Calais Jungle#Final eviction and demolition
{{Short description|Evicted migrant camp in France}}
{{Good article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2018}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Calais Jungle
| native_name = Jungle de Calais
| native_name_lang = fr
| settlement_type = Migrant camp
| image_skyline = Calais2015a.jpg
| image_alt = The camp in October 2015
| image_caption = The camp in October 2015
| image_map = Calais jungle location.jpg
| map_alt =
| map_caption = Location in the city of Calais
| pushpin_map =
| pushpin_label_position =
| pushpin_map_alt =
| pushpin_map_caption =
| coordinates = {{coord|50|58|7|N|1|54|21|E|display=inline,title}}
| unit_pref = Metric
| population_total = 8,143
| population_as_of = October 2016 (before closure)
| population_footnotes =
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_demonym =
| population_note = Census by Help Refugees{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-37773848 |title=Calais 'Jungle' cleared of migrants, French prefect says |date=26 October 2016|work=BBC News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190627182909/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-37773848| archive-date=27 June 2019}}
| etymology =
| area_urban_footnotes =
| area_rural_footnotes =
| area_metro_footnotes =
}}
The Calais Jungle (known officially as Camp de la Lande) was a refugee and immigrant encampment in the vicinity of Calais, France, that existed from January 2015 to October 2016. There had been other camps known as "jungles" in previous years, but this particular shanty town drew global media attention during the peak of the European migrant crisis in 2015, when its population grew rapidly. Migrants stayed at the camp while they attempted to enter the United Kingdom, or while they waited for their French asylum claims to be processed.
The camp was located on a former landfill site to the east of Calais. By July 2015, it had 3,000 inhabitants and continued to grow. Although estimates of the number of migrants differed, a Help Refugees census gave a figure of 8,143 people just before the camp's demolition in October 2016. As well as residences, the Jungle contained shops, restaurants, hairdressers, schools, places of worship and a boxing club.
The Government of France initially tolerated the camp, later opting to rehouse 1,500 migrants in shipping containers to be used as shelters on the north-eastern side of the site. In February 2016, they evicted the southern sector of the Jungle and there were several arrests. The Jungle received local support and international solidarity from activists, artists, intellectuals and grassroots aid organisations. The camp was completely cleared and demolished in October 2016. According to Government plans, 6,400 migrants would be moved to 280 temporary reception centres around France. There were concerns over the fate of 200 unaccompanied children and Human Rights Watch published a report in 2017 stating that up to 1,000 migrants were still living in the Calais region. While there is no longer a camp like the Jungle in Calais, a sizeable number of migrants are still present.
Context
{{See also|Migrants around Calais}}
{{See also|Timeline of the European migrant crisis}}
Migrants based in Calais were attempting to enter the United Kingdom via the Port of Calais or the Channel Tunnel by stowing away on lorries, ferries, cars, or trains.{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/news/europe/21660581-camp-channels-edge-sideshow-europes-migrant-crisis-it-offers-important|title=Learning from the Jungle|newspaper=The Economist|date=8 August 2015|access-date=28 December 2015|url-access=subscription|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180714000401/https://www.economist.com/europe/2015/08/06/learning-from-the-jungle |archive-date=14 July 2018}} Some migrants were attempting to return to the United Kingdom having once lived there, whilst others were attempting to enter the British labour market to find under-the-table work, which is more difficult in France. Some migrants lived in the camp while seeking asylum in France, a choice they made because the French system did not provide for them while their claim was being processed, leaving them homeless for the duration.Francesca Ansaloni, 'Deterritorialising the Jungle: Understanding the Calais camp through its orderings' in Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space (25/02/20) doi.org/10.1177/2399654420908597 One migrant from Egypt, a politics graduate, told The Guardian that he had "paid $3,000 (£2,000) to leave Egypt, risked my life on a boat to Italy spending days at sea" and that in one month he had tried 20 times to reach England; another, an Eritrean woman with a one-year-old child, had paid €2,500 (£1,825) – and her husband the same – to sail to Italy, but her husband had drowned during the journey.[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/06/at-night-its-like-a-horror-movie-inside-calaiss-official-shanty-town 'At night it's like a horror movie' – inside Calais's official shantytown.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160629210030/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/06/at-night-its-like-a-horror-movie-inside-calaiss-official-shanty-town |date=29 June 2016 }} Angelique Chrisafis, The Guardian, 6 April 2015. Retrieved 25 May 2019. Migrants risk their lives when they try to climb aboard or travel on lorries, occasionally falling off and breaking bones; some fatalities en route are also recorded.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/dec/23/15-migrants-trying-enter-uk-die-shameful-calais-conditions|title=At least 15 migrants died in 'shameful' Calais conditions in 2014|date=23 December 2014|last2=Grandjean|first2=Guy|newspaper=The Guardian|last1=Taylor|first1=Matthew|access-date=2 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150706150018/http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/dec/23/15-migrants-trying-enter-uk-die-shameful-calais-conditions|archive-date=6 July 2015|url-status=live}} In September 2016, workers began building a barrier, dubbed "The Great Wall Of Calais", to block refugees from accessing a highway where they could stow away on vehicles bound for Britain.{{cite web|url=https://news.sky.com/story/great-wall-of-calais-work-begins-on-barrier-to-stop-migrants-10586233|title=Great Wall Of Calais: Work begins on barrier to stop migrants|access-date=1 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180713203010/https://news.sky.com/story/great-wall-of-calais-work-begins-on-barrier-to-stop-migrants-10586233|archive-date=13 July 2018|url-status=live}}
Migrants have gathered around Calais since at least the 1990s.N. Bajekal, '[https://time.com/3980758/calais-migrant-eurotunnel-deaths/ Inside Calais's Deadly Migrant Crisis] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190604040610/http://time.com/3980758/calais-migrant-eurotunnel-deaths/ |date=4 June 2019 }} (01/08/15) in Time A refugee centre opened in 1999 and had been administered by the French Red Cross at Sangatte, but rapidly became overcrowded.{{cite news |last1=Bouchard |first1=Melodie |title=Remembering Sangatte, France's Notorious Refugee Camp |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/remembering-sangatte-frances-notorious-refugee-camp/ |access-date=21 August 2019 |work=Vice |date=5 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190821124454/https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/qva5n3/remembering-sangatte-frances-notorious-refugee-camp |archive-date=21 August 2019 |url-status=live |language=en}}{{cite news |last1=Rahman-Jones |first1=Imran |title=The history of the Calais 'Jungle' camp and how it's changed since 1999 |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/37750368/the-history-of-the-calais-jungle-camp-and-how-its-changed-since-1999 |access-date=9 March 2020 |work=BBC Newsbeat |date=24 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200309214927/http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/37750368/the-history-of-the-calais-jungle-camp-and-how-its-changed-since-1999 |archive-date=9 March 2020 |language=en}} After the Sangatte facility was closed in November 2002 by Nicolas Sarkozy (then the French Minister of the Interior) under pressure from the UK government, a "jungle" camp was established in the woods around the Port of Calais, along with various other camps that sprung up around the city before being torn down by the authorities.{{cite report |author1=Marta Welander |author2=Fee Mira Gerlach |date=2018 |title=Refugees and displaced people in northern France: a brief timeline of the human rights situation in the Calais area |url=https://refugee-rights.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/History-Of-Calais_Refugee-Rights-Europe.pdf |publisher=Refugee Rights Europe |access-date=16 April 2020|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200416124613/https://refugee-rights.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/History-Of-Calais_Refugee-Rights-Europe.pdf|archive-date=16 April 2020}} The large camp lasted until April 2009, when the French authorities launched a raid, arresting 190 people and using bulldozers to destroy tents. By July 2009, the camp had been re-established, and the BBC estimated it held around 800 inhabitants.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8129812.stm Migrant squalor in Calais 'jungle'.] {{Webarchive| url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170810005504/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8129812.stm |date=10 August 2017 }} Emma-Jane Kirby, BBC News, 2 July 2009. Retrieved 24 June 2015. French authorities closed down the camp in a September 2009 dawn raid and detained 276 people.[http://www.connexionfrance.com/news_articles.php?id=1076 Dawn raid on Calais "Jungle".] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923210243/http://www.connexionfrance.com/news_articles.php?id=1076 |date=23 September 2015 }} The Connexion, 22 September 2009. Retrieved 24 June 2015.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKAmx3LNIxI French police round up 200 migrants in Calais swoop.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311085358/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKAmx3LNIxI |date=11 March 2016 }} Agence France-Presse, 21 April 2009. Retrieved 24 June 2015. Conditions in these camps were poor, typically without proper sanitary or washing facilities and accommodation consisting of tents and improvised shelters. Food was supplied by charity kitchens. The French authorities faced a dilemma of addressing humanitarian needs without attracting additional migrants. The notion of humanitarian aid provision being a pull factor to the area has been contested by academics.Violaine Carrère, '[https://www.cairn.info/revue-plein-droit-2003-3-page-4.htm Sangatte, un symbole d'impuissance] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180604165759/https://www.cairn.info/revue-plein-droit-2003-3-page-4.htm |date=4 June 2018 }}' in Plein droit 2003/3 (n° 58)Maud Angliviel, '[https://journals.openedition.org/revdh/1761 La relative consécration d’obligations étatiques dans la « jungle » calaisienne Dignité de la personne humaine] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180602104055/https://journals.openedition.org/revdh/1761 |date=2 June 2018 }}' (2015) in La Revue des droits de l’hommeJérôme Lèbre, '[https://www.cairn.info/revue-lignes-2019-3-page-15.html « Appel d'air », attractivité libérale et inhospitalité absolue]' in Lignes 2019/3 (n° 60)Jean-Pierre Alaux, '[https://www.cairn.info/revue-plein-droit-2015-1-page-3.htm Calais vaut bien quelques requiem] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180603060427/https://www.cairn.info/revue-plein-droit-2015-1-page-3.htm |date=3 June 2018 }}' in Plein droit 2015/1 (n° 104)
Smaller camps continued to be set up and evicted over the following years, and local volunteers provided aid to migrants.{{cite journal |last1=Sandri |first1=Elisa |s2cid=149371936 |title='Volunteer Humanitarianism': volunteers and humanitarian aid in the Jungle refugee camp of Calais |journal=Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies |date=2017 |volume=44 |issue=1 |pages=65–80 |doi=10.1080/1369183X.2017.1352467}} After a visit to the city by French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve in September 2014, Cazeneuve and the mayor of Calais Natacha Bouchart agreed on opening a day centre in Calais for migrants and a night shelter specifically for women and children.Agence France-Presse, '[https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/sep/03/calais-mayor-threatens-block-port-uk-fails-help-migrants Calais mayor threatens to block port if UK fails to help deal with migrants] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404055953/https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/sep/03/calais-mayor-threatens-block-port-uk-fails-help-migrants |date=4 April 2019 }}' (03/09/14) in The Guardian It was this decision that led to the opening of the Jules Ferry Centre in January of the following year, around which the camp expanded. In December 2014, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said the conditions in Calais were "totally unacceptable". In partnership with local associations, the UNHCR also reported that 15 people, including young women and teenagers, had died at the border during 2014.
In January 2015, the government set up an official day centre, initially consisting of three military tents in the car park of a former children's holiday camp, the Jules Ferry Centre.R. Mulholland, '[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/11348493/Calais-opens-first-migrant-camp-since-Sangatte-closed.html Calais opens first migrant camp since Sangatte closed] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191211153227/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/11348493/Calais-opens-first-migrant-camp-since-Sangatte-closed.html |date=11 December 2019 }}' (15/01/15) in The Daily Telegraph Located on the eastern outskirts of the city, this was the first permanent site for migrants in the area since the camp at Sangatte. It was run by La Vie Active and was set up as a place from which food could be distributed, with overnight accommodation for up to 500 women and children added a few months later. Migrants were pushed towards this site through the dismantling of other encampments around the city and the area around the Jules Ferry Centre became a "tolerated zone" where migrants camped. It is this site that developed into the Calais Jungle.
Location and name
The Calais Jungle was located on a former landfill site in a Seveso zone. The land had been polluted by industrial waste and had been designated a Natura 2000 protected nature habitat.{{cite news|url=http://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2015/10/19/la-jungle-de-calais-est-majoritairement-situee-en-zone-seveso_4792559_3224.html|title=La " jungle " de Calais est majoritairement située en zone Seveso|date=19 October 2015|trans-title=The Calais "jungle" is mostly situated in the Seveso zone|via=Le Monde|newspaper=Le Monde.fr| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180713224030/https://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2015/10/19/la-jungle-de-calais-est-majoritairement-situee-en-zone-seveso_4792559_3224.html| archive-date=13 July 2018}} From 2000 onwards, the name "jungle" has been used by migrants to describe many encampments and shanty towns around Calais. The use of the word to describe encampments is thought to derive from the Pashto word "dzjangal" which means a forest or wood.{{cite book |url=http://www.oapen.org/search?identifier=1004862 |title=Lande: the Calais 'Jungle' and Beyond |page=2 |language=en |publisher=Bristol University Press |access-date=3 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190427230606/http://www.oapen.org/search?identifier=1004862 |archive-date=27 April 2019 |url-status=live |isbn= 978-1-5292-0618-0|date=22 May 2019 |doi=10.2307/j.ctvndv935 |s2cid=149616204 }} The moniker "Calais Jungle" is now most associated with this particular camp that existed from January 2015 to October 2016, located on the eastern edge of Calais, under {{convert|500|m}} away from the Port of Calais and next to the N216 bypass, used by vehicles approaching or leaving the ferry terminal. It was tolerated by the French authorities who officially referred to it as the Camp de la Lande ("Lande" meaning "heath" or "moor", referring to the geography and location of the site, a sandy area of flats and dunes outside the perimeter of the city).
Statistics
By September 2014, The Guardian estimated that there were 1,300 migrants in Calais, mostly from Eritrea, Somalia and Syria.{{cite news |title=Calais mayor threatens to block port if UK fails to help deal with migrants |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/sep/03/calais-mayor-threatens-block-port-uk-fails-help-migrants |access-date=21 August 2019 |work=Guardian |agency=Agence France-Presse in Paris |date=3 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404055953/https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/sep/03/calais-mayor-threatens-block-port-uk-fails-help-migrants |archive-date=4 April 2019}} In 2015, during the peak of the European migrant crisis, the numbers began to grow. Migrants arrived from Afghanistan, Darfur, Iraq and other conflict zones.{{cite news |last1=Keane |first1=Fergal |title=Calais 'Jungle': Migrants hit dead end in journey to UK |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-29551012 |access-date=21 August 2019 |work=BBC |date=9 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404135844/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-29551012 |archive-date=4 April 2019 |language=en}} By July 2015, The Telegraph reported that the "new jungle" had 3,000 inhabitants.{{cite news |last1=Mulholland |first1=Rory |title=Calais crisis: Bicycle repair shops, mosques and an Orthodox church – the town where migrants wait to cross to Britain |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/11718598/Calais-crisis-Bicycle-repair-shops-mosques-and-an-Orthodox-church-the-town-where-migrants-wait-to-cross-to-Britain.html |access-date=21 August 2019 |work=Daily Telegraph|date=5 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190125222725/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/11718598/Calais-crisis-Bicycle-repair-shops-mosques-and-an-Orthodox-church-the-town-where-migrants-wait-to-cross-to-Britain.html |archive-date=25 January 2019}}
Médecins du Monde stated in 2015 that 62% of the migrants in Calais were young men with an average age of 33, with an increase in the number unaccompanied children (517 in 2014, eight times more than in 2011).{{cite news |last1=La Voix du Nord |title=Médecins du Monde alerte sur la situation des migrants |url=http://www.nordeclair.fr/archive/recup/france-monde/acces-aux-soins-medecins-du-monde-alerte-sur-la-jna0b0n897938 |access-date=21 August 2019 |work=Nordéclair |date=15 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190611022311/http://www.nordeclair.fr/archive/recup/france-monde/acces-aux-soins-medecins-du-monde-alerte-sur-la-jna0b0n897938 |archive-date=11 June 2019 |language=fr |quote=Si à Calais se trouvent de nombreux femmes et enfants, la population des centres d’accueil est en majorité jeune et masculine (62% d’hommes, 33 ans de moyenne d’âge). MDM note une augmentation des mineurs étrangers isolés (517 accueillis en 2014, un chiffre multiplié par 8 depuis 2011), soumis par l’Etat à « des tests de maturation osseuse absolument pas fiables », dénonce Mme Sivignon, pour déterminer leur âge et savoir s’ils peuvent être pris en charge par l’aide sociale à l’enfance.}} Many migrants later moved to smaller camps near Calais and Dunkirk.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jan/07/calais-french-migrant-camps-refugee-crisis|title=The most shocking thing about Calais is that it's not even too big to solve|date=7 January 2016|newspaper=The Guardian|last1=Cooper|first1=Yvette|access-date=11 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221150818/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jan/07/calais-french-migrant-camps-refugee-crisis|archive-date=21 December 2016|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2015/08/france-refugees-avoid-jungle-150826082244714.html|title=France: Where refugees go to avoid 'the jungle'|publisher=Al Jazeera|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160225115551/http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2015/08/france-refugees-avoid-jungle-150826082244714.html|archive-date=25 February 2016|url-status=live}} As of November 2015, there were an estimated 6,000 migrants living in Calais,{{cite news|title=France has less and less influence in the EU, and fears to use what it still has|url=https://www.economist.com/news/europe/21677987-france-has-less-and-less-influence-eu-and-fears-use-what-it-still-has-dispensable|access-date=7 November 2015|newspaper=The Economist|date=7 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151107041712/http://www.economist.com/news/europe/21677987-france-has-less-and-less-influence-eu-and-fears-use-what-it-still-has-dispensable|archive-date=7 November 2015|url-status=live}} policed by over 1,000 officers.A. Zemouri, '[https://www.lepoint.fr/societe/la-jungle-de-calais-inquiete-les-autorites-21-10-2015-1975691_23.php La "jungle" de Calais inquiète les autorités] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181103112613/https://www.lepoint.fr/societe/la-jungle-de-calais-inquiete-les-autorites-21-10-2015-1975691_23.php |date=3 November 2018 }}' (21/10/15) in Le Point That winter, the number of arrivals decreased while a number of migrants left the camp, such as 3,569 who were "welcomed to France".M. Solletty, '[https://www.francetvinfo.fr/france/hauts-de-france/migrants-a-calais/infographie-l-explosion-du-nombre-de-migrants-a-calais-en-un-graphique_1806381.html INFOGRAPHIE. L'explosion du nombre de migrants à Calais en un graphique] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181107135202/https://www.francetvinfo.fr/france/hauts-de-france/migrants-a-calais/infographie-l-explosion-du-nombre-de-migrants-a-calais-en-un-graphique_1806381.html |date=7 November 2018 }}' (02/09/16) on France Info At the end of February 2016, the BBC noted that there were differing figures for the population: "Calais officials say it houses 3,700, while Help Refugees puts it at 5,497".{{cite news|title=EU migrant crisis: Clashes as France clears Calais 'Jungle'|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35686209|author=|date=29 February 2016|website=BBC News|access-date=21 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181120010111/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35686209|archive-date=20 November 2018|url-status=live}} Aid organisations put discrepancies between their and the authorities' figures down to different counting methods and a reluctance from migrants to speak to border police.Full Fact, '[https://fullfact.org/immigration/counting-number-migrants-calais-jungle/ Counting the number of migrants in the Calais 'jungle'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161002195813/https://fullfact.org/immigration/counting-number-migrants-calais-jungle/ |date=2 October 2016 }}' (31/08/16)
Refugee Rights Data Project (RRDP, later known as Refugee Rights Europe) released a report in April 2016 called The Long Wait: Filling the data gaps relating to refugees and displaced people in the Calais camp.{{cite report | first1 = Nicholas | last1 = Cotterill | display-authors = et al. | year = 2016 | title = The Long Wait: Filling data gaps relating to refugees and displaced people in the Calais camp | url = https://refugee-rights.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/RRE_TheLongWait.pdf | publisher = Refugee Rights Europe | access-date = 17 March 2020 | page = 1 }} It stated that 75.9% of the 870 refugees surveyed said they had experienced police violence, a category including physical and sexual violence, verbal abuse and misuse of tear gas. A similar figure (76.7%) reported health issues resulting from living in the Jungle.{{cite news |last1=Yeung |first1=Peter |title=Calais 'Jungle': 75% of refugees have 'experienced police violence' |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/calais-jungle-refugees-camp-police-violence-report-data-rights-a6968096.html |access-date=25 May 2019 |work=Independent |date=4 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190525220035/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/calais-jungle-refugees-camp-police-violence-report-data-rights-a6968096.html |archive-date=25 May 2019 |url-status=live }} According to The Long Wait, at the time of the report 71.6% of the approximately 5,500 residents had been in the camp for three to six months. About 78 people had been there for more than a year and around 205 women lived in the camp at this time (3.2% of the population).{{cite report | first1 = Nicholas | last1 = Cotterill | display-authors = et al. | year = 2016 | title = The Long Wait: Filling data gaps relating to refugees and displaced people in the Calais camp | url = https://refugee-rights.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/RRE_TheLongWait.pdf | publisher = Refugee Rights Europe | access-date = 17 March 2020 | page = 11 }}
A large fight between 200 and 300 migrants from Afghanistan and Sudan broke out at the camp in late May 2016, resulting in 40 injuries (33 migrants, 5 aid workers and 2 police officers), of which 3 were serious (including a stabbing).[http://www.dw.com/en/dozens-injured-at-fight-at-calais-jungle-migrant-camp/a-19286436 Dozens injured at fight at Calais 'Jungle' migrant camp] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160527134358/http://www.dw.com/en/dozens-injured-at-fight-at-calais-jungle-migrant-camp/a-19286436 |date=27 May 2016 }}, Deutsche Welle (27 May 2016). Two hundred police officers, seventy firefighters and eleven ambulances responded to the scene; French authorities opened an investigation. At the time, Deutsche Welle estimated that 4,000 to 5,000 people lived in the camp. During the summer, the population of the camp surpassed the highest number of the previous year. According to a July 2016 census by Help Refugees, the camp was populated by 7,307 migrants, of which 761 were minors with the population growing by 50 people a day on average.{{cite web|url=http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/migrant-crisis-record-7300-people-now-live-calais-jungle-migrant-camp-1571819|title=Migrant crisis: A record 7,300 people now live in Calais' Jungle migrant camp|last1=Buchanan|first1=Elsa|date=21 July 2016|access-date=24 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160930172830/http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/migrant-crisis-record-7300-people-now-live-calais-jungle-migrant-camp-1571819|archive-date=30 September 2016|url-status=live}} By September, the state estimated the population at 6,901, while local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) put it at 9,000 – a figure accepted by Mayor Bouchart. It was estimated that the population reached 10,000 before the camp's demolition.{{Cite journal|last1=Davies|first1=Thom|last2=Isakjee|first2=Arshad|last3=Dhesi|first3=Surindar|date=1 January 2017|title=Violent Inaction: The Necropolitical Experience of Refugees in Europe|journal=Antipode|volume=49|issue=5|pages=1263–1284|language=en|doi=10.1111/anti.12325|issn=1467-8330|url=http://pure-oai.bham.ac.uk/ws/files/48979639/Davies_et_al_2017_Antipode.pdf|access-date=16 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200311000604/http://pure-oai.bham.ac.uk/ws/files/48979639/Davies_et_al_2017_Antipode.pdf|archive-date=11 March 2020|url-status=live|doi-access=free}} Help Refugees' final count put the population of the camp at 8,143 in October 2016. More than 1,000 police were deployed during the final eviction.{{cite news |last1=Vandoorne |first1=Saskya |last2=Jones |first2=Bryony |last3=Narayan |first3=Chandrika |title=Tensions high inside 'Jungle' refugee camp as demolition nears |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2016/10/23/europe/calais-jungle-demolition/ |access-date=16 March 2020 |work=CNN |issue=24 October 2016 |ref=VJN |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191025134903/https://edition.cnn.com/2016/10/23/europe/calais-jungle-demolition/ |archive-date=25 October 2019 |url-status=live }}
In July 2017, Human Rights Watch (HRW) presented its findings on police violence in Calais based on interviews conducted with more than 60 temporary residents, half of whom were unaccompanied minors.{{Cite news|date=2017-07-26|title=Human Rights Watch dénonce l'utilisation de gaz poivre contre les migrants à Calais|language=fr|work=Le Monde.fr|url=https://www.lemonde.fr/immigration-et-diversite/article/2017/07/26/human-right-watch-denonce-l-utilisation-de-gaz-poivre-contre-les-migrants-a-calais_5164943_1654200.html|access-date=2020-12-06}} In the international NGO's report, it revealed that there was an unregulated use of pepper spray by Calais police throughout the Jungle, resulting not only in the physical and psychological trauma of the refugees, but also the spoilage of their food and water, an act which the interviewed refugees alleged as intentional. In a broader report published earlier in the month, "Nobody Deserves to Live This Way!", the Human Trafficking Foundation (HTF) noted that the hostilities of the French government and police towards Calais refugees were meant to deter them from initiating the process to seek asylum in the U.K., particularly impacting unaccompanied minors with decreased access to information about their rights.{{Cite web|last=Beddoe|first=Christine|date=July 2017|title=Nobody Deserves to Live This Way!|url=https://www.antislaverycommissioner.co.uk/media/1262/nobody-deserves-to-live-this-way.pdf|access-date=December 5, 2020|website=Human Trafficking Foundation}}
UNITED for Intercultural Action lists more than 40 migrant deaths in and around Calais during the time of the Jungle. Causes of death include suffocation in the back of a lorry, being hit by a vehicle (including train), beaten to death by people smugglers, killed during a fight between migrants, drowning, suspected heart attack, and suspected murder by right-wing extremists.{{cite book |title=List of 36 570 documented deaths of refugees and migrants due to the restrictive policies of "Fortress Europe" |date=1 April 2019 |publisher=UNITED for Intercultural Action |location=Amsterdam |url=http://unitedagainstrefugeedeaths.eu/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/ListofDeathsActual.pdf |access-date=24 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200306091141/http://unitedagainstrefugeedeaths.eu/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/ListofDeathsActual.pdf |archive-date=6 March 2020|url-status=live}}
Facilities and infrastructure
File:St Michaels Church, Calais Jungle entrance.jpg
In 2015, a Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) doctor who had worked in the camp for ten days claimed that the conditions were worse than anything she had seen in African slums. Access to water taps and showers was inadequate.{{cite news|url=http://lamayenneonadore.fr/main/2015/10/19/calais-la-jungle-une-medecin-mayennaise-temoigne/|title=Calais, la jungle, une médecin mayennaise témoigne|date=19 October 2015|publisher=La Mayenne, on adore !|trans-title=Calais, the jungle, a Mayennais doctor bears witness|access-date=24 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151020024652/http://lamayenneonadore.fr/main/2015/10/19/calais-la-jungle-une-medecin-mayennaise-temoigne/|archive-date=20 October 2015|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all| quote=Dans mes séjours passés en Afrique, je n’ai jamais vu un bidonville d’une telle insalubrité. Des toilettes, des points d’eau inutilisables vu leur état et leur nombre tellement insuffisant.}} Médecins du Monde stated in July 2015 that there was "insufficient drinking water (30 taps), practically no toilets (20 for 3,000 people), insufficient food, inadequate health care." As a result of these conditions, residents faced numerous health challenges. For example, Médecins du Monde estimated that up to 40% of people they treated in the camp had scabies,{{Cite journal |last=Richardson |first=Naomi A. |last2=Cassell |first2=Jackie A. |last3=Head |first3=Michael G. |last4=Lanza |first4=Stefania |last5=Schaefer |first5=Corinna |last6=Walker |first6=Stephen L. |last7=Middleton |first7=Jo |date=2023-11-01 |title=Scabies outbreak management in refugee/migrant camps in Europe 2014–2017: a retrospective qualitative interview study of healthcare staff experiences and perspectives |url=https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/13/11/e075103.long |journal=BMJ Open |language=en |volume=13 |issue=11 |pages=e075103 |doi=10.1136/bmjopen-2023-075103 |issn=2044-6055 |pmid=37940153|pmc=10632829 }} a contagious parasitic condition common in refugee camps and other crowded institutions worldwide.{{Citation |last=Middleton |first=Jo |title=Scabies Management in Institutions |date=2023 |work=Scabies |pages=433–458 |editor-last=Fischer |editor-first=Katja |url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-26070-4_29 |access-date=2025-04-26 |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-031-26070-4_29 |isbn=978-3-031-26070-4 |last2=Cassell |first2=Jackie A. |last3=Walker |first3=Stephen L. |editor2-last=Chosidow |editor2-first=Olivier|url-access=subscription }} Roads could be mapped in the camp{{cite book |last1=Ahn |first1=E. |last2=Hervé |first2=C. |last3=Zinsz |first3=L. |title=Crowdsourcing forQuality of Life: The Case of Collaborative Crisis Mapping |date=2017 |publisher=Bobcatsss |location=Tampere, Finland |url=https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01593574/document |access-date=16 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200323215527/https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01593574/document |archive-date=23 March 2020 |url-status=live }} and some lighting was installed through its centre; although most of the camp was unlit, residents reported feeling vulnerable at night.{{cite book |last1=Dhesi |first1=S. |last2=Isakjee |first2=A. |last3=Davies |first3=T. |title=An Environmental Health Assessment of the New Migrant Camp in Calais |date=2015 |publisher=University of Birmingham |url=https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/Documents/college-les/gees/research/calais-report-oct-2015.pdf |access-date=16 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161025172523/http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/Documents/college-les/gees/research/calais-report-oct-2015.pdf |archive-date=25 October 2016 |url-status=live }}
Residents built dwellings and set up amenities,{{cite news |last1=Wainwright |first1=Oliver |title=We built this city: how the refugees of Calais became the camp's architects |url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/jun/08/refugees-calais-jungle-camp-architecture-festival-barbican |access-date=16 March 2020 |work=The Guardian |date=8 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190429155519/https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/jun/08/refugees-calais-jungle-camp-architecture-festival-barbican |archive-date=29 April 2019 |url-status=live }} including shops, restaurants,{{cite news |last1=Dent |first1=Nancy |title=The last days of the Calais Jungle's refugee restaurants |url=https://www.huckmag.com/perspectives/activism-2/last-days-calais-jungles-refugee-restaurants/ |access-date=16 March 2020 |publisher=Huck |date=10 August 2016}} hair dressers and places of worship.{{cite news |last1=Plotain |first1=Myrtille |title=In the Restaurants of the Calais Jungle |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/dans-les-restaurants-de-la-jungle/ |access-date=16 March 2020 |publisher=Vice |date=13 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191117075829/https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/8qe79k/dans-les-restaurants-de-la-jungle |archive-date=17 November 2019 |url-status=live }} Food critic A. A. Gill ate at a nameless restaurant run by Mohammed Ali from Peshawar, rating both food and atmosphere four out of five, commenting that the main course was "a properly, cleverly crafted and wholly unexpected dish, made with finesse".{{cite news |last1=Gill |first1=A. A. |title=Table Talk: AA Gill reviews a refugee camp cafe in Calais's The Jungle |url=https://www.thetimes.com/travel/destinations/uk-travel/england/london-travel/table-talk-aa-gill-reviews-a-refugee-camp-cafe-in-calaiss-the-jungle-zgxvfjqmw |access-date=16 March 2020 |work=The Times |date=28 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180716001343/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/table-talk-aa-gill-reviews-a-refugee-camp-cafe-in-calaiss-the-jungle-zgxvfjqmw |archive-date=16 July 2018 |url-status=live }} After an appeal by NGOs to the court in Lille that the amenities were vital for feeding residents, a judge blocked authorities from attempting to raze restaurants and shops in August 2016, ruling there was no legal basis for the demolitions.{{cite news |last1=Chrisafis |first1=Angelique |title=French court rejects bid to demolish shops at Jungle refugee camp |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/12/french-lille-court-calais-jungle-refugee-camp |access-date=16 March 2020 |work=The Guardian |date=12 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180425152727/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/12/french-lille-court-calais-jungle-refugee-camp |archive-date=25 April 2018 |url-status=live }}
St. Michael's Church (also known as the Ethiopian Church) was first erected in November 2014. It had to be moved in April 2015 and subsequently burnt down after a candle was dropped; it was reconstructed out of waste materials and completed in July 2015.{{cite news|last1=Fraser|first1=Giles|title=The migrants' church in Calais is a place of raw prayer and defiant hope|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2015/aug/07/migrants-church-in-calais-place-of-raw-prayer-and-defiant-hope|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=25 July 2016|date=2015-08-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190421023511/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2015/aug/07/migrants-church-in-calais-place-of-raw-prayer-and-defiant-hope |archive-date=21 April 2019}} The church was featured on the BBC Television's Songs of Praise in August 2015.{{cite web|last1=Ahmed|first1=Aaqil|title=Why Songs of Praise is visiting the migrant camp in Calais|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/aboutthebbc/entries/a9aa95f3-4002-4484-84e5-0bc034ef2fc6|website=BBC|access-date=25 July 2016|date=2015-08-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181120055805/http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/aboutthebbc/entries/a9aa95f3-4002-4484-84e5-0bc034ef2fc6 |archive-date=20 November 2018}}{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2015/aug/04/inside-the-calais-migrants-church-in-pictures |title=Inside the Calais migrants' church – in pictures |newspaper=The Guardian |date=2015-08-04 |access-date=11 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181011093417/https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2015/aug/04/inside-the-calais-migrants-church-in-pictures |archive-date=11 October 2018 |url-status=live }} This was a controversial action since the BBC was accused by
the Daily Express and the Sun of wasting its licence payers' fees and of taking a political stance. Senior Church of England figures such as the Bishop of Leeds, the Dean of Durham and the Archbishop of Canterbury said they fully supported the program.{{cite news|author=Jessica Elgot |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/aug/12/church-england-defends-songs-of-praise-filmed-calais-migrant-camp |title=Church of England defends Songs of Praise filmed in Calais migrant camp |work=The Guardian |date=8 August 2015 |access-date=11 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180924033536/https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/aug/12/church-england-defends-songs-of-praise-filmed-calais-migrant-camp| archive-date=24 September 2018}} In 2016, a different church and a mosque were demolished by the authorities.{{cite web|last1=Hayden|first1=Sally|title=Church and Mosque Bulldozed in Calais Jungle Refugee Camp|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/church-and-mosque-bulldozed-in-calais-jungle-refugee-camp/|access-date=25 July 2016|date=2016-02-01|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190821145021/https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/a39nka/church-and-mosque-bulldozed-in-calais-jungle-refugee-camp |archive-date=21 August 2019}}
A number of NGOs worked to provide refugee relief, including the French associations L'Aubergue des Migrants, Salam, Secours Catholique, and Utopia 56. A number of foreign NGOs were also present, including Help Refugees (working in partnership with L'Auberge des Migrants), Refugee Community Kitchen, Calais Kitchens, Belgium Kitchen, Calais Action, Care4Calais, and Refugee Info Bus.{{cite web |title=Who's Who |url=http://www.calaidipedia.co.uk/who-s-who-1 |website=Calaidipedia |access-date=1 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181011053640/http://www.calaidipedia.co.uk/who-s-who-1 |archive-date=11 October 2018 |url-status=dead }} Between them they provided food, material aid, legal information, sanitation and shelter.{{cite journal |last1=Hall |first1=Tim |last2=Lounasmaa |first2=Aura |last3=Squire |first3=Corinne |editor1-last=Birey |editor1-first=Tegiye |editor2-last=Cantat |editor2-first=Céline |editor3-last=Maczynska |editor3-first=Ewa |editor4-last=Sevinin |editor4-first=Eda |title=From margin to centre? Practising new forms of European politics and citizenship in the Calais 'Jungle' |journal=Challenging the Political Across Borders: Migrants' and Solidarity Struggles |page=103 |url=https://cps.ceu.edu/sites/cps.ceu.edu/files/attachment/publication/3118/cps-book-challenging-political-2019.pdf |access-date=16 March 2020 |publisher=Central European University |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191212135015/https://cps.ceu.edu/sites/cps.ceu.edu/files/attachment/publication/3118/cps-book-challenging-political-2019.pdf |archive-date=12 December 2019 |url-status=live }}{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/aug/20/van-calais-migrants-help-homemade-humanitarian-mission|title=A homemade humanitarian mission: what it's like to take donations to Calais|first1=Carmen|last1=Fishwick|date=25 May 2019|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=25 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190525221130/https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/aug/20/van-calais-migrants-help-homemade-humanitarian-mission|archive-date=25 May 2019|url-status=live}} Educational services were provided by Jungle Books, the Ecole Laïque chemins des dunes and by Edlumino.{{cite news|last1=Scott|first1=Natalie|title=Teaching in France's refugee camps|url=http://www.sec-ed.co.uk/news/teaching-in-frances-refugee-camps/|access-date=27 April 2017|publisher=SecEd|date=27 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190525185224/http://www.sec-ed.co.uk/news/teaching-in-frances-refugee-camps/ |archive-date=25 May 2019}} Specialist services for women and children were run by the Unofficial Women's and Children's Centre{{cite book |last1=Rosen |first1=Rachel |last2=Twamley |first2=Katherine |title=Feminism and the Politics of Childhood: Friends or Foes? |date=2018 |publisher=UCL Press |page=109 |jstor=j.ctt21c4t9k.13 }} and the Refugee Youth Service.{{cite news |last1=Godin |first1=Marie |title=Women and Young Girls at Risk as Camps in Calais Are Cleared |url=https://www.newsdeeply.com/refugees/articles/2016/10/28/women-and-young-girls-at-risk-as-camps-in-calais-are-cleared |access-date=16 March 2020 |work=Refugees Deeply |date=28 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517214641/https://www.newsdeeply.com/refugees/articles/2016/10/28/women-and-young-girls-at-risk-as-camps-in-calais-are-cleared |archive-date=17 May 2019 |url-status=live }} NGOs also provided recreation:{{cite journal |last1=McGee |first1=Darragh |last2=Pelham |first2=Juliette |s2cid=148717892 |title=Politics at play: locating human rights, refugees and grassroots humanitarianism in the Calais Jungle |journal=Leisure Studies |date=24 November 2017 |volume=37 |issue=1 |pages=22–35 |doi=10.1080/02614367.2017.1406979 |url=https://purehost.bath.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/158693124/Final_Draft.pdf |access-date=16 March 2020}} such as a boxing club{{cite news |last1=Schaller |first1=Alan |title=How sports and activities in the Calais jungle are improving the lives and mental health of the camp's residents |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/calaig-jungle-boxing-club-how-activities-in-the-calais-jungle-affect-the-lives-and-mental-health-of-a7237981.html |access-date=16 March 2020 |work=The Independent |date=12 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180220180800/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/calaig-jungle-boxing-club-how-activities-in-the-calais-jungle-affect-the-lives-and-mental-health-of-a7237981.html |archive-date=20 February 2018 |url-status=live }} and the Good Chance Theatre,{{cite journal |last1=Ruffini |first1=Rosaria |title=Alle soglie d'Europa: Il Good Chance Theatre e la sperimentazione di linguaggi performativi nei centri di prima accoglienza e nei campi per rifugiati |journal=European Journal of Theatre and Performance |date=2019 |issue=1}} which ran from a dome doubling as a community space for other activities.{{cite news |last1=Haydon |first1=Christopher |title=Between the razor-wire and the riot police: the amazing shows I saw at the Calais Jungle theatre |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2016/feb/18/calais-jungle-refugees-good-chance-theatre |access-date=16 March 2020 |work=The Guardian |date=18 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180119182849/https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2016/feb/18/calais-jungle-refugees-good-chance-theatre |archive-date=19 January 2018 |url-status=live }}
=Containers=
File:Overview_of_Calais_Jungle.jpg
In January 2016, French authorities opened a new area in the northeastern part of the jungle.{{cite news |last1=Blamont |first1=Matthias |title=Migrant shelter made of shipping containers opens in France's Calais |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants-calais-idUSKCN0UP23R20160111 |access-date=21 August 2019 |work=Reuters |date=11 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190802172357/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants-calais-idUSKCN0UP23R20160111 |archive-date=2 August 2019}} They had earlier cleared tents and shacks from this area and erected 125 metal shipping containers in their place, converting them into housing units for up to 1,500 migrants. Shipping containers, rather than more permanent structures, were chosen because the sand dunes are unfit for permanent foundations. The containers were white and furnished with bunk beds, windows, and heaters, but had no running water or sanitary facilities (toilets and showers were made available at an existing nearby facility). At the time, Reuters described the entire jungle as "squalid" and "unsanitary" and estimated its total population to be 4,000.
Many migrants subsequently moved into the container housing, but some resisted the French government's ultimatum to leave their makeshift housing and live in the container area, citing its spartan setup, lack of communal areas, and their fears that once in the new housing area, they would be blocked from going to Britain.{{cite news |last1=Elzas |first1=Sarah|title=Calais Jungle to be demolished, yet migrants resist government rehousing |url=http://en.rfi.fr/europe/20160222-calais-jungle-be-demolished-yet-migrants-resist-government-housing |access-date=21 August 2019 |work=Radio France Internationale|date=22 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160424155453/http://en.rfi.fr/europe/20160222-calais-jungle-be-demolished-yet-migrants-resist-government-housing|archive-date=24 April 2016}}{{cite news |last1=Kingsley |first1=Patrick|title=Calais 'Jungle' residents defy bulldozers as police issue ultimatum to leave |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/12/calais-jungle-residents-defy-bulldozers-police-ultimatum |access-date=21 August 2019 |work=Guardian |date=12 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221144945/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/12/calais-jungle-residents-defy-bulldozers-police-ultimatum|archive-date=21 December 2016}} This concern arose because the containers were enclosed by a metal fence and it was necessary to give a fingerprint to gain access. Under the Dublin Regulation an asylum seeker must seek asylum in the EU Member State where they first gave their fingerprints and they may not seek asylum elsewhere, thus some migrants were concerned that if their fingerprints were taken in France they would then not be able to claim asylum in the UK. The authorities stated the fingerprints were taken for security reasons.
Reactions
=Solidarity=
Local citizens, No Borders activists{{cite news |last1=Crawley |first1=H. |last2=Clochard |first2=O. |title=After the Calais Jungle: is there a long-term solution? Views from France and Britain |url=http://theconversation.com/after-the-calais-jungle-is-there-a-long-term-solution-views-from-france-and-britain-67352 |access-date=16 March 2020 |work=The Conversation |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190820132304/http://theconversation.com/after-the-calais-jungle-is-there-a-long-term-solution-views-from-france-and-britain-67352 |archive-date=20 August 2019 |url-status=live }} and thousands of volunteers making up local and foreign grassroots organisations supported migrants in the camp,{{cite journal |last1=Gerbier-Aublanc |first1=M. |title=The "hybridisation of humanitarianism": ordinary citizens in French migrant camps |journal=Humanitarian Alternatives |date=2018 |issue=9 |url=http://alternatives-humanitaires.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/AH_N9_4_Forum_5_Gerbier-Aublanc_VEN.pdf |access-date=16 March 2020}}{{cite journal |last1=Doidge |first1=Mark |last2=Sandri |first2=Elisa |title='Friends that last a lifetime': the importance of emotions amongst volunteers working with refugees in Calais |journal=The British Journal of Sociology |date=13 May 2018 |volume=70 |issue=2 |pages=463–480 |doi=10.1111/1468-4446.12484|pmid=29756402 |url=https://cris.brighton.ac.uk/ws/files/502391/Doidge%20and%20Sandri%20-%20Friends%20that%20last%20a%20lifetime%20Converis%201.pdf }} as did a number of academics, artists and celebrities. Libération published an open letter in support of the migrants on 20 October 2015, signed by 800 film-makers and intellectuals.{{cite web|url=http://www.france24.com/en/20151021-france-cazeneuve-calais-jungle-britain-role-resolving-refugee-migrant-crisis|title=What is Britain doing to help the Calais migrant crisis? – France 24|date=21 October 2015|access-date=21 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151021222454/http://www.france24.com/en/20151021-france-cazeneuve-calais-jungle-britain-role-resolving-refugee-migrant-crisis|archive-date=21 October 2015|url-status=live}}{{cite news |title=Jungle de Calais : l'appel des 800 |url=https://www.liberation.fr/france/2015/10/20/jungle-de-calais-l-appel-des-800_1407520 |access-date=9 March 2020 |work=Libération.fr |date=20 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200309222845/https://www.liberation.fr/france/2015/10/20/jungle-de-calais-l-appel-des-800_1407520 |archive-date=9 March 2020 |language=fr}} Jaz O'Hara visited with her boyfriend during summer 2015 and decided to collect donations after writing a Facebook post which was shared 60,000 times in a few days.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-34155565|title=Couple overwhelmed by Calais donations|date=6 September 2015|work=BBC News|access-date=20 May 2018|language=en-GB|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180728045320/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-34155565|archive-date=28 July 2018|url-status=live}} They set up a group called CalAid and collected clothing donations in London.{{cite news|last1=Alwakeel|first1=Ramzy|title=CalAid: Hundreds descend on Dalston social centre to donate goods for Calais refugees|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/calaid-hundreds-descend-on-social-centre-in-dalston-to-donate-goods-for-calais-refugees-a2927921.html|access-date=20 May 2018|work=London Evening Standard|date=6 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180522041347/https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/calaid-hundreds-descend-on-social-centre-in-dalston-to-donate-goods-for-calais-refugees-a2927921.html|archive-date=22 May 2018|url-status=live}} They received hundreds of tents from Reading and Leeds Festivals and took the donations to Calais in a fleet of 40 vans. TV presenter Dawn O'Porter and Radio X presenter Lliana Bird, along with mutual friend Josie Naughton, used their social media capital to organise a donation and fund-raising Twitter campaign in August 2015, using the hashtag #HelpCalais. For the first five weeks, about 7,000 items were purchased a day from the group's Amazon wish list and within weeks they had raised £50,000. The scale of the response drew the women into further logistical and distribution organisation, out of which the charity Help Refugees was formed.{{cite news |last1=Isaac |first1=Anna |title=#HelpCalais: how a hashtag grew into a social movement to support refugees |url=https://www.theguardian.com/voluntary-sector-network/2015/oct/01/helpcalais-how-a-hashtag-grew-into-a-social-movement-to-support-refugees |access-date=16 March 2020 |work=The Guardian |date=1 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190701204550/https://www.theguardian.com/voluntary-sector-network/2015/oct/01/helpcalais-how-a-hashtag-grew-into-a-social-movement-to-support-refugees |archive-date=1 July 2019 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Anthony |first1=A. |title=Accidental activists: the British women on the front line of the refugee crisis |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/12/help-refugees-calais-accidental-activists |access-date=16 March 2020 |work=The Guardian |date=12 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200128000243/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/12/help-refugees-calais-accidental-activists |archive-date=28 January 2020 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |title=Help Refugees By Dancing To Paloma Faith And Peace |url=https://londonist.com/2015/11/help-refugees-by-watching-bands |access-date=16 March 2020 |work=The Londonist |date=19 November 2015 |ref=londonist |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151130031050/http://londonist.com/2015/11/help-refugees-by-watching-bands |archive-date=30 November 2015 |url-status=live }}
Banksy created a mural called The Son of a Migrant from Syria in the camp in December 2015, featuring Steve Jobs as a migrant.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35076976 |title=Banksy work in Calais 'Jungle' shows Steve Jobs as migrant |work=BBC News |date=11 December 2015 |access-date=25 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190526012129/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35076976| archive-date=26 May 2019}} Prior to the eviction of the southern section of the camp, playwright Tom Stoppard and actors Jude Law, Tom Odell and Toby Jones performed in the camp at the end of February 2016 to draw attention to the eviction. The performance was organised by Letters Live in the Good Change theatre, a space set up by British volunteers the previous year and included readings by camp residents.{{cite news |title=British celebrities highlight refugee plight in Calais 'Jungle' |url=https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/society/2016/2/22/british-celebrities-highlight-refugee-plight-in-calais-jungle |access-date=7 May 2019 |work=The New Arab |date=22 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507195805/https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/society/2016/2/22/british-celebrities-highlight-refugee-plight-in-calais-jungle |archive-date=7 May 2019 |url-status=live }} Popstar Lily Allen visited in summer 2016 at the instigation of a friend who runs a migrant charity. She apologised to a 13-year-old child migrant, Shamsher, on behalf of the UK;{{cite news |title=Lily Allen's been trolled after visiting a migrant camp in Calais |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/37633342/lily-allens-been-trolled-after-visiting-a-migrant-camp-in-calais |access-date=7 May 2019 |work=BBC |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190612214021/http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/37633342/lily-allens-been-trolled-after-visiting-a-migrant-camp-in-calais |archive-date=12 June 2019 |url-status=live }} Shamsher later entered the UK in October 2016.{{cite news |title=The refugee who made Lily Allen cry in Calais has arrived in the UK |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/37705973/the-refugee-who-made-lily-allen-cry-in-calais-has-arrived-in-the-uk |access-date=10 March 2020 |work=BBC Newsbeat |date=19 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200310130720/http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/37705973/the-refugee-who-made-lily-allen-cry-in-calais-has-arrived-in-the-uk |archive-date=10 March 2020 |language=en}}
=Opposition=
Assaults on migrants near the Jungle were reported on several occasions.{{cite news |last1=Maurice |first1=Stéphanie |title="Ratonnades" en série chez les migrants de Calais |url=https://www.liberation.fr/france/2015/10/01/ratonnades-en-serie-chez-les-migrants-de-calais_1395265 |access-date=24 April 2020 |work=Libération |date=1 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191006161622/https://www.liberation.fr/france/2015/10/01/ratonnades-en-serie-chez-les-migrants-de-calais_1395265 |archive-date=6 October 2019|url-status=live}}{{cite web |last1=Perrigueur |first1=Elisa |title=Une journée à Calais, entre tensions, rumeurs et ratonnades |url=http://www.slate.fr/story/113869/une-journee-calais-entre-tensions-rumeurs-et-ratonnades |website=Slate |access-date=24 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191217002901/http://www.slate.fr/story/113869/une-journee-calais-entre-tensions-rumeurs-et-ratonnades |url-status=live|archive-date=17 December 2019 |date=10 February 2016}} Seven attackers belonging to anti-migrant movements and armed with iron bars and electric batons were arrested during the night of 10 February 2016 at Loon-Plage.{{cite news |last1=Sabéran |first1=Haydée |title=Ratonnade contre des migrants : "Ils m'ont frappé partout très fort" |url=https://www.liberation.fr/france/2016/02/12/ratonnade-contre-des-migrants-ils-m-ont-frappe-partout-tres-fort_1432851 |access-date=24 April 2020 |work=Libération |date=12 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201164630/https://www.liberation.fr/france/2016/02/12/ratonnade-contre-des-migrants-ils-m-ont-frappe-partout-tres-fort_1432851 |archive-date=1 December 2016|url-status=live}} On 22 February 2016, four other people were arrested on suspicion of assaults against migrants.{{cite news |title=Cinq hommes, soupçonnés d'avoir agressé et volé des migrants à Calais, placés en garde à vue |url=https://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/hauts-de-france/cinq-hommes-soupconnes-d-avoir-agresse-et-vole-des-migrants-calais-places-en-garde-vue-948759.html |access-date=24 April 2020 |work=France 3 |agency=Agence France-Presse |publisher=France Info |date=10 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200424135719/https://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/hauts-de-france/cinq-hommes-soupconnes-d-avoir-agresse-et-vole-des-migrants-calais-places-en-garde-vue-948759.html |archive-date=24 April 2020|url-status=live}} On 9 March 2016, five people were arrested, three of whom had already been arrested at Loon-Plage on 10 February. The five men were allegedly involved in at least seven attacks on migrants.{{cite news |title=Agressions sur migrants à Calais : les cinq interpellés mis en examen pour violences volontaires et écroués |access-date=24 April 2020|url=https://www.lavoixdunord.fr/art/region/agressions-sur-migrants-a-calais-sur-les-cinq-ia33b48581n3379683 |work=La Voix du Nord |date=11 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200424135900/https://www.lavoixdunord.fr/art/region/agressions-sur-migrants-a-calais-sur-les-cinq-ia33b48581n3379683 |archive-date=24 April 2020|url-status=live}}
On 5 September 2016, truck drivers, local farmers, and trade unionists, protesting against what they saw as "wilful destruction" by migrants residing in the camp, slowed traffic entering the port of Calais and demanded the closure of the Jungle. The protesters blockaded the A16 with lorries and agricultural vehicles.{{cite web|url=https://news.sky.com/story/travellers-face-disruption-in-calais-migrant-road-block-protest-10565664|title=French Truckers Block Road in Calais Protest|date=5 September 2016|access-date=24 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191025142642/https://news.sky.com/story/travellers-face-disruption-in-calais-migrant-road-block-protest-10565664|archive-date=25 October 2019|url-status=live}}{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-37271674 | title=Calais blockade: Protest targets migrant Jungle camp | publisher=BBC | date=5 September 2016 | access-date=5 September 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160905022028/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-37271674 | archive-date=5 September 2016 | url-status=live }}{{cite news | url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1b183fd2-7346-11e6-bf48-b372cdb1043a.html | title=Protesters set up Calais blockade to demand migrant camp closure | newspaper=Financial Times | date=5 September 2016 | access-date=5 September 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160906224444/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1b183fd2-7346-11e6-bf48-b372cdb1043a.html | archive-date=6 September 2016 | url-status=live }}
Camp residents experienced hostility from the police.{{cite news |last1=Le Berre |first1=Rozenn |title=Calais : les violences policières intégrées au paysage quotidien des exilés |url=https://www.lesinrocks.com/2016/07/20/actualite/actualite/calais-violences-policieres-integrees-paysage-quotidien-exiles/ |access-date=24 April 2020 |work=Les Inrockuptibles |date=20 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200424134850/http://www.lesinrocks.com/2016/07/20/actualite/actualite/calais-violences-policieres-integrees-paysage-quotidien-exiles/ |archive-date=24 April 2020|url-status=live}} While the camp was initially tolerated by the authorities, opposition grew and culminated in the final eviction of the camp in October 2016.
2016 evictions
=Eviction of the southern sector=
On 25 February 2016, the French government received approval from a court in Lille to demolish the southern part of the camp.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35663225|title=Calais 'Jungle' eviction gets go-ahead|date=25 February 2016|access-date=25 February 2016|work=BBC News Online|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160225201619/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-35663225|archive-date=25 February 2016|url-status=live}} The section to be demolished was an area of 7.5 hectares.{{cite news |title="Jungle" de Calais : 19 blessés dans des rixes entre migrants |url=http://www.leparisien.fr/faits-divers/jungle-de-calais-rixes-entre-migrants-mercredi-soir-19-blesses-17-03-2016-5635087.php |access-date=17 April 2020 |work=Le Parisien |date=17 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171205042047/http://www.leparisien.fr/faits-divers/jungle-de-calais-rixes-entre-migrants-mercredi-soir-19-blesses-17-03-2016-5635087.php |archive-date=5 December 2017|url-status=live}} There had been a delay in the verdict because charities had petitioned the court to stop the demolition.{{cite news|first1=David|last1=Chazan|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/belgium/12170920/Belgium-reintroduces-border-controls-with-France-to-prevent-influx-of-Calais-migrants.html |title=Belgium reintroduces border controls with France to prevent influx of Calais migrants|date=23 February 2016|access-date=10 March 2020|work=Daily Telegraph|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200310142102/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/belgium/12170920/Belgium-reintroduces-border-controls-with-France-to-prevent-influx-of-Calais-migrants.html|archive-date=10 March 2020|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=http://www.france24.com/en/20160229-france-calais-clashes-riot-police-migrants-authorities-dismantle-part-jungle-migrant-camp|title=Clashes as authorities dismantle Calais 'Jungle'|date=3 March 2016|access-date=25 February 2016|work=France24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160602054529/http://www.france24.com/en/20160229-france-calais-clashes-riot-police-migrants-authorities-dismantle-part-jungle-migrant-camp|archive-date=2 June 2016|url-status=live}} Local authorities estimated the population of the whole camp to be 3,700, with between 800 and 1,000 affected by the eviction. Aid groups put the number higher according to a census they had conducted, suggesting there were "at least 3,450 people in the southern part alone, including 300 unaccompanied children".
During the night of 29 February, workers under heavy police guard began to demolish shacks in the encampment. There was some resistance during the eviction and police clashed with migrants and No Border activists who threw stones. About 12 structures were set on fire, some by heat from tear gas canisters fired by the police, others by residents of the structures being demolished. Protests continued into the evening, when migrants blocked the nearby road. Three No Border activists and another person were arrested.{{cite news |last1=Chrisafis |first1=Angelique |last2=Walker |first2=Peter |last3=Quinn |first3=Ben |title=Calais 'Jungle' camp: clashes as authorities demolish homes |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/29/french-authorities-begin-clearance-of-part-of-calais-jungle-camp |access-date=25 May 2019 |work=Guardian |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307205334/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/29/french-authorities-begin-clearance-of-part-of-calais-jungle-camp |archive-date=7 March 2016 |url-status=live }}
According to aid associations, 80% of people whose shelters were demolished in the eviction relocated to the remaining part of the camp, resulting in overcrowding and caused MSF to become increasingly concerned about health conditions within the camp.{{cite news |title=Calais : le démantèlement de la zone sud de la " jungle " est terminé |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/immigration-et-diversite/article/2016/03/16/calais-le-demantelement-de-la-zone-sud-de-la-jungle-est-termine_4884090_1654200.html |access-date=17 April 2020 |work=Le Monde |date=16 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200305171114/https://www.lemonde.fr/immigration-et-diversite/article/2016/03/16/calais-le-demantelement-de-la-zone-sud-de-la-jungle-est-termine_4884090_1654200.html |archive-date=5 March 2020}} Aid associations said the overcrowding also resulted in inter-community tensions.
=Final eviction and demolition=
In September 2016, the Minister of the Interior Bernard Cazeneuve announced that the northern zone of the Calais Jungle would be dismantled and that the entirety of the Jungle would be closed until the end of the year. Refugees were informed of the government's decision through the distribution of thousands of leaflets throughout the Jungle. On Monday, 24 October 2016, the Government of France began the final major eviction at dawn. It was planned that 6,400 migrants would be moved from the Jungle to 280 temporary reception centres around France, in 170 buses.{{cite news|url=http://www.lemonde.fr/police-justice/article/2016/10/21/jungle-de-calais-le-gouvernement-detaille-l-operation-de-demantelement-qui-debutera-lundi_5018279_1653578.html|title=" Jungle " de Calais : le démantèlement débutera lundi à l'aube|date=21 October 2016|newspaper=Le Monde.fr|language=fr|trans-title=Calais "Jungle": the dismantling will begin Monday at dawn|last1=Baumard|first1=Maryline|access-date=23 October 2016 |quote= A partir de 8 heures, les premiers autocars commenceront à évacuer 6 400 exilés vers 280 lieux répartis dans toute la France |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404101306/https://www.lemonde.fr/police-justice/article/2016/10/21/jungle-de-calais-le-gouvernement-detaille-l-operation-de-demantelement-qui-debutera-lundi_5018279_1653578.html |archive-date=4 April 2019}} Although the days leading up to the closure of the northern zone were marked by violent clashes between the police and refugees, news outlets asserted that the day of the eviction was much calmer than during the southern zone's closure earlier in the spring.{{Cite web|title=France: Calais 'jungle' camp refugees clash with police|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/10/24/france-calais-jungle-camp-refugees-clash-with-police|access-date=2020-12-06|website=www.aljazeera.com|language=en}}
The prefect of Pas-de-Calais, Fabienne Buccio, announced on Wednesday, 26 October, that the camp had been cleared, but news reporters stated there were still adults in the camp and unaccompanied children were waiting to be processed, the latter of whose information was forwarded to the British government in order to connect them to relatives in the U.K. Although Parisian authorities initially threatened uncooperative migrants with incarceration in administrative detention centers, upon a reevaluation of capacity, migrants were permitted to leave by themselves from Calais either by foot or by train. Whilst some migrants relocated to a camp in Grande-Synthe, many fled to informal settlements in rural areas across northern France.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/05/refugees-northern-france-dunkirk-calais-camp-demolished|title=Refugees take to hiding in northern France after Calais camp demolished|first1=Amelia|last1=Gentleman|date=5 November 2016|via=www.theguardian.com|newspaper=Guardian |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180929013758/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/05/refugees-northern-france-dunkirk-calais-camp-demolished |archive-date=29 September 2018}}
On Thursday, 27 October, the UK and French governments were condemned by aid workers from groups such as Help Refugees and Save the Children for not respecting the human rights of children. The 200 unaccompanied children, aged 14 to 17, had been lured out of the camp by promises of transport to an asylum centre but were then abandoned. After Baroness Sheehan had intervened, a number of the children ended up being told by police to return to a derelict and unheated makeshift school building in the camp. Liberal Democrat peer Sheehan had travelled to the camp to witness the eviction.{{cite news |last1=Gentleman |first1=Amelia |last2=O'Carroll |first2=Lisa |last3=Travis |first3=Alan |title=Calais minors lured from camp then abandoned by authorities |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/oct/27/calais-camp-minors-children-abandoned-uk-france-human-rights |access-date=25 May 2019 |work=Guardian |date=27 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190525212947/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/oct/27/calais-camp-minors-children-abandoned-uk-france-human-rights |archive-date=25 May 2019 |url-status=live }} The final stages of the eviction took place on Wednesday, 2 November. An estimated 1,500 people including children had been sleeping for a week in the shipping containers. Buses took the migrants to asylum centres at undisclosed locations across the country.{{cite news |last1=Gentleman |first1=Amelia |title=Last of Calais refugee children evacuated as camp clearance ends |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/02/calais-refugee-children-evacuated-as-camp-clearance-winds-up |access-date=25 May 2019 |work=Guardian |date=2 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190525213531/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/02/calais-refugee-children-evacuated-as-camp-clearance-winds-up |archive-date=25 May 2019 |url-status=live }} Aid groups later reported that many former jungle residents had moved to the streets of Paris.{{cite news |last1=Nossiter |first1=Adam |title=Paris Is the New Calais, With Scores of Migrants Arriving Daily |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/04/world/europe/paris-migrants-refugees.html |access-date=25 May 2019 |work=New York Times |date=3 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190525211250/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/04/world/europe/paris-migrants-refugees.html |archive-date=25 May 2019 |url-status=live }}
Aftermath
File:Calais - Manifestation contre les clandestins, l'immigration-invasion et l'islamisation de l'Europe, 8 novembre 2015 (22).JPG hold banners saying "Reimmigrate" and "Diversity is a code word for white genocide", 8 November 2015]]
A month after the demolition, the Refugee Youth Service (RYS) reported that while a little over half of the migrant children on its caseload had been relocated into French children's homes, another third—approximately 60 children—could no longer be located by child protection officers since being removed from the camp.H. Agerholm, '[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/calais-jungle-camp-child-refugees-missing-demolition-youth-service-migrants-uk-a7435771.html Almost one in three Calais child refugees missing since Jungle camp demolition] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190804134501/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/calais-jungle-camp-child-refugees-missing-demolition-youth-service-migrants-uk-a7435771.html |date=4 August 2019 }}' (24/11/16) in The Independent The mass disappearance of these children from RYS surveillance echoed a similar loss of contact with nearly 130 children earlier in the year during the March 2016 demolition of the southern part of the Jungle, raising global concerns of exploitation and trafficking.{{Cite web|date=2016-04-03|title=129 children are missing after the Calais 'Jungle' refugee camp was demolished|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/calais-jungle-unaccompanied-children-refugee-camp-demolition-minors-a6965216.html|access-date=2020-12-04|website=The Independent|language=en}}
A few months after the demolition of the Jungle's northern zone, migrants began to return to the area, particularly those who had been refused asylum by the British government. According to figures provided by Le Monde, of the 1,934 minors who had left Calais in 2016, only 468 had been accepted to the U.K., leaving the vast majority of these underage refugees either stranded or missing.{{Cite news|date=2017-01-21|title=Les migrants sont de retour à Calais|language=fr|work=Le Monde.fr|url=https://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2017/01/21/plus-de-deux-mois-apres-le-demantelement-de-la-jungle-les-migrants-sont-de-retour-a-calais_5066640_3224.html|access-date=2020-12-06}} Help Refugees reported that by mid-January 2017 between 500 and 1,000 migrants, mostly unaccompanied minors, were living rough in Calais.
In February 2017, the mayor of Calais, Natacha Bouchart, faced global controversy for signing a decree banning the distribution of meals to refugees who had returned to the Jungle in order to prevent the reformation of "fixing points" (points de fixation) for refugees to regather.{{Cite web|title=La maire de Calais interdit la distribution des repas aux migrants|url=https://www.lefigaro.fr/actualite-france/2017/03/02/01016-20170302ARTFIG00236-la-maire-de-calais-interdit-la-distribution-des-repas-aux-migrants.php|access-date=2020-12-06|website=LEFIGARO|date=2 March 2017 |language=fr}} Although she claimed the ban to be a "humanly difficult" decision, Bouchart justified this administrative action by citing the harm that had been inflicted upon Calais and its residents as a result of the informal settlements that had long existed on the city's outskirts. The act was denounced by humanitarian organizations including Utopia 56 and L'Auberge des Migrants, who argued that humanitarian aid to refugees residing in Calais would provide a safer and healthier environment for refugees and permanent residents, particularly by preventing hunger-driven theft and infectious diseases.
Human Rights Watch published a report in July 2017 called Like Living in Hell, documenting what it described as continuing human rights abuses by the police against children and adult migrants in the region. It stated that nine months after the eviction, around 500 migrants remained living around Calais. Having interviewed over 60 migrants and more than 20 aid workers, the report noted that police, particularly the CRS (French riot police), were routinely spraying migrants, their possessions and their food and water with pepper spray.
Since the demolition of the Jungle in 2016, there has been a policy of "no fixation points" for migrants to settle in, aiming to stop another large camp from forming.France 24, '[https://www.france24.com/fr/20170623-visite-calais-collomb-affiche-fermete-migrants-jungle-ministre Calais : Collomb ne veut pas de "point de fixation" pour les migrants] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181214045928/https://www.france24.com/fr/20170623-visite-calais-collomb-affiche-fermete-migrants-jungle-ministre |date=14 December 2018 }}' (23/06/17) Police, including the Compagnies Républicaines de Sécurité (CRS), and clearance teams regularly evict migrants from their makeshift camps with new encampments later forming in another or the same location.I. Bourke, '[https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/welfare/2017/12/matter-political-will-there-s-no-end-sight-refugee-crisis-calais "A matter of political will": There's no end in sight for the refugee crisis in Calais] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180916154324/https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/welfare/2017/12/matter-political-will-there-s-no-end-sight-refugee-crisis-calais |date=16 September 2018 }}' (16/12/17) in New StatesmanM. Bulman, '[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/refugees-calais-channel-crossing-dunkirk-camps-boats-migrants-a8661061.html The lost childhoods on Britain's doorstep: How growing number of families are waiting in tents to attempt dangerous Channel crossing] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190701185435/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/refugees-calais-channel-crossing-dunkirk-camps-boats-migrants-a8661061.html |date=1 July 2019 }}' (01/12/18) on The IndependentM. Bulman, '[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/calais-migrants-refugees-camps-eviction-channel-crossings-france-asylum-home-office-a9100921.html Calais camp evictions fuelling rise in Channel crossings as situation reaches tipping point, say charities] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191205143821/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/calais-migrants-refugees-camps-eviction-channel-crossings-france-asylum-home-office-a9100921.html |date=5 December 2019 }}' (11/09/19) in The IndependentJenowein, Whitaker, Lindner, [https://helprefugees.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Forced-Evictions-in-Calais-and-Grande-Synthe-ENG-1.pdf Forced Evictions in Calais and Grande-Synthe: 1 August 2018-1 June 2019] (2019). Human Rights Observers The encampments are dangerous due to exposure and poor living conditions resulting in health difficulties.N. Stanton (ed.), '[https://refugee-rights.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/RRE_SixMonthsOn.pdf Six Months on]' (2017). Refugee Rights EuropeA. Lucas (ed.), '[https://refugee-rights.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/RRE_TwelveMonthsOn.pdf Twelve Months on]' (2017). Refugee Rights EuropeG. Farrell, '[https://refugee-rights.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/RRE_ChildrenInCalais-web.pdf Children Stuck in Limbo]' (2019). Refugee Rights EuropeA. Rawsome, '[https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/feb/26/periods-to-pregnancy-sexual-health-crisis-calais-refugees-volunteers-gynaecology-without-borders From periods to pregnancy – the sexual health crisis for Calais refugees] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200305022655/https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/feb/26/periods-to-pregnancy-sexual-health-crisis-calais-refugees-volunteers-gynaecology-without-borders |date=5 March 2020 }}' (26/02/18) in The Guardian The United Nations has repeatedly spoken out about what its experts say are unacceptable conditions for migrants in the area.UN News, '[https://news.un.org/en/story/2017/10/568652-un-rights-experts-urge-france-provide-safe-water-sanitation-migrants-calais UN rights experts urge France to provide safe water, sanitation for migrants in 'Calais Jungle'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180804140451/https://news.un.org/en/story/2017/10/568652-un-rights-experts-urge-france-provide-safe-water-sanitation-migrants-calais |date=4 August 2018 }}' (16/10/17). United NationsUN News, '[https://news.un.org/en/story/2018/04/1006481 UN rights experts urge France to provide essential services to migrants, asylum seekers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190120204348/https://news.un.org/en/story/2018/04/1006481 |date=20 January 2019 }}' (04/04/18). United NationsA. Chrisafis, '[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/12/un-france-dire-living-conditions-refugees-calais-migrants-human-rights UN urges France to act on 'dire' living conditions of refugees] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200216091415/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/12/un-france-dire-living-conditions-refugees-calais-migrants-human-rights |date=16 February 2020 }}' (12/04/19) in The Guardian A hostile environment is created for the migrants,Edmond-Pettitt, '[http://www.egpress.org/file/139/download?token=WVPRSACY Territorial Policing and the 'hostile environment' in Calais: from policy to practice]' (2018) in Justice, Power and Resistance with migrants and NGOs supporting migrants{{cite web |last1=Allen |first1=Maddy |title=Displacement in our Neighbourhood: Police Violence, Forced Evictions and Help Refugees |url=https://blogs.kent.ac.uk/carc/2019/03/25/displacement-in-our-neighbourhood-police-violence-forced-evictions-and-help-refugees/ |website=Conflict Analysis Research Centre |publisher=University of Kent |access-date=16 March 2020 |date=25 March 2019}} reporting violence from the policeA. Mohdin, '[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/18/migrants-in-calais-suffering-from-random-police-raids Calais clamps down as asylum seekers say: 'They just beat us'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200305081933/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/18/migrants-in-calais-suffering-from-random-police-raids |date=5 March 2020 }}' (18/09/19) in The GuardianGarcia Bochenek, [https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/france0717_web_3.pdf "Like Living in Hell": Police Abuses Against Child and Adult Migrants in Calais] (2017) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809184217/https://www.hrw.org/report/2017/07/26/living-hell/police-abuses-against-child-and-adult-migrants-calais |date=9 August 2017 }}. Human Rights WatchE. Vigny, [https://helprefugees.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Police-Harrassment-of-Volunteers-in-Calais-1.pdf Calais: the police harassment of volunteers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190906184812/https://helprefugees.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Police-Harrassment-of-Volunteers-in-Calais-1.pdf |date=6 September 2019 }} (2018). L'Auberge des Migrants and the local administration occasionally banning the distribution of food and water to migrants.Amelia Gentleman, '[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/02/calais-mayor-bans-distribution-of-food-to-migrants Calais mayor bans distribution of food to migrants] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191022214436/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/02/calais-mayor-bans-distribution-of-food-to-migrants |date=22 October 2019 }}' (02/03/17) in The GuardianP. Charrier, '[https://www.la-croix.com/France/Immigration/A-Calais-associations-denoncent-arrete-municipal-stigmatisant-envers-migrants-2019-11-01-1201057953 À Calais, des associations dénoncent un arrêté municipal « stigmatisant » envers les migrants] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191212092420/https://www.la-croix.com/France/Immigration/A-Calais-associations-denoncent-arrete-municipal-stigmatisant-envers-migrants-2019-11-01-1201057953 |date=12 December 2019 }}' (01/11/19) in La Croix
On 11 October 2021, a Jesuit priest and two fellow activists started a hunger strike to ask the authorities to stop mistreatments of migrants.{{Cite web|date=2021-10-26|title=Priest, 72, on hunger strike|url=https://www.kentonline.co.uk/dover/news/priest-72-on-hunger-strike-256366/|access-date=2021-11-01|website=Kent Online|language=en}}
The site of the Calais Jungle was turned into a nature reserve.M. Bell, '[https://edition.cnn.com/2017/07/26/europe/calais-jungle-camp-nature-reserve/index.html Former Jungle camp becomes home for migrant birds] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190126020428/https://edition.cnn.com/2017/07/26/europe/calais-jungle-camp-nature-reserve/index.html |date=26 January 2019 }}' (26/07/17). CNNH. Rullman, [http://www.statewatch.org/analyses/no-353-calais-hostile-environment.pdf Fort Vert: Nature conservation as border regime in Calais] (2020). StatewatchM. Hagan, '[https://www.societyandspace.org/articles/inhabiting-a-hostile-environment-the-sanitary-politics-of-life-at-the-post-camp-calais-border Inhabiting A Hostile Environment: The Sanitary Politics Of Life At The Post-Camp Calais Border]' (13/05/19) in Society and SpaceConservatoire du littoral, [http://www.conservatoire-du-littoral.fr/include/viewFile.php?idtf=11351&path=01%2F11351_758_Landes-de-Calais-Projet-paysage.pdf La lande de Calais: Restauration des milieux naturels et accueil du public] (2017)
In popular culture
- 2015: Written with Nadene Ghouri, The Lightless Sky is Gulwali Passarlay's memoir of his journey from Afghanistan to the UK as a twelve year old. Passarlay's time in the Jungle features in the book.{{cite news |last1=Popescu |first1=Lucy |title=The Lightless Sky, by Gulwali Passarlay – book review: A refugee's long, hard road to a new life |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/the-lightless-sky-by-gulwali-passarlay-book-review-a-refugee-s-long-hard-road-to-a-new-life-a6706231.html |access-date=16 March 2020 |work=The Independent |date=25 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180215014620/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/the-lightless-sky-by-gulwali-passarlay-book-review-a-refugee-s-long-hard-road-to-a-new-life-a6706231.html |archive-date=15 February 2018 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Halkon |first1=Ruth |title=The Taliban tried to recruit him as suicide bomber but he ended up carrying the OLYMPIC TORCH |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/taliban-tried-recruit-him-suicide-6671842 |access-date=16 March 2020 |publisher=Daily Mirror |date=20 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170629221810/http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/taliban-tried-recruit-him-suicide-6671842 |archive-date=29 June 2017 |url-status=live }}
- 2016: French writer Emmanuel Carrere published a report in the magazine XXI about Calais and the Jungle titled "Letter to a Woman of Calais".
- 2016: Jérôme Sessini made a photo report for Magnum Photos about the Jungle.{{cite web |last1=Sessini |first1=Jérôme |title=The Calais Jungle |url=https://www.magnumphotos.com/newsroom/the-calais-jungle/ |website=Magnum |access-date=7 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507194147/https://www.magnumphotos.com/newsroom/the-calais-jungle/ |archive-date=7 May 2019 |url-status=live |date=26 May 2016 }}
- 2016: Comic book author Lisa Mandel and sociologist Yasmine Bouagga depict the daily lives of migrants in the Jungle through a blog, Les Nouvelles de la jungle, using interviews and observations from their personal excursions to Calais. They later compiled the comic strips into a book titled Les Nouvelles de la jungle de Calais, which won the Coup de Cœur 2017 of the Centre national de la littérature pour la jeunesse (BnF).{{Cite web|title=La jungle de Calais en BD : drôles de chroniques|url=https://www.lefigaro.fr/bd/2017/03/07/03014-20170307ARTFIG00016-la-jungle-de-calais-en-bd-droles-de-chroniques.php|access-date=2020-12-06|website=LEFIGARO|date=7 March 2017 |language=fr}}
- 2017: Nicolas Klotz and Élisabeth Perceval launched a documentary film on the Calais Jungle: The Wild Frontier (original title: L'héroïque lande, la frontière brûle, France, 225 min.).{{cite web |url=http://povmagazine.com/articles/view/review-the-wild-frontier-lheroique-lande-la-frontiere-brule |title=Review: 'The Wild Frontier' |last1=Prozeniuk |first1=Tyler |website=Point of View Magazine |date=15 November 2017 |access-date=28 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190528214347/http://povmagazine.com/articles/view/review-the-wild-frontier-lheroique-lande-la-frontiere-brule |archive-date=28 May 2019 |url-status=live }}
- 2017: Joe Robertson and Joe Murphy, who ran the Good Chance theatre in the camp, wrote a play entitled The Jungle. It premiered at the Young Vic in London and has since been performed in New York and San Francisco.{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/what-to-see/jungle-young-vic-warts-account-migrant-crisis-powerful-christmas/|title=The Jungle, Young Vic: a warts and all account of the migrant crisis as powerful as A Christmas Carol – review|last1=Cavendish|first1=Dominic|date=2017-12-17|work=The Telegraph|access-date=2018-05-24|language=en-GB|issn=0307-1235|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191006062018/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/what-to-see/jungle-young-vic-warts-account-migrant-crisis-powerful-christmas/|archive-date=6 October 2019|url-status=live}}
- 2017: Segments of Ai Weiwei's general release documentary film Human Flow were filmed in the Jungle.L. Marshall, '[https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/human-flow-venice-review/5121720.article 'Human Flow': Venice Review] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181224045438/https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/human-flow-venice-review/5121720.article |date=24 December 2018 }}' (01/09/17) in Screen Daily
- 2017: Pooja Puri's debut novel The Jungle tells the story of a teenager in the camp.{{cite web |last1=Eyre |first1=Charlotte |title=Black & White Publishing names new YA imprint {{!}} The Bookseller |url=https://www.thebookseller.com/news/black-white-publishing-names-new-ya-imprint-480016 |website=The Bookseller |access-date=4 January 2021}}{{cite web |last1=Shaw |first1=Fiona |title=Ten Novels to Help Young People Understand the World and Its Complexities |url=https://thewire.in/books/ten-novels-for-young-people-the-conversation |website=The Wire |access-date=4 January 2021}}
- 2017: Threads from the Refugee Crisis, an award-winning graphic novel by Kate Evans, depicts the work of volunteers in the Jungle and other encampments in northern France and their interactions with residents of the camps.{{cite web |last1=Conner |first1=Shawn |title=Cartoonist Kate Evans draws on experiences as a refugee camp volunteer for graphic novel |url=https://vancouversun.com/entertainment/local-arts/cartoonist-draws-on-experiences-as-a-refugee-camp-volunteer-for-graphic-novel-threads |website=Vancouver Sun |access-date=4 January 2021 |language=en-CA}}{{cite web |last1=Kate |first1=Evans |title=Inside the Notorious Camp Where Refugees Sewed Their Lips Shut |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/inside-the-notorious-camp-where-refugees-sewed-their-lips-shut/ |website=Vice |date=20 June 2017 |access-date=4 January 2021 |language=en}}
- 2018: The documentary film Calais Children: A Case to Answer made by Sue Clayton followed unaccompanied children before and after the final eviction.{{cite news |title=Perspective – UK filmmaker on fate of unaccompanied minors in Calais |url=https://www.france24.com/en/20181019-perspective-filmmaker-sue-clayton-migrants-calais-children-case-answer-jungle-camp-uk |access-date=10 March 2020 |work=France 24 |date=19 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200310143525/https://www.france24.com/en/20181019-perspective-filmmaker-sue-clayton-migrants-calais-children-case-answer-jungle-camp-uk |archive-date=10 March 2020 |language=en}}
- 2019: Roads, a film starring Fionn Whitehead and Stéphane Bak and directed by Sebastian Schipper, includes scenes set in migrant encampments and NGO workplaces in post-Jungle Calais.{{cite web |last1=Barraclough |first1=Leo |title=First Look: 'Dunkirk' Star Fionn Whitehead in Sebastian Schipper's 'Caravan' (EXCLUSIVE) |url=https://variety.com/2017/film/global/dunkirk-fionn-whitehead-sebastian-schipper-caravan-1202606515/ |website=Variety |date=4 November 2017 |access-date=15 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190430062908/https://variety.com/2017/film/global/dunkirk-fionn-whitehead-sebastian-schipper-caravan-1202606515/ |archive-date=30 April 2019 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last1=Brooks |first1=N. L. |title=Road-Tripping: Director Sebastian Schipper on Why Shooting Roads Chronologically Was His Film's Best Path Forward |url=https://www.moviemaker.com/roads-sebastian-schipper/ |website=MovieMaker |date=11 June 2019 |access-date=15 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200411022835/https://www.moviemaker.com/roads-sebastian-schipper/ |archive-date=11 April 2020 |url-status=live }}
See also
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
Further reading
Books
- {{cite book |last1=Calais Writers |title=Voices from the 'Jungle': Stories from the Calais Refugee Camp |location=London |publisher=Pluto Press |date=2017 |isbn=9780745399683 }}
- {{cite book |last1=Agier |first1=Michel |display-authors=et al. |title=The Jungle: Calais's Camps and Migrants |location=Cambridge |publisher=Polity Press |date=2019 |isbn=9781509530601 }}
Reports
- {{cite report
| author = Özlem Hangul
| display-authors = etal
| year = 2016
| title = Unsafe Borderlands: Filling Date Gaps Relating to Women in the Calais Camp
| url = https://refugee-rights.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/RRE_UnsafeBorderlands.pdf
| publisher = Refugee Rights Europe
| access-date = 17 March 2020
}}
- {{cite report
| author = Nicholas Cotterill
| display-authors = etal
| year = 2016
| title = The Long Wait: Filling data gaps relating to refugees and displaced people in the Calais camp
| url = https://refugee-rights.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/RRE_TheLongWait.pdf
| publisher = Refugee Rights Europe
| access-date = 17 March 2020
}}
- {{cite report
| author = Fenella Henderson-Howat, Marta Welander
| year = 2016
| title = Still Waiting: Filling additional information gaps relating to the Calais camp
| url = https://refugee-rights.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/RRE_StillWaiting.pdf
| publisher = Refugee Rights Europe
| access-date = 17 March 2020
}}
- {{cite report
| author = Christy Braham
| display-authors = etal
| year = 2016
| title = Still Here: Exploring further dynamics of the Calais camp
| url = https://refugee-rights.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/RRE_StillHere.pdf
| publisher = Refugee Rights Europe
| access-date = 17 March 2020
}}
External links
{{Commons category|Calais jungle}}
- [https://franceukborder.org/ France-UK Border Research]: A library of research and primary sources regarding the situation for displaced people at the France-UK border
{{European migrant crisis}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Calais migrant crisis (1999–present)
Category:European migrant crisis