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Today's Top News
French Police Clear Migrant 'Jungle', Arrest 278
CALAIS, France - French riot police on Tuesday moved Afghan men and youths out of a makeshift camp known as "the Jungle" which is used as a base to launch risky attempts to get across the Channel to Britain.
Illegal Afghan migrants cry as police evacuate them from an improvised camp in Calais, northern France, September 22, 2009. French police began clearing on Tuesday an improvised camp dubbed "the jungle" where illegal migrants, mostly Afghans, gather near the port of Calais before trying to cross to Britain.
(REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol) A dawn operation was launched to evacuate the camp on a patch of sandy scrubland in the Channel port of Calais, with police arresting 278 migrants. The migrants gathered behind banners with slogans pleading with French authorities for shelter and protection.
But Immigration Minister Eric Besson said action had to be taken against migrant trafficking rings. "What I want is to dismantle this 'jungle', which is the operating base for human traffickers," Besson told RTL radio.
Activists opposed the raid however. "It's a scandal," said Jean-Claude Lenoir of the Salam migrant support group. "We can't have soldiers fighting in Afghanistan and treat Afghans seeking refuge here with such little dignity."
The 'jungle' inhabitants, many of them minors, rose at dawn with the muezzin's call to prayer lining up and braced for the police raid.
Police, some with truncheons but mostly lightly armed, started leading out the migrants one by one. They followed without resistance, some in tears.
Minor scuffles broke out between police and several dozen activists who set up a human chain around the migrants, shouting "no border, no nation, stop deportation".
Asked if he was afraid, 18-year-old Bilal Hazarbauz smiled: "Maybe they will deport me to Afghanistan.
"But where else can we go? This our home, there is no other place."
Bilal and the others were expected to be transferred to a detention centre in the nearby town of Coquelles, local aid groups say.
But they also warn that many will be end up back on the streets after a few weeks. "They are going to be scattered across the countryside and be at the mercy of traffickers," said Lenoir. "At least here the young people had built a kind of community. It's tragic."
The authorities say each would be migrants will be offered an individual option.
Thousands of mainly male migrants, from Afghanistan, Iraq and other troubled nations, have headed to Calais in the past decade to try to jump on a ferry or a train crossing the Channel tunnel to Britain.
The government announced last week it would evacuate the "jungle" which it says has become a haven for people-smuggling gangs and a no-go zone for locals, with appalling sanitary conditions blamed for an outbreak of scabies in the past few months.
Calais officials support the police operation, saying the situation has become unbearable and denouncing a spike in offences against residents.
Police started a crackdown on migrant squats and trafficking networks across the region six months ago.
Aid groups have condemned the 'jungle' raid as a media stunt that would simply push migrants further underground, making them more vulnerable to traffickers and criminal gangs.
From a peak of 700 mostly Afghan Pashtuns based in the "jungle" in June, aid groups say two thirds have fled since the government indicated it would close the camp in April.
"Most have left for Britain, Belgium, Holland or Norway, the others have scattered into thin air," said Thomas Suel of Terre d'Errance, one of a coalition of local aid groups.
French authorities operated a centre for migrants at Sangatte, near Calais but closed it in 2002 because of crime and British accusations that it was a magnet for migrants wanting to cross the Channel.
France says it is determined to stop migrants heading for Calais and crack down on human-trafficking, with dozens of squats closed and more operations to come.
From Saint Malo in Brittany to the Belgian border, they count some 17 migrant camps and squats along the Channel coast, where hundreds of Iraqis, Afghans, Eritreans or Vietnamese await their attempt at the British El Dorado.
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25 Comments so far
Show AllOk...so how did they get there from Afghanistan? Were they trafficked, or were they exploited by traffickers once there?
They probably went through Turkey to Greece, where the European law requires them to claim asylum. You are supposed to claim asylum in the first EU country you enter - remember that, zmann, just in case :) Once in EU, they were probably able to move freely, and go wherever they wanted, but probably the easiest way they can get to Great Britain is through the English Channel - by illegally hiding themselves in trucks crossing the Channel. (I suppose, technically they could try to get there in a boat. I don't know why they don't - maybe, for whatever reason it is not feasible. Or maybe they do that too - I don't know.) The reason why they want to go to GB is probably because it's easier to find jobs, and since Great Britain is a more diverse country than, say, Poland, it's just easier for them to blend in. I suppose that many Afghans would also speak English - since they have had English-speaking company for a few years now, so they want to go to a country where they can communicate.
Thanks...and I'll keep the asylum claim in mind :-)
Displaced Afghans, Iraqis, Somalis, etc. try to leave their ravaged countries and look for a better life in the West, legally or not. Eastern Europeans migrate to Western Europe (legally, as EU members) in search of work and better opportunities, providing cheap(er) labor in countries like Germany, Great Britain, or France, and they are replaced in their own countries by illegal immigrants from non-EU Eastern European countries and Asia, who in turn provide cheap labor in those countries. Mexicans and other South Americans . . . - we all know this story. So everybody wanders around, desperately looking for a better life, feeling homesick, inferior, inadequate and alienated . . . . And then we blame each other for low wages and stuff.
Capitalism at work for ya.
These kids just want to live. And we have played a big part in making their homes unliveable. "Jungle Camp"? It's like the "Grapes of Wrath", only worse.
Joe
Citizens of the middle east savoring the freedom that americans have brought them.
So, as a UK citizen, I am more aware of this problem than most, because I live only fifty miles from the main channel port of Dover, which is again only twenty two miles form Calais, and the "Jungle".
This is a problem, and it should be dealt with before it gets anywhere near the UK. This is not a simple case, like Mexican immigrants gaining access to the US, these unfortunate people have thousands of miles and countless borders to cross. Why are they being allowed to enter France in the first place? Why have they been allowed by the French authorities to set up a camp at the nearest point to the UK? Why is this camp at the furthest possible distance from their original homelands?
We have huge numbers of unemployed people in the UK, and we have had a flood of legal migrants from Eastern Europe over the past five years. Nobody knows how many there are, but it runs into millions. The fact is, that millions of extra people, willing to do jobs for a fraction of the cost of a UK worker, have succeeded in driving down wages, and put a strain on the infrastructure.
These immigrants from Asia and Africa look upon the UK as their "Holy Grail", and will try to get here by any means. The problem is, that we have finite resources, and we are crippled financially, we do not manufacture anything on a large scale any more, and limitless numbers of immigrants will destroy our country.
There must be a reason why they want to get to the UK - I would suggest that the problem is not the immigrants but something structural in the UK which makes it a place that people want to get to. Something is not being said here.
This picture makes me cry, especially as a US citizen and part of the shameful invasion and destruction of Iraq and Afghanistan. My heart breaks for what we have done to these people, young and old.
AndyK, you describe the economic conditions in UK which match ours in the US. Surely things did not have to be this way if our governments were not partnered in corruption with huge moneyed capitalists and their corporations. Perhaps IGNORance of our citizenry for too long allowed this system to roll on.
Do we all see what the "New World Order" is? Our standard of living is being smashed and leveled. Instead of raising developing countries along with making our own ways environmentally sustainable, until everyone can live in standards such as a "middle class" enjoys, we are all being systematically lowered to warfare economy and wage slavery, while our fascist overlords enrich themselves at our expense.
The motives of the architects for a NWO can be seen clearly for what they are NOT: humanitarian, just, peaceful. They only succeed when they make everyone each other's enemy.
AndyK, do you believe like I do that our countries are responsible for the plight of these people? Our citizens need to put pressure on our governments to end the warfare and build peace by making amends for our crimes-- helping a UN coalition rebuild infrastructure and giving food aid, and making sure this is carried out and not stymied by corruption-- oversight and accountability mandatory.
Between this situation reported, and the letter of the shoe thrower, none of us should take our eyes away and follow through with our responsibility to these people.
Donnalou,
In the US, you are not going to be facing any of these problems. It was George W Bush and the Neo Cons, aided and abetted by the UK's politicians, who decided to go to war with both Iraq and Afghanistan. Millions of people, including myself demonstrated against war, but it went ahead anyway.
We in the UK have a crazy "Open border" policy with other European Union states, and it does not take someone with a degree in rocket science to figure out, that the traffic has been very much one way. There are not enough jobs for UK citizens, let alone any more immigrants. The only reason that immigrants get work, is because they work for the minimum wage or less, and put up with living conditions which are disgusting.
I am 51, and I have been out of work for just over a year, after working for 33 years. My wife and I have saved and sacrificed to buy a house of our own, and I know other people who have done the same thing. There are now employers in the UK, who are advertising for jobs in the UK, in Poland and Slovenia and Lithuania, because they know that workers will travel here and work for half the pay of a UK citizen.
Other immigrants from Asia and Africa know that the UK is seen as a "soft touch" when it comes to border control. We do not have armed guards, and rarely have any passport checks. If someone does seek asylum, then they could find themselves being housed before a UK citizen.
I am a human being, and I find the plight of these people heart wrenching, and I wish that things could change, but why should I and thousands like me, face losing everything in my own country?
Dear Andy,
I have sympathy and empathy and I assure you that average US citizens face the exact economic scenario you describe. Immigrants are coming here, and not just from Mexico, and being brought in here, from Europe too, also for exactly the same reasons, that they are paid less, and jobs here are scarce and being lost every day.
Was not implying that these refugees are only the UK's responsibility but ours too!
Also like you I fought against these wars and fought with my own family and friends and countrymen over these wars. I assure you the US is facing problems and I have no doubt it is karma. The US is getting its too, trust me, from every direction.
What I am saying is our countries have been paying for our military buildups and just think what all that money could have done, maybe still could do, instead.
I wonder what would happen if all borders were abolished. Would the rich countries like the US or Great Britain still exploit the poor countries and make war on them, or would they not, knowing that they'll undoubtedly have to deal with a large number of refugees. Oh, wait - there wouldn't be any countries. There wouldn't be "us" and "them". There would be just "us".
Borders are already abolished for corporations. And look at the results.
Well, maybe the problem is that borders are abolished only for corporations and not for everybody else. Why do you think corporations move to other countries - for the scenery, or for cheaper labor and increased profits? What I am saying is that either the borders should be respected by all, or there should be no borders. If the US, Great Britain, or Russia had respected Afghan borders, than maybe Afghans would in turn respect EU borders and laws now. As it is, it's a little hypocritical to say "these barbarians are destroying my country" - be it Afghans in the UK, or Mexicans in the US. What people like UK Andy might not notice in their desperation, is that both the immigrants and people like himself are victims of the same elites and should really be on the same side. They should unite against the system, the corporations, and the war-mongering governments. They have a common enemy - the enemy that pits them against each other. With great success, too - look at the anti-immigrant sentiments in the US. It's likely the same in the UK.
It's hard to blame the workers. But is it fair to blame the immigrants? What choice do they have?
" . . . millions of extra people, willing to do jobs for a fraction of the cost of a UK worker, have succeeded in driving down wages, and put a strain on the infrastructure."
" . . . limitless numbers of immigrants will destroy our country."
AndyUK, I feel for you. It's not good for UK workers, and, ultimately, it's not good for the immigrants. On the other hand, what goes around, comes around - you have had a hand in destroying Afghanistan more than once, I believe. Right?
Bea, I do not know where you live, but if you live in the US, I could well say that YOU had a part in the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, that YOU had a part in Korea, Vietnam and countless other US adventures, but I am not that stupid. I have had no part in these wars, they were staged by very evil, very greedy men, and I have never supported them.
The other point is, that I was going to say that the US is left largely untouched by its military adventures, it has only been hit a couple of times on "Home ground". We are all to aware of what war is, and we are aware of immigration, not from one country (The US only has Mexico to worry about), but from many - new member states from Eastern Europe, most countries in Asia, most mid African countries. Have a look at the size of the UK (British Isles) on a map, then compare it with the US. We have an official population of some 60 million, and I dare say a few million "extras". We have a true unemployment figure of around 5 million, and the government says that there are 400,000 job vacancies (Most of which are less than 15 hours per week, and pay minimum wage).
Now, you tell me how we can be expected to take any more immigrants from anywhere?
Andy,
by “you” I meant your country, and not you personally.
You raise some interesting questions - who’s to blame for the war? You didn’t support it. I didn’t support it, either, but it’s being paid for with my tax money. Is the whole country to blame? The government? The president? The people who supported it? - Most of them didn’t go to war. The soldiers? - They got orders and “had to go”, whether they wanted or not. It seems that nobody is responsible. And what difference does it make to people who died, were maimed, or are now refugees?
I have no quarrel with you, Andy - look at my other posts here. It looks to me like the British workers are also the victims of this war, if indirectly. It’s only a matter of degree. Maybe the war is really the war on poor people?
One has to wonder whether, if all the foreign invading/colonising forces left Afghanistan, the out-migration would stop.
I suspect not. Most out-migration seems to come from countries that are grossly overpopulated because of huge birthrates mandated by self-serving politico-religious dogma (e.g., Mexico, Ireland, India, etc).
And the migrants are often among the more educated, affluent, and ambitious (e.g., the H1B recipients from India), not the poorest and most desperate.
The farmers in India (Kerala was it?), for example, abused and impoverished by the Monsantos, they don't pull up stakes and head for Britain - they kill themselves! Similarly, the poor villagers from Guatamala, fleeing the death squads, went no further than Belize because their whole ambition was just to have somewhere to live, not to get rich in "el Norte".
Whereas poor Jean de Menezes, executed by the London cops in that frightening display of murderous incompetence and coverup, was well-educated and came from a relatively affluent family in Brasil. He was in Britain for no other reason than to make money, as are the many engineers, physicians, and academics who come to the US, Britain, Canada, Oz, etc.
I think we should be careful about romanticising would-be incomers. They're by no means always "your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free".
Perhaps if the multinational corporations that benefit the citizens of the refuges that these "over-breeders" come from would leave their countries in peace and allow the residents to control their own destinies, rather than funding war and destruction in the name of national "interests" we would not see thousands of so-called economic refugees looking for a place where they can have some chance of a dignified existence. Of course my "overbreeding" comment is meant to be sarcastic as I find the above posting to be absolutely repugnant.
Perhaps if you provided some data to support your implicit assertion that it's always the abused who come to the industrialised countries because said industrialised countries have destroyed their idyllic pre-exploitation lives back home, you might convince me of your position. Simply asserting conventional, received dogma won't do it, though. You have to account for, among others, the Indian H1B professionals, the Irish construction workers, and the Brazilian electricians of the world.
(edit) Just out of curiosity, are you Roman Catholic? It's been my experience that it's usually fundies like the RCs who get the vapors whenever overpopulation or population control is mentioned (coming from a Highlands-and-Islands family, I was raised RC, so I know whereof I speak)
Any country that has in any way been involved in the destruction of Iraq, Afghanistan or Somalia, or has benefited economically from the war or rape of those countries' resources has a moral obligation to take these children in and provide food, shelter, education and jobs. Period. The new face of colonialism is just as brutal as its predecessor, it just wears a better mask.
PS - and if we send them back, they will surely join the Taliban or Al Qaeda - what other option do they have?
For most of them going back is not an option. They spent all they had, and borrowed money they would never be able to repay if they went back. At least some of them had to leave Afghanistan, because they received death threats from the Taliban or Al Qaeda, for working for Americans as translators or whatever. They certainly wouldn't join Al Qaeda, and if they go back they might simply get killed!
time for liberals to step up and take these people into their homes. Do it yourself and take them in, feed them. clothe them, ect. It is the right thing to do. Why don't YOU do it?
If the US gets out of their countries, they can return to their OWN HOMES WITH THEIR OWN FAMILIES.
End all of our occupations. Bring our soldiers home to be with their families. .
Joe