying to run from the police, a young Afghan limps because of sharpenel wounds, all his family have been killed or have gone missing, his wife and child are missing and he is sleeping out with no blanket but does not want a blanket because he thinks if he gets one the police will attack him more easily, he has been arrested and released so many times since the destruction of the Pashto jungle. There are very few of us on the ground at the moment, we do as much as we can, we keep sending appeals for more people to come so we can do more political work but we have been low in numbers for the past two weeks. Yet this is a crucial time, more than the spectacular destruction of the Pashto jungle that attracted so many activists and the media. Will the police succeed in making of Calais a ‘migrant free zone’, or will the migrants manage to resist somehow? They are amazingly reslient – and they have no choice no matter, but what support do they get apart from the over stretched Calais charities and a small handful of CMS activists? Where are the big NGOs, the human rights organizations, community organizations, churches, trade unions etc? Where is the interest around the humanitarian situation? When is a political response going to be?
Apart from the enormous frustration at the lack of support and political action, it is great to be here, we are making such good friends with the people who are sleeping out and they are wonderful; and with whomever else is out there to help. But things are so bad and people are shivering in the cold and rain, they get sick and somebody eventually will die if nothing is done.
Many migrants go to Paris and other places to escape police repression, they find themselves in similar situations, sleeping out, being harassed by police etc, only the showers in Paris seem to be better; eventually they return to Calais also because it is the shortest way to England.
* 16th October
~Evening update: After hearing of the morning actions, activists on the way back to the office decided to cycle by the fountain and take some pictures of it. More information about why all this makes sense, below, after the afternoon update.
It is difficult to make out the color, but I assure you that it is still red, and this was taken around 7pm. Looks like Townhall either didn’t notice, or doesn’t know how to handle it. Good job.
~Afternoon update: This afternoon at 4pm, a ‘Council of Migrants’ was held at townhall, featuring discussions between the mayor and the various humanitarian organizations. Activists had first planned to hold an actual council of migrants outside of townhall, at the very same time. But the repression is so harsh that hardly anyone was ready to face the police. And police they would have faced, for guarding the entrance there were some 4 municipal police officers, and parked on the side were two national police cars, filled with other cops. The few activists that were there contented themselves with printing a leaflet and handing them out to the visitors. This is what it said:
TO THE COUNCIL AGAINST MIGRANTS
Today at 16h in front of townhall there will be a pacific demonstration against the Council of Migrants, a fraud which hides the negociation of various charity associations with the mayor of Calais, Natacha Bouchart, who stated last summer she would make all migrants of Calais disappear. No migrant will be at that council, it is therefore surprising that it would have such a name. Nevertheless, for the benefit of the persons present at that fraud, and in the event that they would not be completely impervious to the human beings whose liberty and living conditions are decided by others, we saw it fit to present the mayor’s position to a few actual migrants.
Zabi, who comes from Afghanistan, and who doesn’t know Ms Bouchart, answers thusly to this un-verified prediction of the mayor: “We do not want to stay in Calais. We want to go to England. Let us pass.” After having translated this in this man’s native language, it seems everyone agrees around us. Also, Sayeed, who comes from Iran, states: “We want to find shelter to be safe.” Zabi insisted to add: “I want to go to England to make a claim. Maybe they deport us, maybe they don’t. It’s about England. Not France. To have papers in Italy or Greece doesn’t mean anything. They don’t help us with work, or house. That just means you can sleep in the streets.”
Yesterday, the CRS have intervened to clear the bridges area of all its inhabitants; including their tents. This morning, a new fence has been erected to stop migrants from returning. In France, a migrant cannot sleep under a bridge, even in the rain and the cold. This is inhuman, immoral, and criminal. Sadly, all this evil repression against migrants does not stop some from negotiating with the Calais townhall, in the self-deluding hope that this whole system can be fixed by talking with the culprits.
THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY: FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT
Although this text is quite nice, our numbers were very low and activists did not stay long after 4pm, not feeling numerous enough to chant or deploy a banner, and thinking they could be more useful doing other things elsewhere. The results of the negociations will probably be publicized by the associations themselves, soon. These associations include Salam, Belle Etoile, and I even saw people from France Terre d’Asile and the UNHCR.-Matt
~Calais Migrant Solidarity this morning has received three reports by email of direct actions made in and around Calais in solidarity with the 100s of migrants in the area at the receiving end of constant police harassment and violence.
#1 “Several banners were last night hung from bridges over the A16 Dunkerque-Calais and the A26 Calais-Paris road reading ‘Solidarite avec les migrants’. We took these actions to draw attention to the less publicised conditions of migrants in Dunkerque and along the northern French coast who are forced to live in make shift shelters as they wait a chance to cross the channel to the UK. Many of these people are fleeing persecution and war that the EU is enagaged in. We believe these people have a right to move freely to safety and should be treated with respect not the constant police violence that has been evident these last years, months and particularly last weeks in Calais where migrants have been temporarily detained while their shelters are destroyed, only to be dumped back on the streets again. These state and police actions are inhuman, counter-productive and we believe illegal. No person is illegal – No borders are necessary – Freedom of movement for all”
#2 “The fountain opposite the town hall in Calais was this morning filled with harmless red die to symbolise the blood on the hands of French Immigration minister Eric Besson and UK Home Secretary Alan Johnson. Besson is the worst kind of politician, flitting from left to right, by his wife’s recent allegations a constant liar and cheat, seeking to advance his own position by standing by as ‘jungles’ in Calais are razed, calling them ‘inhuman conditions’, conditions his policies have created – making people seeking safety and help malnourished, unable to access basic medical care and despite his claims not given the possibility of making asylum claims with due process. Among these people by the police’s own reckoning about half are children, many seeking refuge from the wars we have created. We owe these people dignity, not the ‘delight’ expressed by Johnson as their basic shelters are destroyed and they are displaced yet again. The UK should take responsibility for the human fallout from its illegal wars and let these people into the UK. Calais is the shame of France, the UK and all of Europe. Governments have failed here, only solidarity between people on a human level can make any sense of this brutal daily trauma. No Borders! No Nations! Freedom of movement for all!”
#3 ” In solidarity with the migrants of Calais we would like to report that at around 3.30am this morning the Coquelles police/detention/law court complex south of Calais had it’s main vehicle gate and both pedestrian access gates locked shut with heavy duty chains and padlocks. This was an attempt, however brief it may have lasted, to disrupt the daily dawn mobilisation of CRS police units to terrorise migrants ‘jungles’ and squats with their gas and batons. Enough violence! Enough fascism on the streets of Europe! Fuck Besson! No Borders! No Nations!”
~If you have seen this Al Jazeera video, then you will know what this place is:
Again, sorry for the very poor quality. This is the bridges area that was cleared yesterday. They’re building a fence around it. That’s right. In France, sleeping under a bridge, in the rain and cold, is actually forbidden. I wonder what else they’ll fence up. Notice that all this is futile because all the migrants need to get back there is exactly what the above moron is using: a ladder, which we’d be happy to provide. This reminds me of a certain Ethiopian squat that was walled in; said wall only made police raids more difficult, because the migrants simply used their brains and fetched the kind of instrument I just mentioned. Townhall keeps demonstrating newer depths of stupidity and immorality.-Matt
* 15th October
It is beautiful and sunny but bitterly cold in calais; the CRS continue to escalate their campaign against the sans papiers…
Yesterday whilst we were in court in bolougne supporting those on trial for ‘rebellion’ (spontaneous demonstration during the camp) they came to the new sudanese area in the woods and cleared it; serving papers to many threatening them with deportation today back to Italy; several are applying for asylum in france we are helping them.
This morning 6am they raided the Ethiopian house (where now eritreans,
sudanese and ethiopians live) they arrested 5 eritreans. They smashed up
stuff inside the warehouse and said they will return tommorrow.
Then they went to another area on the island where people from the docks
have been sleeping under an old covered bridge near the fort… They put
locks on the bridge and removed them.
At 1100; with the the bulldozers continuing to demolish the eritrean
house in the background, they came to the bridges area and they cleared
the shelters of the kurds and pashtun who have been living there. They
came with council vans, destroyed their structures and piled the blankets
into a maintenance truck. They sprayed all the are with chemicals and
arrested 1 person. People tried to gather what they could but everything
was covered in chemicals.
Please if you are coming bring blankets and tents and sleeping bags…
as the CRS continue to clear ares everyone is preferring to stay mobile;
not trusting any place for too long, so sleeping stuff is really essential.
*13th of October
The number of activists in Calais is quite low at the moment, and it is therefore difficult to keep track of the arrests, let alone to be there when it happens. After the docks were evicted, after migrants were arrested and then released again, after their belongings were taken and destroyed, you would think that they would have enough of Calais and give up. Well, no. They’re still here, and they still look to get to England some day. They have simply regrouped in other places which I will not detail in order to assure them some safety from police raids. Yesterday, one migrant told me of such a raid in the new Sudanese jungle, and once again the procedure is recognizable: police officers not arresting anyone, but counting how many people there are, probably with a future destruction in mind. This morning, as I was checking to see if anything was going on yet on the platforms of the ex-docks [nothing was], I saw a police car head to what I’ll call the ‘other’ docks. Again, 4 police officers surrounded it, and went in, and then got out and drove away. Counting again how many people there were inside, I’m guessing. Speaking of the docks, I did see a security guard with a dog, two days ago. Here he is:
If you can’t believe what your eyes are seeing, maybe I can describe it with words. The docks are completely fenced up. No one can enter. But this guy is patrolling the place with a dog. There’s nothing; you cannot enter. But still, you never know. Some migrant might sneakily hide under a plastic bag. Sneaky migrants.
On a more serious note, we are thinking of actions to carry out, but as I said, our numbers are so low that it would be difficult to put them into place. You have no idea how difficult it is to mount projects and get them running when you also have to do patrols and help people out with basic necessities. We are barely keeping up here. Speaking of necessities, a lot of people are asking for blankets, so if you’re unsure what to do from where you are, this seems like an important task, especially given that the temperature is likely to fall down to a considerable extent. -Matt
*10th of October
2 demonstrations are taking place in Lille and Paris; one against police repression and another for the regularization of all undocumented people. Some activists have decided to join the Lille demo this afternoon. The French newspaper, Nord Littoral, mentions the end of free showers for migrants. During the summer, the state authorities had taken over the showers first installed by the associations to deal with the scabies epidemic. As our readers know, taking a shower is not enough to treat scabies, and so it is quite a farce to now read state authorities say that the epidemic has been treated and there’s no point in maintaining the showers anymore. The showers were never enough in the first place, and more epidemics and diseases will spread if a minimum level of hygiene is not provided. The state does not want to provide it. Also, here’s more French folly, in the same vein as requesting permission for holding a demonstration: Secours Catholique has required permission from right-wing Townhall to build showers on the premises that it already owns, on Saint-Omer’s Route. You need permission by racists to build stuff in your own house. This is what one person in the prefecture had to say about it: “The State is in its role of mediation between local actors. The negotiations [between Secours Catholique and Townhall] are underway. It’s difficult. They must be brought to a conclusion as quickly as possible. We try to make the debate advance between the local partners.” Well how about Townhall minds its own business, instead of stopping Secours Catholique from working to provide the basic necessities of life to innocent people ? How about that ? Wouldn’t that make more sense ? I don’t know.-Matt
*9th of October
This morning, one activist decided to return to the Docks and see what has become of it. We have heard that the entrance was monitored by a security guard with a dog. I checked it out and didn’t see any such thing. As the twitter indicated, all the openings have been closed with fences; there is one gate on the southern side of the docks, and it is guarded by a private security van, which lets vehicles pass as they come. Here are two pictures:
Although this picture sucks ass, you can see that even the platform has been fenced
I took this picture from the southern side, the van guys didn’t want me inside and didn’t want to be photographed, but they’re just next to me, on my right.
A second picture, from the northern side this time
Everyone who has been there will recognize the tags, and everyone will see there is absolutely nothing going on on those platforms. The ‘owner’ of this place doesn’t have any use for those platforms. He doesn’t have any legitimate title to it, except the one given to him by the state, via a piece of paper with his name on it; that is, artificially. Without the state enforcing this fake property, and putting those platforms out of use, our migrant friends would still have this shelter, because, without the state taking on the task in the place of the ‘owner’, the eviction is just not worth the effort when the same ‘owner’ doesn’t even need the fucking platforms for anything. This guy simply didn’t like it that brown people were there. It’s the whole reason of the eviction: racism. And I’m not even mentioning the large blue container with all the personal stuff that belonged to migrants, I’m not even talking about the illegitimate control by the state of people’s whereabouts. This whole thing is completely sick.-Matt
*8th of October
Yesterday’s press release, please spread around:
PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE USE
This morning at 8.15am at the Paul Devot Dock more than 15 CRS vans surrounded the squats of the various communities that found solace there. Some 50 police then arrested over 30 migrants who were unable to leave as the police had blockaded the front exit with their vans and a new fence had been placed in the back exit the night previously which left them caged in from all sides. A No Borders activist was there at the time also and attempted to videotape the arrests but she was evicted from the premises. The Chamber of Commerce then had two large blue containers deposited for the migrants’ belongings and then with the use of tractors the destruction of the sleeping bags, mattresses, clothes and homes of the migrants could begin.
For years, this place has served as a shelter for these communities and activists have visited on a nightly basis to monitor the activities of the police due to reports of beatings and the use of CS gas on the members of the communities there. Although the people there were on private property – a property open to everyone, which didn’t seem to disturb anyone – it is difficult to see how that justifies the destruction of their private belongings. For the time being, we have no idea where the arrested migrants are ; we hope they will be released shortly, they will in any case be released at some point, and then their battle to find a place to sleep will occur once more, in the rain, the wind and the cold.
After having refused to give these people the freedom of movement which most European citizens enjoy, after having placed them in this artificial and useless destitution, the state has found it useful to worsen the poverty with this new destruction, in the sick hope that it would push them to abandon that which they have an inalienable right to.
The state has destroyed much but the migrants are still there, and so are we.
SOLIDARITE AVEC LES SANS PAPIERS.
—-
*7th of October
The Docks camps are being evicted this morning. Everybody who has no papers is being arrested.
Camp at the Docks dismantled around 10:15 French time. Docks are fenced off around 11.20 French time.
55 people were arrested this morning.
UKPA article on cancellation charter flight yesterday:
“Plans for the first joint British and French flight taking immigrants back to Afghanistan have fallen apart after Paris withdrew its co-operation at the last minute in the face of protests from refugee groups.
A charter flight leaving the UK on Tuesday night carrying a group of deported Afghans to Kabul was due to stop off in Lille, where Afghans detained by France, some detained during raids on the Calais “Jungle” camp, would have joined the flight.
The Home Office refused to comment but sources confirmed the British side of the deportation would go ahead as planned with around 25 Afghans originally held in Britain returned.
France’s last minute withdrawal followed vociferous protests by a coalition of refugee groups.”
Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5gJQRrBaqam-5RkQ8PTdU6t-62Q-Q
* 6th of October
No charter flight today!
Apparently due to “Diplomatic difficulties” (Besson), there’s no charter flight today. They probably will try again later…
* 6th of October
1) The Hunger strike is over. The police managed to intervene and chased/scatter people away.
2) This morning 10 Afghans were arrested under the bridge next to the place used by Belle Etoile food distribution. One other was arrested at the other bridge, the other Afghans escaped. This guy was also beaten up by the police just because he tried to run away while he was ordered to stop.
* 5th of October
FRANCO-BRITISH “CHARTER” TO KABUL.
(translation of French communique)
A Franco-britannique deportation “charter” is scheduled for October 6 flying to Kabul. While the humanitarian situation and security continue to deteriorate in Afghanistan, that there has more civilian casualties than ever, and NGOs such as the Secretary General of UN expressed particular concern about the situation, France and Great Britain are trying, as they did in November 2008 with a joint operation. Afghanistan is a country at war. It is unacceptable to refer those that have fled to seek protection in Europe.
In France the Minister of immigration is mocking the decision of different courts to release 130 OF the 138 Afghans who had been arrested on September 22, for their removal, with the spectacular closure of the the largest “jungle” in Calais
These courts have highlighted the inanity of this media operation recalling the respect of the people rights and fundamental freedoms Several courts have cancelled the papers obliging the migrants to leave the French territory (APRF) with the motivation of the non respect of the right to claim asylum . the government has not remedied this.
The government remains locked in his rhetoric about the magnetic effect of the jungle, according to which Afghans, Eritreans, Iraqis, Iranians, Sudanese, etc.. don’t come to Europe to save their lives and their freedoms, but for reasons of pleasure and comfort. According to this rhetoric, the current raids are supposed to carry disincentive messages in the countries of origin. So it like this that the Afghans of Calais are being taken hostage to try to terrorize their fellow victims of violence in the country.
These “cleaning operation” are continuingas well as the placement of Afghans in detention .
The joint charters which are contrary to the principle of collective deportation . They are leading to arbtitrary discriminatory and inhuman practices , in defiance of peoples fundamental rights
We call upon the French and the Britsh authorities to waive any project of deportation to Afghanistan which would seriously endanger the lives of the Exiles
We reaffirm the urgency of making sense of asylum in Europe by providing a mechanism for all refugees to seek protection in the country of his/her choice. In the meantime, that France can and must suspend the application of the Dublin Regulation so it may host on its territory those who continue to flee conflict and take refuge in Europe.
PRESS CONTACTS:
Cimade Julie Chansel 06 82 24 03 47 julie.chansel @ lacimade.orgHYPERLINK “mailto: @ julie.chansel lacimade.org” julie.chansel @ lacimade.org
Organisations who signed this statement:
Organisations who signed this statement; ACAT France (Action des chretiens con tre la torture), ADDE (Advocats pour la defense des droitsdes etrangers), ANAFE (Association nationale d’assistance aux frontiers pour les etrangers), APSR (Association d’Accueil aux medecins et Personelles de Sante Refugies en France), Association Primo Levi, Auberge de migrants (Calais), CAAR (Comite d’aide aux refugies-Bois-Colombes), Calais Migrant Solidarity, C’SUR (Calais), Cimade, Collectif Migrants (Dunkerque), Collectif Solidarite Migrants (Angres), Collectif de soutien de exiles (Paris), COMEDE (comite medical d’aide aux exiles), ELENA (European Legal Network on Asylum), Emmaus-France, Federation de l’Entraide Protestante, Flandre Terre Solidaire, GAS (Groupe Accueil et Solidarite), GISTI (Groupe d’information et soutien des immigres), Itinerance (Cherbourg), LDH (Lige des droits del’homme), MRAP (Moovement contre la racisme et pour l’amite entre les peuples), PCF (Parti Communiste Francais), RESF (Reseau Education sans frontiers), SAF (Syndicat des advocats France), SALAM (Calais), SALAM (Dunkerque), Secours Catholique, Syndicat de la Magistrature (SM), Terre d’errance (Norrent-Fontes), Terre de’Errance (Steenvoorde), Touts du Monde (Orleans).
Updates:
* Following the announcement of the Franco-British charter with Afghans
The charter from the Lille-Lesquin airport,will be at around 23:30. The flight will deport people rounded up in the jungle of Calais. It leaves at 23:30. People are expected to be transferred from Mesnil-Amelot detention centre and perhaps from Coquelles.
* Friday 2nd October
Only one day after the anti-asbestos operation, the destruction of the Eritrean house is underway.
This picture was taken 20 minutes ago. The twitter update was a little confused as the destruction is not over yet. Yesterday night, one activist recounted a previous experience of an anti-asbestos operation on her school, and she insisted it would take at least 15 days, even after the operation itself is over. There is an idea that you need to let the building ‘rest’ before you can enter again. Hence the weirdness of such a speedy destruction. The same activist conjectured that Besson’s presence this morning might have pushed the authorities to act precipitously.
* Thursday 1 October
No Borders demonstrates against the eviction of the Eritrean house.
* Wednesday 30 September
Eritrean Squat evicted.
This morning around 7:30 seven CRS vans turned up at the Eritrean squat. They arrested 15 people, but 30 or 35 managed to escape, or they had papers. After the CRS emptied the building they put a big fence all around the building. Police and workers are there to keep an eye on the place.
Hunger Strike starts today at 12
In response to the brutal destruction of the ‘jungle’ migrant camp in Calais by French authorities, around 30 people demonstrated yesterday near the French Embassy in Knightsbridge, London.
* Tuesday 29th September
As of 9am French time today 11 migrants in Calais started a highly visible hunger strike in the port area.
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.
*Monday 26 September
Callout for support in Calais for migrants on hunger strike
Following a demonstration yesterday by No Borders activists, including migrants from places such as Iran, Sudan and Afghanistan, a hunger strike is being planned in protest about the situation here in Calais.
A growing number of people from different migrant communities are coming together to plan political actions. This hunger strike will begin tomorrow and the people involved have asked us to support them.
Numbers of activists in Calais have grown as news of the Pashtun Jungle destruction has spread, however numbers are now shrinking again and more people are needed to replace those who have to return to commitments elsewhere. The migrants are still here. Destroying their homes will not change that as most have nowhere else to go.
We have established good relationships with many of the migrant communities in Calais and now is a good time to get involved and show solidarity. No special skills are required, but those with medical, legal or media skills will of course be extra useful.
Those not able to come to Calais at this time can offer support by being media contacts and writing press releases, or by donating money or equipment. Contact us to find out the current wish-list, or to offer support or tell us you are coming.
calaisolidarity@gmail.com
Communications number (French mobile): (+33)634810710
Calais Migrant Solidarity Wish-list
People!
Bikes, bike tools, locks, chain, inner tubes,
Laptop,
Tools – especially a saw
Mugs,
Cooking knives,
Shoes – mens, size 40-46 especially
Memory stick for computer,
Camera, video camera
*Friday 25 September
This afternoon, twenty No Borders activists protested at the sous-prefecture in Calais, demanding an immediate end to the persecution of migrants and calling for freedom of movement for all. The activists unfurled a banner proclaiming « Human Rights have no borders », alongside others made by migrants in response to their eviction on Tuesday. One banner read, « The jungle is our house, please don’t destroy it. If you do, so then where is the place to go ? » The clearances which began on Tuesday were due to end today. However, Besson has now admitted that the operation is likely to continue for weeks. One activist commented « since the destruction of squats and jungles doesn’t offer a viable solution, the harsh repression of migrants has no end in sight » A fellow activist added, « Instead of attacking migrants, Western governments need to address the problems of war and economic inequality which force people into exile ». French news video, basically saying the No Borders militants were demonstrating against the continued police persecution of migrants in Calais.
*Thursday 24 September
see Twitter on right for updates
*Wednesday 23 September
- Brighton city centre, Wednesday 23 September
14.40: People who made asylum claim in France have been released, but with nothing, even their green cards taken and shoelaces. 30-35 migrants from jungle taken to Toulouse
14.22: Activists have been doing medic work with migrants today. Everyone afraid. Activist still held in Coquelles detention center/police station. CRS clamping down on us. 100 Pashtun from Calais in Lille detention center. 50 Afghans arrested in Dunkerque. 4 Afghans arrested in Grand Sant. CRS told Palestinians by dock that they will be cleared tomorrow morning.
08.46: 1 No Borders activist arrested last night for driving with 3 Iranians in a car. Still in custody. Will send more info, only sketchy details from the police so far.
08.25: 19 people left dockside, the ‘Palestinian’ squat in the centre of Calais – everyone else has fled. We have been finding alternative acommodation for people… new arrivals all the time. Looked after three 13 year old Afghans yesterday left with nothing – they are safe now. The Pashtun ‘jungle’ is just a pile of rubbish and dirt now.
08.02: 11 arrests this morning, 2 Vietnamese and 9 Eritreans. Last night many Eritreans fled from their house (squat). The CRS just came, they cleared the area but several people managed to get away.
*Tuesday 22nd September
Joint Declaration. Destroying the jungles: a false solution – announcement from Associations
11.48: Sub Prefect of Police in Calais Debousquey announces that 278 Pashtun arrested, 146 over 18 years old, 132 under 18 years old. Not being held in police station or Coquelles detention centre, not sure where.
In his statement to the press outside the cleared Pashto ‘jungle’ Debousquey states that “…we couldn’t accept this jungle which is a scandal in terms of rights and sanitation, in terms of delinquency of whom the first victims were the migrants who camped here”. Yet the police and Calais authorities:
> refused showers to be set up by Secours Catholiques in July
> maneuvered legally to frustrate Medecins du Monde and Medecins sans Frontieres’ plans to attempt to deal with the scabies outbreak among migrants in Calais
> reneged on their legal responsibilities to house and support under 18s, by Debousquey’s own reckoning about half of those arrested this morning
> regularly harassed migrants on their way to the afternoon PASS medical clinic, often picking up migrants and dropping them off 3km out of Calais
> and many indiscriminate violent and illegal actions against migrants, individually and collectively, such as spraying the one water hydrant at the Pashto jungle with tear gas to make it unusable
> FRENCH LAW makes it illegal to support anyone without papers – an activists was arrested earlier in the summer for lending her mobile phone to a migrant. We have obviously flouted this ridiculous law in our work with migrants
Hear Debousquey’s statement here
11.10: Besson (French immigration minister) announced all the jungles to be cleared by Friday, all the extra CRS staying in Calais until then.
08.15: Prefect of Calais just went into the Pashtun ‘jungle’ which is now totally cleared of people. Activists unable to see what destruction of dwellings is happening. The Prefect said there will be more destructions later today. Activists were kettled in by police outside Pashtun ‘jungle’, now released. CRS running around snatching people. Media circus left now, preparing for Besson press conference at Town Hall at 10.30 (9.30 BST)
07.19: 300-400 CRS (French riot police) broke ring we made around Pashtun used knife to cut rope and ran at us with it. Taking away mainly young Pashtun, all arrested. Not in full riot gear, no gas used. Helicopters overhead, trucks. Not dignified as Besson claimed. Several activists assaulted.
12.09: Besson coming to Calais 1030. Bloackades been set up by Pashtuns in the main ‘jungle’ – about 250 migrants left. Some media. Lots of banners migrants made with No Borders, good spirits. No CRS came in the night but moving in now. Iranians served papers due to be cleared so they found a new home. Army jeeps, trucks and helicopters sighted.
Is this operation going to achieve anything???
*Monday 21st September
Come to Calais to protest against the destruction of camps and squats of migrants!
International solidarity actions in front of all French embassies in Europe!
The French government, no doubt under British pressure, has proposed a definitive ‘solution to the ‘problem’ of the migrants in Calais. We call on all people concerned for the welfare of the migrants in Calais to mobilise and oppose the ‘solution’ which will, according to the Minister of Immigration and National Identity Eric Besson, be carried out this week by the French riot police to eradicate the jungle. We denounce this act of aggression against migrants who have already suffered greatly and endured much in the journeys to Calais.
Besson said in May that he wanted to make the Calais region a migrant free zone. Since then, squats and camps in Calais have been destroyed on multiple occasions. It is now the turn of the Calais jungle.
We do not regard migrants as the ‘problem’, and our solidarity is the only possible response to the situation they have been put in.
We reject the normalisation and abusive misuse of the words ‘clandestine’ and ‘illegal’, and support the spirit of Article 14 of the 1951 Geneva Convention which stipulates the right of each individual to claim asylum anywhere they choose.
However, we go further than this narrow conception of asylum, which excludes people fleeing non-state violence, rape and also ignores those forced to leave through the violence of a poverty imposed on them by the trade rules fixed in Washington and Geneva. The wars that capitalism is waging against people, to secure and exploit their resources and labour, create these forms of violence.
We believe that all people ought to have the freedom to move and to settle, and that this freedom should not be reserved for a minority, because we believe in equal rights for all, rights which should not be given or bestowed by governments but which should be guaranteed to any human being.
For migrants, leaving their homes, families and lives, perhaps forever, is never an easy choice, but often a necessary one. It is an act of survival for the migrants’ families, a great sacrifice with unknown rewards or failures. People are prepared to risk their lives because it represents a chance of a better future. Failure is not an option, and governments, despite all their efforts, will not be able to stop them.
A very important aspect of the Geneva Convention recognises that failure to carry a valid passport is not in itself an illegal act. The migrants in Calais have had no choice but to become ‘clandestine’, there are no legal avenues for them to get to Europe or the UK overland, all legal routes are closed off, which is why they are forced into hands of smugglers and all the dangers and expense that incurs.
The ‘choices’ in Calais: voluntary returns and the European asylum system
With Besson’s plan there are only two choices left open for migrants in Calais. The first is the so-called ‘voluntary’ return, which is clearly no such thing. The approach taken in Calais, and increasingly across the jungles of Northern France, is to grind down the resolve of the migrants by subjecting them to extreme levels of police violence and intimidation. The solution of ‘voluntary return’ is proposed by the IOM and now by the UNHCR, recently present in Calais, to give its ‘blessing’ to this operation.
The second option is to claim asylum in France. Most of the migrants are rightly very afraid since this is a potential trap for them. They are likely to have been fingerprinted and recorded on the Eurodac database, and according to the Dublin II agreements, if they claim asylum in France or anywhere else in Europe and have had their fingerprints previously in a so called ‘safe’ country, usually Greece or Italy, they are likely to be sent back. Greece receives money from the EU commission for each Dublin case it receives back there.
In Greece, Iraqis and Afghans have a 0% success rate of asylum, yet for most European countries Greece is still regarded as ‘safe’ to send people back to. Norway and more and more courts have started to rule that it’s dangerous to send people back to Greece, now other European governments should follow suit.
The British and French governments, as well as the mainstream media, claim that the migrants are not ‘genuine’ refugees as they are not claiming asylum in these countries. But who would when it potentially adds up to an act of suicide? Through these arrangements, the European states have created a system that is destroying peoples’ chances of asylum and obtaining refugee status.
The consequence of Franco-British agreements
One could regard the ‘problem’ of the migrants in Calais as having been entirely created by the British refusal to join the Schengen space, and the French government’s compliance to this. In fact, it is the result of a sort of anomaly created by the ‘special’ bilateral arrangements between France and Britain. The problem also relates more generally to the closure of Europe’s borders to migrants, coordinated through the European pact on Immigration and Asylum.
The bilateral agreements between France and Britain after the closure of Sangatte camp have led to the seemingly endless implementation of more and more expensive and sophisticated borders controls, and to the movement of British border controls onto French soil. As the French government has ceded to the British and accepted to implement its politics of border closure and reinforcement, the obvious consequences are that people are blocked for longer at the border.
So as tighter immigration controls cause the build up of people behind the border, the ‘solution’ taken is destruction of the jungles. The migrants are thus dispersed and deported as a means of making the problem ‘disappear’. Besides the barbarity of these methods, these policies remain fundamentally ineffective, as they force people to become even more dependent on smugglers.
When Sangatte was shut down in 2002, we were told that Sarkozy had solved the ‘problem’ in Calais. Of course the migrants have kept on coming, and the aim has since then been to try to make their presence invisible. Until now the governments had several options to make the migrants disappear:
1) Let people pass when there are too many.
2) Subject them to levels of intimidation and violence, so that they leave and try to pass from somewhere else
3) Destroy their living spaces and belongings
Now the government pretends to resolve the situation, justifying its actions with talks of networks of smugglers, shameless lies claiming that local people are being attacked every day and of the need to protect migrants as well as local businesses.
Such lies have always been expedient for politicians wishing to create a scape-goat, the consequences of such irresponsibility are well known and are very well recorded. To cover his policies with a humane veneer, Besson talks of the 170 migrants who were given asylum in Calais in the run up to the closure of the jungle, a fact which turns out to be a complete fiction: according to associations in Calais precisely none have been given asylum.
Today, we are about to witness a “clearance” of migrants beneath claims of humanitarian concerns. Besson pretends under the bright lights of the media that he has found a dignified ‘solution’ for them, but this is clearly not the case.
The real problems that so often force migrants to leave their homes will never be resolved unless all governments, and particularly the British, American and French governments, examine and change their own warmongering approaches and their economic, political, and ecological foreign policy aims throughout the so called ‘developing’ and ‘undeveloped’ world.
Migrants will not stop coming and they are welcome here. Freedom of movement is everybody’s right!
We call on people everywhere to come to Calais this week to show solidarity and to denounce current migrant politics!
We call for the end of Dublin II, selective migration policies and any other rule that stops people migrating where they choose to or need to!
We call for solidarity actions outside French embassies and consulates, to protest against the destruction of refugee and migrants camps by this country that likes to call itself the home of human rights.
No Border Calais
*Friday 18th September
*Thursday 17th September
Statement from CFDA (french coordination for asylum seekers):
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.
*Sunday 13th September
Nothing open, including pass clinic so we can’t get the medicine for A as promised. We drive to Hazara to tell him and offer to drive him to hospital instead. He accepts reluctantly as he is in a lot of pain. We all wait in A+E for a long time.
After one hour they washed his feet, after another hour they said they had no scissors, so they went to get some and never came back. M_ left with ‘five hours’ written on his forehead in biro.
*Saturday 12th September
We went to market and got lots of free food.
Drove past some police (not CRS) around a man who appeared to be unconscious and another French man we are friendly with. We heard that the unconscious man had got inside the fence of the dock but was seen by security and jumped from the bridge. We were ushered on by the cops but we will go to hospital with the man, who we know.
Took some of the food to the Hazara Jungle, where we were greeted by “Water! Water!” The Hazara were dry and unable to carry water by hand as it’s such a long way (out by the old hoverferry terminal). A man who usually gets it for them has not been by in a few days. We loaded the van up with empty bottles and containers and drove out to the water pump at the car park where La Belle Etoile destribute food, accompanied by an Iranian man who is living at the Hazara Jungle. He has been in Calais only two days and is a good contact to make as his English is excellent. He was tortured in Iran before the election – He showed me where they burned his arm with cigarettes.
At the water pump I hold the water bottles while some of the men who had been hanging around came over to help wind the pump.
When all the bottles were full, returning to the van it was getting mobbed by gathering crowds who had seen the food in the back. We gave away all but one box of food, which we saved for the Sudanese camp. We also gave out lots of the clothes we had brought with us from England. Felt like aid workers and having enormous power as to who could receive and who not.
We drove the water back to the Hazara, where I photographed the Iranian man’s wounds with my phone. He had pictures of his injuries before, but they took his camera from him in Greece, where they locked him up for three months and took his fingerprints. There is an injured man at the Hazara who is out of medicine. We promise to bring him some tomorrow.
Manu Chao gig in Calais tomorrow and we will have a stall there. Also an initial false rumour that he wanted to play a gig IN the Pashtun Jungle. Turned out to be a mis-communication and Pashtun not up for it anyway: Ramadan and they don’t trust us. Our relationship with that particular Jungle is unfortunately bad now as the people who run it have told the others not to trust us. We have been told it is dangerous for us to go there. Our relationship with all other Jungles is very good at present and we are looking for ways we might be able to help heal this one, maybe when Ramadan is over.
Met the others at the Ethiopian squat, where they dropped off the car battery we had charged up for them. They now have lighting, although the CRS have smashed one of their lights.
We went on to the Dockside (formerly called Palestinian or International) and Sudanese camps briefly to deliver clothes and food. Hung out with Sudanese by train tracks for a while, then the Docks, where I had a fascinating discussion about Anarchism with a Sudanese man who had never heard the word before. We also saw the man from this morning who had jumped from the bridge and been taken to hospital. He seems ok but is in pain. His foot is bandaged up. Apparently he was in Dover two days earlier, but got caught and sent back. Now he will have to rest.
*Friday 11th September
Today we found the Kurdish Jungle near to the Iranians deserted and destroyed with only a pile of bags remaining. The bags contained papers and IDs so we decided to go back for them later.
Heard confirmation that the CRS had cleared the Kurdish Jungle. We went back for the bags, but alas they had already been gone through. Others went out for late patrol.
Went with the Armenian families to the prefecture, they are trying to claim asylum in France. Due to some bureaucratic error they will have to go back again on Tuesday. The families came back to the flat and all was chaos with children everywhere and us trying to have a meeting in the middle of it all.
* Wednesday 9th September
We have been helping two Kurdish Armenian families, both with young children, who arrived together in Calais and were found by activists two days previously. The families have no money and nowhere to go. Last night they were put up in a cheap hotel by one of the humanitarian organisations here in Calais. Went to meet them and to have a sly shower in the hotel (the families insisted!)
Went to collect unsold food from the market and deliver it to the Sudanese Jungle in the van that has arrived. There has been no transport here for a while and only one bike, so the van will be extremely useful.
Later we went to find a Vietnamese Jungle we did not know about before. It took us ages to find it and we hung about outside for a while unsure of how to make contact as we didn’t want to freak them out or intrude into their space. Eventually we went in cautiously holding some of the fruit we had brought with us. A woman came out to meet us and immediately invited us in, without even bothering to ask who we were or why we had just appeared on their doorstep bearing fruit. She is the only woman in the camp and is living there with 19 men. They came together in a big group and the atmosphere in the camp is very pleasant. They were extremely polite and hospitable and invited us to eat with them, which we did.
Tuesday 8th September at 7am it took 82 cops to detain 85 migrants at a long established camp (2007) sited on farm land close to the A26 The cops then cut down the trees in the copse where the camp was sited and torched everything except the single bag of possessions that each migrant was allowed to take and the equipment that local supporters from Fraternité-migrants were allowed to retrieve.
http://www.lavoixdunord.fr/Locales/Lens/actualite/Secteur_Lens/2009/09/09/article_angres-le-camp-de-vietnamiens-clandestin.shtml
http://www.lavenirdelartois.fr/actualite/Faits_divers/Faits_divers/2009/09/08/article_groupe_nord_littoral_1101062.shtml
But it is the local support that is the real story. 52 of the migrants were taken to Coquelles and 28 detained at the National Police station in Liévin. The later were released that afternoon, collected by volunteers and taken back to Angres. At 6pm there was a town meeting at which it was decided to set up a camp outside the town hall to house the 28 Vietnamese and 7 others who were found wandering around after the camp’s destruction. Volunteers stayed in the camp overnight as the old camp had been attacked on the previous Friday night and a couple of migrants beaten up.
Check out http://www.politis62.org/index.php?title=Camp_de_migrants_sur_la_place_d’Angres
http://www.lavoixdunord.fr/Locales/Lens/actualite/Secteur_Lens/2009/09/09/article_vingt-huit-migrants-relaches-hier-apres.shtml
Also http://www.politis62.org/index.php?title=Cat%C3%A9gorie:Fraternit%C3%A9-migrants_bassin_minier_62
THE 52 DETAINED AT COQUELLES (near Calais) ARE THREATENED WITH DEPORTATION, CIMADE AND OTHERS ARE ORGANISNING THEIR LEGAL SUPPORT – and looking for interpreter…as the one they have cannot cope with so many cases.
Vidéo de France 3 sur le démantèlement du camp d’Angres
*Friday 4th September
This is the translated section on Calais from Besson’s longer interview with Nord Littoral
Back to work Conference of Eric Besson, Minister of Immigration
“A full-scale simulation of the dismantling of the jungle in October”
Friday, 04.09.2009, 14:00
Nord Littoral
“The United Kingdom remains a very attractive hub for smuggling. I announced a plan with three components: the restoration of the rule of law with a view to dismantling “the jungle” before the end of the year, the strengthening of border controls, the only way of ‘illegal channels to send the clear message that you no longer pass to England from Calais; the establishment of a scheme involving humanitarian scheme for the opening at Calais a surgery to receive applications for asylum, a permanent access to care, a point of distribution of meals, a place t wash, showers and a point for drinking water.
You confirm the dismantling of “the jungle” before the end of the year. Can you be more specific in time and what are the different steps that will lead?
“Several dismantlings of unplanned settlements and squatters were held this summer. The jungle located near the port of Calais will be dismantled before the end of the year. When? I cannot tell you even if I knew I would not say for obvious security reasons. To make this operation as dignified as possible, the operation from a logistical point of view is very difficult to implement, I have established several criteria that must comply with the Prefect. The operation will be triggered only when all these criteria are met. In the meantime, I asked the prefect to hold a full-scale simulation of the dismantling of “the jungle” in early October. It will determine whether we are ready to bring in police, interpreters and doctors in sufficient numbers to achieve the decommissioning. This operation will serve as dress rehearsal so that we can carry it out in the utmost respect for human dignity. “
*Wednesday 2nd September
Last night at 2100 the CRS came again for the Eritreans. 3 vans containing 10 cops pulled up around the side and 2 CRS went into the house. CRS threw a potato or a stone into the front yard over the wall. An unmarked white estate then arrived by the front. CRS ran out and tried to snatch people. The Eritreans hid and No Borders activists managed to stop the CRS snatching anyone. We filmed them and stopped them from entering. The CRS have begun filming us so we had a camera stand off for a while before they drove away. They were unable to find anyone. We think these raids are illegal because they do not have authority to enter the house please can someone check this? I followed them on a bicycle on my own (not advisable). They went to the park (they have started to snatch migrants here late at night). The van got 2 people; I think they were Hazara. Another van arrived and the unmarked car. I got off the bicycle to try to talk to the migrants. I had been shouting for some time which the CRS do no like!2 CRS snatched me as I tried to escape. They grabbed me; got the bicycle; let down the tyres and kicked it.Then 9 CRS cops circled me and pushed me.They tried to make me pay a fine 135 euro! I said I had no money. They shouted for a while and checked my passport before letting me go; I could not help the migrants. I went back to the Eritrean's; they were ok; then the unmarked car came back again; but once again; when it saw we were there they did not try to enter. These patrols are essential. We have 7 jungles to patrol; plus the park now. If we are always at the Ertireans they will go somewhere else; but it is clear that we are directly stopping them making arrests. Please come to Calais now; and bring a bicycle or a car or van; we need numbers here!
*Monday 31st August
Activists Disrupt CRS Raid on Eritrean House Last night (30/31st) at around 9.00pm the CRS made a raid on the Eritrean house. Four vans including a police “snatch van” descended on the property. Activists on the scene were able to bear witness to them detaining three Eritreans, as well as emptying bottles of cooking oil over migrants’ beds and clothing. Other activists were able to get inside the property and follow the police out. Enough of a scene was created with activists darting around the police heckling and obstructing that they left without making any further arrests. Later that evening activists witnessed the CRS arresting two Pashtu Afghanis near the Eritrean house. The two activists disrupted proceedings by engaging the refugees in conversation, shining torches on the police and calling them bullying fascists, to which they seemed to take offence. A snatch van arrived with a third young Pashtun already inside and the CRS bundled the other two in with him. The two vans then headed back to t he Eritrean house and attempted to arrest further migrants but they all produced satisfactory documents. Activists were on the scene and slowed down operations by strolling in front of the vans, heckling, shining torches in the faces of the police and warning the Eritreans gathered around the nearby house. One CRS officer lost his temper and began violently shoving activists until he was given a stern talking-to by his Commander, to the delight of the three Pashtuns watching the spectacle from inside the snatch van. Clearly struggling the CRS harassed an Albanian near the railway bridge but had to let him go when he produced his papers. Unknown to activists the CRS then attempted to raid the Ethiopian house across town. This time they were more successful in scaling the 8’ wall designed to keep Ethiopians out, and searched for migrants with flashlights. However, no-one was found and no arrests (or beatings) took place. The cops then finished their shift and left without managing to fill their evening arrest quota. All in all a good night’s work. Unfortunately they managed to ruin this tranquility by raiding the Sudanese jungle early in this morning (31st) and arrested five Sudanese. Hopefully we will see them come back safe and sound within 24 hours.
*Sunday 30th August
The last few days have seen the CRS stepping up their tactics and causing
further distress to migrants in Calais. Yesterday morning at 8.00 am four
Eritreans were arrested, and last night another five were also arrested
and taken to Cocquelles. These arrests can be fatal for migrants as the
police can sometimes detain them for days, take them to the German border
and leave them or occasionally deport them if they are repeat offenders.
It’s not clear whether all in question have been released yet.
This morning at around half past seven/ eight the CRS made a raid on the
Palestinian squat. Following an unusual patrol late last night, the CRS
targeted certain people including Palestinians, Sudanese and Eritreans.
Altogether nine were arrested and a shelter partially destroyed. Activists
were prevented from entering the area although many found alternative ways
in. The CRS refused to believe that we could be friends with the migrants
and checked our passports telling one activist; “England is over there, go
home, swim”
Activists continued to follow the CRS and spotted them at the Pashtun
jungle. They managed to arrest one Afghan but left quickly when we
arrived. It seems they don’t appreciate being filmed or watched.
The Hazara Jungle was once again raided on the 27th August. The police destroyed the main shelter, attacked sleeping people causing internal injuries and bizarrely stole their pet kitten, Mimi. They used pepper spray on the
ruins that they left to ensure that they could not be used again. 15
migrants were arrested but subsequently released. Efforts from Salam, No
Borders and other organizations ensured that they had food and enough
materials to rebuild. However the jungle remains highly vulnerable
especially since the arrival of a family including a nine month old child
and several children under ten years old.
The Palestinian Squat was also attacked and a shelter partially dismantled
causing a head injury. The Police claimed to be retrieving stolen wooden
pallets from which the Palestinians had created their shelters. Several
attempts have also been made to arrest one elderly Sudanese man living in
the squat.
Notable arrests include several Ethiopians who were arrested in the park,
one young man was badly beaten.
This is a quick reminder of the brutality and suffering endured by those
who have already suffered enough, people from Darfur, Gaza, Afghanistan,
Iraq and Eritrea. If you can help in any way, donations, clothes or your
presence, contact us.
*24th August
The 22nd was the first day of Ramadan and also a day of no CRS presence. The CRS was changing company, team. It was a day of peace and freedom to breath. Unfortunately this didn’t last long. On the 23rd new CRS was cruising around town, showing off at the internet cafe where migrants try to get in contact with friends and family. Slowly passing by as if they could stop and snatch people any minute, blue lights on flashing, a short sirene and police laughing at migrants. Like hunters staring at their prey… They wanted to let migrants know there back and ready for their daily hassling migrants, violence and arbetrary arrests. Later in the evening we saw the CRS also cruising around jungles, same thing with lights, short sirene beeps and staring and laughing.
That night the new CRS made their first hit when 3 vans of police arrested 30 Afghans in a place near Calais. Three of them were released shortly after the arrest, but up till now there is no news of the rest of the people. One Afghan guy was brutally beaten up by the police in prison because he asked if he could use the toilet…
*23rd August
On the 22nd there was a demonstration at the Coquelle detention centre. It was a lively rally with music, slogans, chalking and many banners. Thirty people joined the rally and at the Centre Commercial leaflets were spread to inform people what’s happening right under their noses.
*22nd August
The morning patrols of the 21st of August turned out to be quite effective. At the Hazara jungle the CRS hanged around for a while, but were not able to do anything because of our precense. The same situation was at the Pashtun jungle where 3 CRS vans were cruising around. The CRS checked our car papers and warned us for the extremely dangerous migrants… Whats more scary, a riotcop in full armour showing off authority and power or migrants offering you tea??? We had people present at almost every squat and jungle that morning.
In the end of the afternoon 5 CRS vans appeared at the Pashtun jungle and we went there asap. Around 8 Afghans were arrested around the jungle. We witnessed the situation and the police clearly didn’t like that. We made photos and because we had an official paper of the French journalist union saying filming is legal they could not do anything. They made a false accusation of insulting the police, to the person who was holding the camera and threatened with arrest, but didn’t do it in the end. The men from our van were searched and one guy was strangled by a police officer to take a close up photo of his face. We dealt with the hassle and hanged around the Pashtun jungle until the police was completely gone.
The morning of the 22nd was very quiet, no CRS. It’s the first day of Ramadan. At the moment there is the Rally going on at the detention centre in Coquelles. A report of this will follow soon.
*21st August
The French government is exploiting a scabies epidemic to clear the migrants from the ad-hoc encampments known as the ‘Jungles’ in the Calais area. At approximately 10am, scores of unknown individuals wearing gasmasks and dressed in white uniforms, entered the Tajik/Hazara squat in scrubland near the ferry port, tore apart their shelters and sprayed an irritant chemical over their belongings. They claimed to be disinfecting the area as part of a programme to treat scabies, despite the fact that the operation was officially cancelled by the French government. Cooking utensils were contaminated, and the absence of running water in the camps made cleaning their equipment especially difficult. “ We are not animals.” One Afghan said. The unknown individuals also seized essential materials such as clothing, and arrested six people, all under the gaze of several vanloads of CRS police. Humanitarian groups and activists from the No Border Network and Calais Migrant Solidarity had been monitoring the situation in the numerous camps – which in all, are inhabited by some 1,800 migrants from countries such as Afghanistan and Sudan – but the raid occurred shortly after they had left the camp for the morning. This incident indicates change in tactics by the French authorities as they now seek to justify the continued repression of migrants in Calais, which has been drawing increased criticism by human rights groups. They intend to protest against the daily raids and police repression with a demonstration leaving from Coquelles detention centre at 2pm on Saturday 22nd August.
*20th August
Around 9.00 this morning four CRS vans arrived at the Hazare jungle. The police smashed up peoples homes completely and arrested lots of people. According to a migrant who managed to escape the violent attack everybody is released now.
Yesterday morning we managed to prevent the police pepperspraying the water point at the Pashtun jungle. A CRS van passed by 2 times but because we were there they didn’t do anything. Unfortunately the police came back a third time after we left and sprayed it anyway. Victims of the peppersprayed water point told us that the water burned on their faces and that they had a burning pain inside their chests after drinking the water, not knowing it was poisoned.
Yesterday evening Salam organised a theatre play at the food distribution point and the Pashtun Jungle. Lots of people enjoyed the play, but shortly after the play at the Pashtun Jungle the police arrested 3 people.
*19th August
Yesterday morning around 9 o’clock the CRS raided the Pashtun jungle. According to some migrants around 15-20 people were arrested. Later that day, around 12 o’clock 4 Eritreans were arrested, 2 of them were released shortly after the arrest, but the other 2 haven’t returned yet.
We picked up patrolling again which turned out to be useful. This morning at the Pashtun jungle CRS arrived at the waterpoint, but drove on when they saw us. A bit later the CRS came back to the waterpoint and again drove on. After this migrants came to the waterpoint and told us that the CRS arrested 2 migrants in a different part of the jungle.
The last 2 days quite a few new migrants arrived. We gave them directions to useful places and hand out maps of Calais.
*18th August
We are going to the squats and jungles in town, we ask what people need and want, try to get it, like razors, toothpaste, shampoo, etc, etc, etc. The first aiders in our group do some first aid if necessary, mainly treating cuts and bruises from police violence. If necessary we go to the Pass clinic and/or hospital with people. At the moment we are helping out a guy with a badly swollen knee, going to hospital and Pass clinic, getting X-rays and a specialist. Due to misinformation things take longer with the normal hospital, this is the 3rd day we are going with him to the Pass clinic who is helping out making an appointment with a specialist.
We also hang out with people. We chat, listen to their stories (write them down), answer the questions people have or get the right information, make music, play games. Yesterday the Sudanese/Palestinian camp invited us for a vegetarian dinner, that was really nice. We learn some new languages and share some English. We make friends.
We are going to try and pick up patrolling again too, but lack transport at the moment. In Calais the police violence and arbitrary arrests of migrants is daily business. “Normal For Calais” as we say, which is actually brutal and bizarre.
The CRS lowers themselves to the lowest, they not only pepper-spray water points, but last night people from the Sudanese/Palestinian camp told us that 3 weeks ago the CRS pepper-sprayed the food they were cooking.
We just got the news that the Scabies operation proposed by Medecins du Monde and Medicins sands Frontier on 17-21 of August is cancelled for now. The council is providing ‘medical help’ at the moment, which they have to according to European law. Medicins du Monde cannot intervene with this and has to wait till the council’s program has ended. After the program has ended there will be a review of the council’s initiative and it’s effects on the scabies epidemic and if necessary there will be Scabies operation organised.
Clearly the council’s program is appaling, just providing a couple of showers and treatment at the Pass clinic for the amount of migrants living in Calais is not enough. It will not effectively treat the epidemic when the places where people live stay untreated and people and places are not being treated at the same time.
*Saturday 15th August
I’ve talked again to our very energetic friends of the medics team, and they said they had collected testimonies that confirmed what is written above, in the general outlines. The details were a little different.
Somewhere around 2 months ago, during a police raid on the eritrean squat, a pregnant woman who was asleep, got pepper-sprayed in the face, and subsequently lost her baby. There is no trace of her, we don’t know her name, where she is, where she went. The team will try to find out more.
Also, the rock-throwing actually occurs during weekends, and migrants say it’s probably drunkards doing it. They arrive by car, get out, and throw rocks and bottles. Sometimes the migrants throw stuff back, and the thugs just get back to their cars and drive away. The team has decided to do a patrol tonight, and see what’s what.
I was also told of a guy in civilian clothes who once used pepper-spray in one of the holes on the front of the squat.
*Friday 14th August
Calais Migrant Solidarity learned that the Ethiopian squat in Calais had
been blocked up by the CRS. They used breeze blocks to create a situation
where entry to the building is limited to climbing a plank of wood over a
high wall. All windows and doors have also been bricked up and sealed,
leaving those inside in total darkness. At their request a delegation
from No Borders South Wales was able to deliver some 12volt car batteries,
lights, LED lamps, a volt meter and a car battery charger (all donated by
those in sympathy with the migrants’ plight). We also handed out soap,
razors, toothbrushes, toothpaste and some vitamins. The level of police
repression toward migrants is astonishing; one Rastafarian even had his
dreads cut off by police when he was last arrested, and yet they manage to
keep a smile and share a cigarette with anyone who offers them help or
companionship. They told us that some of the locals are friendly and
often play music and wave to them from the nearby flats. The squat itself
is a really unhealthy space, with massive gaps in unstable wooden floors,
and the risks posed by prolonged inhalation of brick dust and ammonia. One
of the women living there is pregnant; we found it astonishing that such
vulnerable people are forced to live in such harsh conditions.
8.30pm The medics team reported, during today’s meeting, claims by migrants that the eritrean squat has been undergoing rock-throwing for the last 3 nights, around 3-4am. Also, they heard that racists had gone in and used pepper-spray on a pregnant woman, who then lost her baby, due to that. This still remains to be confirmed and detailed. The team hopes to speak to more people tomorrow and see if they can get converging testimonies. —- My own experience with white thugs in the neighborhood is similar, they are very much into shouting at passers-by at night, and they sometimes throw rocks/chunks of earth, either at people or at houses. Nevertheless, 4am is very very late for such things to happen. Usually the little thugs are quiet/home by that time. So it sounds more to me like action by racists.
*Tuesday 11th August
Arrest of 4 Iranians
Photo of the arrest by the CRS of 4 Iranians from their jungle, Tuesday 12th August at around 3pm.
The myth that the French state is dealing with the scabies epidemic following Immigration Minister Besson's statement yesterday that he was ordering showers and scabies treatment for "as long as it takes" is shown up for the bullshit it is in this message from a migrant who spoke with people who had visited the clinic where the showers have been set up: "Today afternoon I saw migrants coming from the PASS medical clinic, which is open every weekday afternoon. I asked them what was going on up there, they just told there were four new showers. They give you a scabies spray in case of need, or if you've got itching skin or something like that, but no showers allowed without excuse only for those who have scabies. France is the first country that treat scabies with showers ! haha that seem funny for me... and the migrants think this will work! I already told them it is a normal bath, which isn't effective in the removal of scabies or even a proper treatment." Read more about the planned Medecins du Monde scabies operation that this manouevre by the French government seems intent on undermining. Also our concerns about this operation being used to not just clean up but also clear out the jungles in Calais.Painted message appeared on main roundabout from Calais ferry port. English: "BORDERS = SUFFERING"Bridge from ferry port
*Monday 10th August
Policing with "dignity" in Calais
Monday 10th August: The picture above shows CRS (riot) police clearing the Palestinian jungle in the centre of Calais. The officers stand by while a man on crutches is forced to climb into a shopping trolley helped only by his frend.
As Immigration Minister Besson announced last night (10/8/09) that he would provide free showers to migrants (four of them for 120-1800 people) as a measure to treat the scabies epidemic (showers do not treat scabies, which he knows being a former doctor) and demanding that the local authority support this work for “as long as it takes” (the same local authority that in July refused to allow humanitarian associations to set up showers), this photo show the reality of the “dignified” treatment of migrants in Calais that Besson has been infamously quoted as saying he supports.
2.00pm CRS arrest two people by the marina in the centre of town. This is filmed and documented. As the unmarked arrest van and CRS van escorting it wait for the swing bridge to shut and make their way back into town, there is a call from the Palestinian squat near by (attacked by police yesterday) that CRS have returned. Activists and journalists arrived as a CRS van pulled up and an officer jumped out wielding his baton in the air, making towards a group of migrants sat by the local fishing boat dock. As activists cycled up a second officer was getting out of the van with his tear gas canister ready, saw he was being watched and called his colleague back. The arrest van and escort CRS van arrived, the escort van immediately headed off , leaving two vans of CRS to confront activists.
The journalists filmed and observed discreetly from inside the Palestinian squat. Activists placed themselves between the vans and migrants at the dock and in the squat. After a brief standoff activists were made to hand over ID for checking. During the radio check demands to “back off” were repeatedly made by the police; “if you can’t speak French go back to England”; when we spoke in French being told we could not take photos of police. We were asked if we had press idea, and that “if you are press you can take photos, no press, no photos” so they seem to have understood that bit of law. We were also informed several times that “we are the police, you are not the police”, which was a helpful confirmation of our respective roles.
In French law you can photograph police, but it is the way in which those images, and anyone else’s images in France, are subsequently used that is the issue. Activists were then photographed from about two feet away, an attempt at intimidation as much as one of intelligence gathering.
We occupied their time for at least 30 to 40 minutes, while some migrants walked off, or remained cooking their meals unhindered. This felt like a real practical prevention of police attempts to hassle, arrest and quite clearly attack (evidenced by the raised baton and charged tear gas canister) migrants in broad daylight in the centre of Calais in front of tourists and Calaisiens. This was made possible by our numbers increasing only slightly today, so come to Calais and continue the work to support migrants here. Lots of recent info elsewhere on this blog.
Around 9.ooam the CRS had blocked off the road leading to the middle of the Pashtun (Afghan) jungle and unconfirmed reports of 20 to 30 CRS vans driving past. Also unconfirmed reports of them driving into the jungle, spraying the one water hydrant with tear gas, and filming people in the jungle. When we arrived a man with a fresh head wound pointed towards a recent police presence. It may be that this was a CRS battalion, usually of around 24 vehicles, redeploying and making a show of force on its way out of Calais. There is one battalion of CRS riot police for each department (province) in France, with the Pays de Calais battalion permanently deployed in Calais and one from elsewhere, making a permanent prescence of 2 battalions at any one time, with about 100 officers each.
| * Morning 27th July-We arrived at the Pashtun jungle just after the police raided it, they were there between 8am and 8.45 with three police vans and a bus they filled with Afghans, they won’t tell us how many but one cop said they will get out in few hours. -Before (7am) we were at the Sudanese ex-squat; the police was there and checked our IDs. -We also checked the Eritrean squat but no visible police activity there.Footnotes: The police were rather talkative and told us they know some of their colleagues are using tear gas and beating people. They also said they know politicians are using them for nonsense. |
49 Comments
Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI
Leave a comment
07887768941
thats the number (the first emergency number), well the girl on the other ond there couldnae really undrstand me she was saying but i think she knew what i ment anyhow that number gets you a person in the embassy
02070731002
thats the other emegancy number i’v no try’d but that last calls made me go aw spun out so im away
That wall at the Ethiopian squat has been there for ages and people have been climbing up and down the plank. You can clearly see the climbing in the video about police violence. Or have they built a different wall in the last couple days? I don’t understand what you say about the other doors and windows but most were sealed already when I arrived in Calais, about three weeks ago.
Painted message on bridge, above is a mix of English and French in fact…French for frontiers or borders, is in fact frontières!
Communiqué from SALAM, charity supporting migrants in Calais,
DESTRUCTION OF THE JUNGLE ON TUESDAY 21st JULY
According to verified sources we know that the destruction of the jungle announced by Mr.Besson before the end of the year 2009 will take place Tuesday 21 July.
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. SALAM has already informed migrants and continues every day its presence alongside them. Everything will be put in place to ensure migrants can exercise their rights and do avoid the charter flight to Kabul. This threat is unfortunately there: after the Evian summit of the 6th July agreements have been signed with the British government deciding to organise forced deportations between France and Britain (who regularly organise charter flights to Kabul). Last November, 2 charter flights to Afghanistan were cancelled thanks to the mobilisation of all.
SALAM calls out to all: DONT LET THIS CHARTER OF DEATH LEAVE
For any information:
http://www.associationsalam.org
For Dutch people:
Ambassade van Frankrijk
Internet: http://www.ambafrance-nl.org
Phone: 0031 (0)70 312 58 00
Fax: 0031(0)70 312 58 24
Address: Smidsplein 1
2514 BT DEN HAAG
the Netherlands
Hi,
Here is the contact of migrants in Jungle , Calais.
All the migrants are waiting for the latest desicion and news about the force deportation, please make a call to this number and make us inform about this bad news. All we want is the support of humantrian activists to stop this deportation.
We are all worried about what action to take as emergency case. If there is any chance for us to get into meetings of 18, 19 and 20th of July to keep other migrants of Afghan Jungle informed.
Please contact us as soon as possible.
Mobile number removed due to racist calls from other numbers
SAMIM
Hi,
Some direct phone numbers at the embassy and consulate if you want to phone in and protest over the phone:
0207 073 1005 – Office of the ambassador
0207 073 1009 – Ambassador’s adviser (Mr. Poimboeuf)
0207 073 1039 – Embassy’s director (Mr. Da Silva)
0207 073 1024 – Head of Press Office at the Embassy (Mr. Tribolet)
0207 073 1027 – Press adviser (Mr. Voituriez)
0207 073 1182 – Office of the French consul in London (Mr. Cochery)
UNHCR draws road map to help people out of Calais “jungle”
http://www.unhcr.org/4a6091846.html
Protestiert gegen die geplante Räumung und Abschiebungen von Migrant_innen in Calais!
https://at.indymedia.org/node/15112
Artikelsammlung Grenzregime Frankreich / collected articles borderregime france:
http://no-racism.net/thema/70
Hi
I have a couple of No Borders images that might be useful for a window image. The one with the boy and barbed wire (see link: http://www.blackbirdtree.co.uk/Images%204%20activists.html ) is the one I was thinking of and it’s the cover for a No Borders zine I’m in the process of making.
Solidarity! x
Hi,
Just a new silent arresting by police in CALAIS, I am just wondering that now a days they are kidnapping the migrants, that is quite funny for me. some migrants are just missing the police find a silent and safe place to grap the migrants from back nick and pull them inside the patrol and after that ummm no news of that innocent migrant ! I am just telling its a kidnapp by police not arrestation ! I hope the activists to spread more in silent and none public places where the migrants walk through the jungle or the path they always use to get into jungle, please spread in that areas from the evening time after 6.00 the police just try to take migrants around. You will not beleive if you watch out when they open the door of the patrol near the jungle or around and take the migrants like they are the most wanted persons in Calais. We hope to change their ideologies that we are not criminals of war or anything else. If there is law and justice please find out more in our countries and stop them. so we poor and innocent people will not fle from our countries.
I hope everyone in this blog read my message !
Support the humanity and expand the humantarian orginzations.
Regards
Hi S.S. You are absolutely right; more than you think, actually.
Actually, very important thinkers have argued that natural rights were superior in obligation to the legislation of any land. You can find many thinkers arguing this point here, from Plato, Cicero, Aristotle, Xenophon, to Aquinas, Blackstone, Otis, Spooner, etc.
Our struggle for justice is part of a very ancient tradition.
So yours is not just a funny idea. It is kidnapping, as a matter of fact.
There are illegals in this country, they’re just not the ones people think. They’re the ones wearing uniforms with ‘police’ written on them, and it’ll stay that way until the French legislation is reformed according to the principles of justice.
Sorry. I meant to create a link to this place.
The medics team reported, during today’s meeting, claims by migrants that the eritrean squat has been undergoing rock-throwing for the last 3 nights, around 3-4am. Also, they heard that racists had gone in and used pepper-spray on a pregnant woman, who then lost her baby, due to that. This still remains to be confirmed and detailed. The team hopes to speak to more people tomorrow and see if they can get converging testimonies. —- My own experience with white thugs in the neighborhood is similar, they are very much into shouting at passers-by at night, and they sometimes throw rocks/chunks of earth, either at people or at houses. Nevertheless, 4am is very very late for such things to happen. Usually the little thugs are quiet/home by that time. So it sounds more to me like action by racists.
I’ve talked again to our very energetic friends of the medics team, and they said they had collected testimonies that confirmed what is written above, in the general outlines. The details were a little different.
Somewhere around 2 months ago, during a police raid on the eritrean squat, a pregnant woman who was asleep, got pepper-sprayed in the face, and subsequently lost her baby. There is no trace of her, we don’t know her name, where she is, where she went. The team will try to find out more.
Also, the rock-throwing actually occurs during weekends, and migrants say it’s probably drunkards doing it. They arrive by car, get out, and throw rocks and bottles. Sometimes the migrants throw stuff back, and the thugs just get back to their cars and drive away. The team has decided to do a patrol tonight, and see what’s what.
I was also told of a guy in civilian clothes who once used pepper-spray in one of the holes on the front of the squat.
J’ai reparlé à nos amis très énergiques de l’équipe médicale, et ils m’ont dit qu’ils avaient recueilli des témoignages qui confirmaient ce qui est écrit au-dessus, dans les grandes lignes. Les détails étaient un peu différent.
Il y a environ 2 mois, lors d’une descente de police sur le squat éritréen, une femme enceinte qui était enceinte, a reçu du gaz lacrymogène sur le visage, et par la suite a perdu son bébé. Il n’y a pas de trace d’elle, nous ne savons pas son nom, où elle se trouve, où elle est allée. L’équipe tentera d’en savoir plus.
Egalement, le lancer de pierre a en fait lieu pendant les weekends, et les migrants disent que ce sont probablement des personnes bourrées qui le font. Ils arrivent en voiture, sortent, et lancent des pierres et des bouteilles. Parfois les migrants leur renvoient des trucs, et les voyous repartent dans leur voiture. L’équipe a décidé de faire une patrouille, pour voir ce qui se passe.
On m’a également parlé d’un type en civil qui a utilisé une bombe lacrymogène dans un des trous de la façade du squat.
Today, I and a friend from the medics team have accompanied a man to the hospital. His knee hurts. It is a condition that has been with him for about a year, and it has worsened in the last few days. He went to the PASS clinic 4 days ago, but all they did was fix his leg and give him pills of paracetamol.
The medics team found him in the palestinian/sudanese squat, and they also found a very poor and depressed soul. He is another sudanese, and he doesn’t want to move, he basically sleeps all day. He’s extremely sad and won’t take anything but beer. The other migrants have to wash him because he doesn’t even go to the toilets. We have been wondering what to do.
He was initially in Calais with 3 friends, but they managed to cross and he didn’t. He doesn’t seem to have any family left in Sudan; possibly a result of the Darfur massacres. We are thinking of trying to contact his friends in the UK, but all we’ve got for now is his first name.
‘Fix his legs.’ I mean, they put on something to fix it, so it wouldn’t move.
Aujourd’hui, moi et un ami de l’équipe médicale avons accompagné un homme à l’hôpital. Son genou lui fait mal. C’est quelque chose qu’il a depuis près d’un an, et cela a empiré ces derniers jours. Il est allé à la PASS il y a 4 jours, mais tout ce qu’ils ont fait, c’est poser une attèle, et lui donner du paracétamol.
L’équipe médical l’a trouvé dans le squat palestinien/soudanais, et ils y ont aussi trouvé une âme très déprimée. C’est un autre soudanais, et il ne veut pas bouger, en gros il dort toute la journée. Il est extrêmement triste et il ne prend rien d’autre que de la bière. Les autres migrants doivent le nettoyer parce qu’il ne veut même pas aller aux toilettes. On s’est demandé quoi faire.
Il était au départ à Calais avec 3 amis, mais ils ont réussi à passer, sans lui. Il ne semble plus avoir de famille au Soudan; peut-être un résultat des massacres au Darfour. Nous pensons essayer de contacter ses amis en GB, mais pour le moment nous n’avons que son prénom.
Also, the medics team did make a patrol yesterday night, but nothing happened as far as the eritrean squat was concerned.
Egalement, l’équipe médicale a fait une patrouille hier soir, mais rien ne s’est passé pour ce qui concerne le squat éritréen.
At 7 am this morning, the police raided the Sudanese squat and arrested 5 persons. Another arrest (3 persons) occurred near the roundabout up ahead of Townhall, around 11h30am.
A 7h ce matin, la police a fait une descente sur le squat Soudanais et a arrêté 5 personnes. Une autre arrestation (de trois personnes) a eu lieu près du rond point devant la Mairie, aux environs de 11h30.
Blue thugs activity today: around 9am, a raid on the Pashtun jungle. Rumors of 15 to 20 innocents kidnapped and confined. People had to hide. It was a huge operation. Also, 5 Eritreans were kidnapped and confined, their legitimate liberty was restored shortly thereafter. One of them got a weird note from some crazy guy telling him to get out of the French territory in 7 days.
Now, with the conventional bias.
Police activity today: around 9am, a raid on the Pashtun jungle. Rumors of 15 to 20 people arrested. People had to hide. It was a huge operation. Also, 5 Eritreans were arrested, and released shortly thereafter. One of them got a 7 days leave paper.
Ce qu’ont fait les voyous bleus aujourd’hui : autour de 9h du matin, une attaque de la jungle Pashtun. Des rumeurs disent que 15 à 20 innocents ont été kidnappés et séquestrés. Les gens ont dû se cacher. C’était une opération énorme. Egalement, 5 Eritréens ont été kidnappés et séquestrés, leur liberté légitime a été restaurée peu après. L’un d’entre eux a reçu un bout de papier étrange d’un type cinglé lui disant de sortir du territoire Français dans 7 jours.
Et maintenant, avec le biais habituel.
Ce qu’a fait la police aujourd’hui: autour de 9h du matin, une attaque de la jungle Pashtun. Des rumeurs disent que 15 à 20 clandestins ont été arrêtés. Les gens ont dû se cacher. C’était une opération énorme. Egalement, 5 Eritréens ont été arrêtés, et relâchés peu après. L’un d’entre eux a reçu une interdiction de territoire sous 7 jours.
I just heard this. Hazara jungle destroyed. Some of us went there with pallets and a tarpaulin. Will bring more details as soon as I can.
Thursday 10th of August, around 8h45am: CRS raid on Ethiopian squat. A couple of us were there from the beginning. I and the rest joined them when warned by text message. 9 people were arrested. There were 3 CRS vans, and around 8 ‘police officers’.
I took down the numbers of the plates, after which one of the CRS approached me and asked if I didn’t want his wife’s number with that. He continued speaking to me with threatening tones, telling me I had nothing better to do with my time. At some point, he asked me to tear the paper sheet and give it to him. I showed my notebook and said, ‘this is mine’. ‘We’ll see about that’, he said. He seemed to hint at the possibility of arresting me, but nothing else happened. They just departed with the 9 arrestees, pushing two of us to make way for the leaving vans.
All of them were released some 2 hours after that.
If anyone is interested, the plate numbers are:
59N961
59N9605B
9535N62
This was the 11th battalion.
My bad, it’s the 10th of september, of course.
Littlehorn, I just wanted to say keep up the good work, keep fighting the good fight. I wish I could have stayed there longer to help out. All the old ‘energetic’ medic team are thinking of youl and wishing you all the best.
Oh, and South Wales No Borders just raised a couple of hundred £ to be put towards SIM cards and things
Solidarité!
Hey, M here. Just want to refine something quickly:
“After one hour they washed his feet, after another hour they said they had no scissors, so they went to get some and never came back. M_ left with ‘five hours’ written on his forehead in biro.”
It was more like this: one hour after presenting ourselves at the reception, and explaining the problem, we get out the waiting room, and inside the hospital proper. That is, inside, where the real, tough, hardcore waiting gets done and your soul tries to escape your body.
There, we are told there ain’t many people today and the whole thing won’t take too long, thereby unfortunately misleading us into thinking the whole thing won’t take too long. An hour later, we are finally taken to the radio room, and this is probably the best part of the day, cause it actually was quickly done. I don’t know what they were thinking.
Then, we’re taken back to the original room, wait another hour before a nurse does the washing of the feet. ‘Should you get a plaster ? Um, I’m gonna ask.’ Well she comes back to say that yes we will get one. Oh, nice.
Obviously, that kind of feat of arms warranted another hour of waiting, and that’s just what we got. Ouh yeah !
You should also know, people kept coming back and forth because the storeroom and medical supplies were just next to us. So there we are waiting and having our hopes up every time someone enters, only to have them crushed when they leave for another patient.
Alright, but now something seems to be on the way, they are moving and speaking to us, in a language which, I realize now, was my own native one, French ! Ah ! And bandages are assembled, oh but, the scandal ! No scissors ! Where do we get scissors in a hospital !
Well then, the plastering will have to wait, scissors need be found. We just got another hour there. Oh, here’s that nurse woman at the reception, and she got scissors ! Do you actually need scissors ? My, what a coincidence !
Well now, all that remains is for that doctor to show up again and finish the work. Hey, in the meantime, A, could you help us with a translation, that guy barely speaks english. Whom do we see on the way ? That not-showing-up doctor ! And what does she have the fucking guts to ask ? ‘Oh hey, here you are, I’ve been looking all over for you !’ All over !? We’ve been fucking standing there the whole time !
Do you think I left there and then ? Nop, not yet. I let the translation get done, and still got another dose of waiting after returning to the plaster room, expecting that doctor to come after all. She sounded like she was looking for us, and looking forward to get the job done. I let that possibility a chance for 20 minutes ,and THEN I did what the author of this update said.
Saw this interesting piece covering the recent announcement by Besson that the Jungle is going to be cleared: http://www.spiked-online.com/index.php/site/article/7411/
Please keep us posted of what is happening in Calais. I am watching from Kansas and desperate to hear. I am sending my thoughts and support to all the migrants there.
Where are they fleeing to?
Where are the arrested being taken?
They are fleeing to England. The arrested are taken to either the police station, or more probably to the detention center. Then, either of two things happen. Either their fingerprints are taken, and they are released after a while (the center is quite far from town, they gotta head back on foot). Or a procedure of expulsion will be launched against them, and they will be locked in the detention center proper.
The system is mainly working to make life repetitively unbearable. Not everyone can be detained. So the police repeatedly arrests them until the migrants are sick enough and decide England is not worth this suffering.
Here’s a link to the blog that I started:
http://anoborderer.wordpress.com/2009/09/28/mensonges-et-hypocrisies/
I intend this to be mainly in French, but I will provide English translations once in a while. Because I don’t have to take responsibility for anything I write on it, I will also be extremely mean and dirty. Hence the title, No Mercy.
Hello there,
In the run up to Xmas we’re keen to arrange a collection of clothing and supplies amongst our community for the guys living homeless in Calais and Paris. You know and work with these people first hand, would it be possible to draw up a list of the things that they need. For example, besides clothes and trainers would things such as toothpaste, razors, sleeping bags, cutlery be useful? Please advise because we want to make sure we help not hinder!!!! Feel free to email me directly. Sarah.
You can find out more about what we need here:
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/10/440003.html
Also, there’s no need to worry about hindering or anything. Migrants need stuff all the time. Whatever you bring or send will be useful and very welcome.
An update about the activist who yelled tyranny to the cops.
One of the activists who stayed after this was told by a cop that the yeller should be taught how to be polite; the same also intimated that he would ‘break this fair-haired’s teeth’ were he to get his hands on him.
Also, please check out my blog; I finally updated it after a month of inactivity. My apologies to all those I let down.
http://anoborderer.wordpress.com/2009/10/23/les-sans-limites/#comment-13
http://anoborderer.wordpress.com/2009/10/25/a-reaction-to-the-zine/
http://anoborderer.wordpress.com/2009/10/28/bridges-clearing-28th-of-october/
http://anoborderer.wordpress.com/2009/10/29/no-nations/#comment-18
http://anoborderer.wordpress.com/2009/11/08/what-it-means-to-be-french/#comment-22
To the question, “To you, what does it mean to be French ?”
I answered: “To me, being French doesn’t mean anything, cause we are free as individuals to be whatever we want. And if being born and living in a given geographical area -to be French- conditions us in any way, then this whole debate has no interest whatsoever, since that conditioning is, by the force of things, natural and inevitable. At the end of the day, you are all wasting your time. Sorry.”
I admire the work you are doing, I was unaware of this until I saw photos of the Jungle destruction in a newspaper,One photo a young man of poss. middle eastern origin, with red/white scarf and grey knitted jumper looked so like my son, it broke my heart to see him treated like that and to learn of the dreadful conditions all these brave people are forced to endure. Does any one have somewhere I can post parcels to, and does any one know if the people treated so badly at the Jungle breakup are okay. I feel for them, they all had such pain on their faces, please let them know that there are good English people, and that I am ashamed to be British because of the way they are treated.My thoughts are with you all.
A migrant found dead in a truck in Calais
Saturday, 31.10.2009, 05:03 – La Voix du Nord
| MACABRE DISCOVERY |
Around 8 o’clock, yesterday the body of an Indian of 25 years was found in the trailer of a truck that was channeled to England at the time controls. …
A death that provokes Eric Besson, Minister of Immigration, “a great emotion to this new drama of illegal immigration,” and his “outrage at the illegal channels.”
In January, the death of an Afghan killed with knives in the streets of Calais did not hit the headlines nor generated any response. It was time the “jungle”. Since the communications department of the Ministry of Immigration has seized the issue.
Yesterday, at the time of boarding the ferry port of Calais, trucks registered in Slovenia and from India through various controls. Especially one who is to detect the presence of carbon dioxide, synonymous with human presence. When employees of the port open the doors of the trailer, they discovered three persons of Indian nationality. One of them, aged 25, died.
Daily
An investigation is underway to determine the circumstances of this death and an autopsy must be performed. This man was probably present in the truck for several hours. The Bosnian driver and the two survivors were taken into custody.
Migrants in the truck? It’s every day that the controllers of the port of Calais to be. This year, some narrowly escaped certain death thanks to the alertness of drivers who have found before filling a tank of concentrated acid or in ground glass. •
L. R.
http://calais-france.webs.com/naz%20france.jpg
We won’t. We don’t need to paint Nazi symbols on top of pictures. That makes it too easy for the police to evade the consequences of its crimes. They’ll just say that they’re not beating/killing anyone. And then you have to appeal to rights that you could have appealed to in the first place, but no one’s listening anymore.
Is anyone driving from london to calais next week?
c x
I’ve set up a Lift shares to Calais category, hope it helps put people in touch with each other
Видео однозначно в тему! Меня давно интересовало, как получается научиться находить на youtube настолько подходящие ролики… По поиску дофига всего находится, а чтоб отыскать хоть что-то суперовское – так это нуна пол дня, а то и больше потратить….
Dear All
Greetings from Calais. The flat is a good base for doing work, eating,
having meetings, taking action. Lots of interesting people drop by and
have tea and chats.
There are patrols to do each night and morning if there are enough people
to monitor police activities etc, there is stuff to distribute to people,
spare sleeping bags if their stuff gets taken or going out and visiting
people at the squats, looking for buildings etc.
There have been lots of people here the last few days but most of them are
leaving and some of the long termers are not around for a bit so if anyone
able to come for a few days, ideally with a vehicle, this week and next
would be a good time.
You can call the office on 0033 954621951 if you have any questions.
cheers, Al and Rob