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Ben and Marie-Claude Bano taking goods to the 'Secours Catholique' warehouse in Calais. Generously provided by people at Ashford, Aylesham and Deal
Thanks to the parishioners at Tunbridge Wells for their generous donations. 
A call for generosity and understanding - BIshop Jean-Paul Jaeger of Arras, Bishop Trevor Willmott of Dover and Archbishop Peter Smith of Southwark in Calais on 19th September 2015, signing a joint statement of solidarity.
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collective_aid_delivery_2023.jpg
Current Needs for Donations in North-West France
November 2023
MOST NEEDED ITEMS
Volunteers!
Tents
Men’s and boys’ coats (especially small and medium sizes)
Sleeping bags and blankets
Jogging bottoms or jeans, size 26-34 waist (joggers with cuff bottoms if possible)
New boxer shorts (esp small and medium, tight fit if possible)
Socks, hats and gloves
Hoodies and jumpers
Trainers
Unlocked mobile phones with chargers
Powerbanks
Tarpaulins
Rain ponchos
Backpacks
ITEMS THAT ARE NOT NEEDED
Because organisations already have lots of these, or there is no demand for them, or they aren’t appropriate.
Anything that is dirty, torn, or otherwise damaged
Children’s toys
Women’s and children's clothes
Men’s trousers larger than 34’ waist
Electrical goods
Handbags
Towels
FOOD – please note that due to Brexit restrictions we can only transport dried foods to France
OTHER ITEMS NEEDED, BUT NOT PRIORITY
Toiletries and toiletry packs
Rollmats
T-shirts
Bin bags
Anti-bacterial hand wash
CHECK THE LATEST SITUATION AND HOW TO DELIVER GOODS AT
Collective Aid
E: calaisdonations@collectiveaidngo.org
W: collectiveaidngo.org
Care4Calais - see list above
E: admin@care4calais.org
W: https://care4calais.org/thedropoffmap/
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Latest News Latest News Latest News Latest News
21 November 2023
Update for November / December 2023
Visiting Calais
Phil writes:
Taking advantage of a ferry £39 day return offer from Dover for a car and passengers, I delivered tents and sleeping bags to Collective Aid in Calais on 14 November. They have moved back into the rue Clément Ader warehouse provided by the Auberge des Migrants. This has been halved in size from its former 2000 sq m, with the right-hand bay apparently now leased to someone else. There are more organisations working from Portakabins in the yard outside the warehouse, as well as others sharing the space inside – as several did when they moved to premises in the rue Antoine de Saint-Exupéry for a few years. For example, the Refugee Women's Centre, Project Play, the Woodyard, the School Bus Project, Human Rights Observers, Utopia 56, the Channel Info Project, Calais Food Collective, and more. The gate is not locked or supervised as used to be the case.
The Refugee Community Kitchen (RCK) is still there, serving about 1200 meals a day, but as with Collective Aid, there is a shortage of volunteers - typical for this time of year. However, forced expulsions by the municipality and CRS riot police mean that the refugees are forced closer together into such shelter as they can find. This has resulted in a number of violent scuffles which have forced several of the NGOs to stop distributions of food and goods for a few days at a time – despite the freezing temperature, heavy rain and mud. I did not find time to visit other sites, but reports from others describe much the same situation.
The number of people accessing nutritious cooked food are higher than ever befor – over 13,000 in September in Calais and Dunkirk – and demand continually increases, as do costs. Fortunately, legal challenges have forced the authorities to accept half a dozen regular distribution points without disturbance, apart from occasional interference with tanks of drinking water.
There are hundreds of people sleeping rough in the cold and rain right now in and around Calais and Dunkirk. Frequent mass clearances mean that refugees aren’t even allowed the dignity of keeping hold of their tents – their only their only shelter – when they are ripped away from them.
Now, as winter approaches, cold rain and winds are beginning to bite. It’s just a matter of time before conditions become lethal. Volunteers have to work hard to distribute tents and replace things lost in the evictions.
They provide:
- Safe drinking water, dry food, fresh fruit and vegetables, pots and pans. As well as daily distributions of healthy cooked meals including a salad and side of bread.
- Psychosocial support for families with young children, through informal education, games and the creation of safe spaces.
- Protection for women experiencing violence or harassment through access to overnight shelters and individual case work (visiting doctor, lawyer, translation…)
- Mobile charging stations, WiFi, SIM cards for people to stay in touch with their families, as well as translated information about medical and legal services available to them.
- Replacement tents for shelter, blankets, clothing, chopped wood for heating or cooking & hygiene items including menstrual products, soap and toothpaste.
- Witnessing and documenting State violence and forcible evictions perpetrated against displaced and vulnerable people including women and children.
Warehouse volunteers were delighted to welcome the arrival of scores of tents and blankets, surplus donations from just one Oxfam shop, skillfully crammed into every spare space within my car. (See attached photo.). An updated list of needed goods has just been added to our website along with contact detilas for some relevant organisations where you can check the latest situation and find out how best to deliver in Calais or at drop-off points in the UK.
What else has changed? There is now only one “duty free” wine warehouse operating near the Auberge’s warehouse, evidently an indication of less UK shopping trips!
Fatalities
On the evening before my visit a 22 year old Sudanese man had his throat cut during an altercation near the Mollien bridge, not far from the iconic Town Hall with the statue of the Calais burghers. The customary memorial gathering was to take place at 6.30pm after my departure by ferry. He is said to be the 363rd victim of Franco-British frontier policy.
There were two more deaths during the night of 6th November when a truck reversed into a group of 15 people on the port access highway.
Is Rwanda unsafe for refugees?
The Supreme Court thought so, citing not just the risks of 'refoulement' but equally the record of the Rwandan government on civil rights and with its opponents. It is wishful thinking that a proposed new law would suddenly make Rwanda safe ... or has the Government become so obsessed with the 'Stop the Boats' agenda that truth and justice suffer. Above, Phil recounts a visit he made a few days ago – it is as much the desperate and appalling conditions in Calais and Dunkirk that are forcing migrants to place their fate in the hands of people smugglers and traffickers. And how many Afghans who have risked their lives for the UK have had to risk their lives for the UK now have to risk their lives in small boats because they cannot be admitted through official channels? Are we really going to see them sent back if the Rwanda scheme comes to nothing?
Remembering Fr Dominique Pire
Ben writes:: I have been reading about the heroic efforts of this Belgian priest who fought tirelessly for the rights of displaced persons at the end of World War II for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The end of the war saw millions of refugees displaced with nowhere to go. Fr Pire founded villages of welcome which took in many thousands of refugees before they were able to return to their own homes. A thought strikes me. The term on which Fr Pire insisted, 'displaced persons', is perhaps a little less stigmatising than the term 'refugee' which has become a proxy for messages of hate and intolerance. What do you think ?
Christmas is coming!
Here is a note a couple of Carol Services in central London that aim to gather support and funds for refugee projects. There will be others at various locations!
Jesuit Refugee Service UK - Advent Service
15.Dec.2023, 7:00 PM
Church of the Immaculate Conception, Farm Street, 114 Mount St, London, W1K 3AH
Takes place online (www.farmstreet.org.uk/livestream) and in person
All are warmly invited to join JRS UK for this year’s Advent Service at Farm St Church in London on Friday 15th December at 7 pm. This year’s service will include carols, readings, and performances by refugee friends. The service will be followed by a reception of mince pies and mulled wine. You and your loved ones are all very welcome to join JRS UK in person or via livestream.
Please help JRS prepare to welcome guests at the Advent Service by informing them of your attendance. Email: Loddan at loddan.othman@jrs.net
London Churches Refugee Fund
Carols: 1 December, Highbury and Islington Station (inside if weather is poor)
Contact m@maggiehindley.org to advise when you can join in, between 3.00 pm and 8.00 pm
If you do not sing, come and collect money!
25 September 2023
Update for September 2023
Ben writes: We apologise for the late arrival of this update after a long gap since the mid-July issue. But it begs the question, am I − and maybe others − suffering from 'compassion fatigue'? Are we seeing a 'culture of indifference' which has been described so well by Pope Francis? In the seaside town of Deal where I live, every day social discourse is predominantly about what we did yesterday or what we might do today rather than the pressing injustice issues which are all around us. Great spiritual leaders such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer knew this all too well as they battled within indifference. In his last months before his execution in 1945. Bonhoeffer battled with the question 'Are we still of any use?'
This thought came to mind when I organised a prayer vigil for deceased migrants at our seafront memorial. In spite of extensive publicity the vigil attracted just one person. Have we become so immune to the tragedies of lost lives that we become indifferent to suffering?
Have we become immune to the deaths of 20,000 Libyan's, or 10,000 Moroccans in recent natural disasters? As well as the deaths of thousands crossing in flimsy and unsuitable boats? Are our constant efforts at advocacy wearing us down in the face of a relentless 'official' narrative of intolerance?
Thank goodness there is an antidote to my pessimism as hundreds of groups and individuals seek to combat injustice and provide as much support as they can.
I console myself with the thought that the situation is too urgent to allow for pessimism. A recent Guardian report suggests that record 71.1 million people worldwide in 2022 were fleeing their native communities in search of safety and shelter, a 20% increase on the year before. Nearly three-quarters of the world’s displaced people live in just 10 countries, including Syria, Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ukraine and Sudan, all racked by war.
Pope Francis has repeatedly called for a 'culture of tenderness' to combat the culture of indifference. This is a challenge both for us personally and for the groups to which we belong. And so when I experience this feeling I will reflect on how I and those around me might begin to mirror some of these very human qualities.
Frank Ospina, RIP
News reaches us of the suicide earlier this year of a young Colombian man, Frank Ospina, in Brook House Removal Centre, near Gatwick Airport. Frank had come to England to explore University courses but decided to pursue his studies in Spain instead. He made the fatal mistake of getting a job as a kitchen assistant before leaving to join his course and was discovered and detained in Brook House. After a month he became suicidal − because, unlike many others, he wanted to leave the UK but no arrangements were made and he grew more and more depressed. His death was followed by four further suicide attempts in the Centre. When will we ever learn?
And if an application for asylum is successful ... ?
That's when the problems begin. We learn that in a new twist to government policy successful claimants are given just seven days notice to leave their accommodation — hence often sleeping out in streets and parks is the only option. And Universal Credit takes at least 5 weeks to come through: the asylum process is a 'no win' in every respect.
Pope Francis
As we issued our previous Update, Pope Francis issued a message for the 109th annual World Day of Migrants and Refugees, which is now almost upon us. He pointed out that, ‘The migratory flows of our times are the expression of a complex and varied phenomenon that, to be properly understood, requires a careful analysis of every aspect of its different stages, from departure to arrival, including the possibility of return’. And chose the theme of Free to choose whether to migrate or to stay.
His concluding words are as follows. ’Joint efforts are needed by individual countries and the international community to ensure that all enjoy the right not to be forced to emigrate, in other words, the chance to live in peace and with dignity in one's own country. This right has yet to be codified, but it is one of fundamental importance, and its protection must be seen as a shared responsibility on the part of all States with respect to a common good that transcends national borders. Indeed, since the world’s resources are not unlimited, the development of the economically poorer countries depends on the capacity for sharing that we can manage to generate among all countries. Until this right is guaranteed – and here we are speaking of a long process – many people will still have to emigrate in order to seek a better life.‘
Food for thought!
Government
Around the same time, we joined at least 278 other national and local organisations in signing a letter to the Prime Minister to urge him to ‘listen to common sense’ and scrap plans for asylum camps at Wethersfield, Catterick, Bexhill and Scampton, as well as on ferries and barges. The sites are ‘deeply unsuitable’ and the Government risks creating ‘an entirely preventable humanitarian catastrophe’ by pressing ahead with plans to use them to house people seeking asylum.
This had little effect, with the “Illegal Migration Bill” receiving Royal Assent on 18th July and becoming an Act of Parliament.
Our contention remains that people seeking safety can now expect that they will yet more often find themselves isolated in prison-like conditions without adequate advice, healthcare, or support. These facilities segregate and re-traumatise people.
The use of hotels as ‘contingency’ asylum accommodation is a result of the Home Office’s enormous backlog of asylum cases, and its failure to work with local authorities to adequately plan and resource the asylum dispersal system. Meantime, poorly regulated private companies make huge profits. The safest, quickest and most cost-effective way to end the use of hotels and fix the problems in our asylum accommodation system would be through making fair and timely decisions on people’s asylum claims, enabling people to rebuild their lives in our communities.
The much vaunted crisis is clearly the Government’s responsibility and it is one for which vulnerable people and local communities are paying the price.
On 20 September, two All Party Parliamentary Groups issued a joint Call for Evidence for an inquiry into the effects of the UK immigration system and refugee policy on poverty. They want the Call to be widely shared.
Calls for Change
• Expedite asylum decision making.
• House people in safe, dignified conditions − in communities.
• Drop the racist, inflammatory rhetoric that blames people seeking sanctuary
for government failures.
Meanwhile, in France
Thousands of undocumented migrants, including families with children and unaccompanied minors, hide in the fields and forests near Calais and Dunkirk. Reaching the UK is their hope to start a new life.
The situation in Calais and Dunkirk is much as it was years ago. The French and British governments’ efforts to stop the gathering of refugees in Northern France with a hostile welcome have done nothing to rectify the reasons for the initial displacement of these people from their homes. Civil war goes on in Sudan, Taliban control is stronger than ever in Afghanistan, and the Iranian government continues to persecute those who speak out against it. So, the displacement continues.
The so-called "illegal" crossing of the English Channel with smugglers is dangerous. Even if they manage to cross, the new immigration act raises concerns about respect for basic human and asylum rights: there is a possibility of being sent back. This raises the question: ‘Are we at a point of no return when it comes to how Europe and the UK are treating irregular migrants, dehumanising them, and failing to find a solution for a problem that will continue to persist and potentially worsen?‘
Six Afghan men aged around 30 drowned off Sangatte in the early hours of 12 August when a fragile boat lost power. 61 people were rescued. According to Associated Press (France), over 100,000 people have crossed since the start of the ‘small boat phenomenon’ in 2018, responding to the upgraded security around French ports and the Channel Tunnel terminal. (Ironically, the UK government claims that there are safe routes from Afghanistan to the UK, but these are not effective: just 107 were resettled in the UK in the year to June under part of a scheme set up to help the most needy, whilst at least 1,474 arrived in small boats )
Personal Story
We attach an illuminating account of a recent Calais visit by Anne M Jones, a frequent volunteer in the region.
Wishing peace and good health to all readers!
13 July 2023
Update for July 2023
'The stranger who resides with you shall be with you as one of your citizens' (Leviticus 19:34)
We open our update this month with these wise words from the book of Leviticus. Written thousands of years ago, they still provide us with a lasting moral compass as relevant today as they were then. They provide an ideal backdrop when discussing with our friends and neighbours why we find the Illegal Migration Bill so hard to stomach. And they introduce our account of some of the activities to mark the recent Refugee week with which we have been involved.
Do you live in 'Middle England' ?
If so there is a battle for your hearts and minds in 'red wall' as well as 'blue wall' constituencies. The Government is counting on the opposition of 'Middle England' to the arrival of small boats as well as support for the Rwanda scheme. But is the support actually there? A number of polls suggest that there is a large degree of sympathy with the plight of asylum seekers even when there are concerns about placements in local hotels as well as the proposed use of barges and disused army camps. Why not organise a group of like minded people to request a meeting with your MP to show that, rather than being heartless, our humanitarian instincts need to be expressed to our politicians? Just remember the words, with which we will all be familiar, of that epic song from the sixties – a kinder decade – 'All you need is love'. Perhaps 'Middle England may yet show its compassion in the face of forced deportations to Rwanda. What do you think ?
Some tips if you live near an 'asylum hotel'
Mickey Mouse is no longer allowed ...
It is difficult to understand the rationale behind this ridiculous story of a government minister demanding that cartoon images on the wall of a reception centre for child asylum seekers must be painted over because they rendered the place 'too welcoming'. The centre concerned is in Dover and is the first point of contact for children coming off a small boat.
It is well known within the field of children's mental health that children need positive images to alleviate the trauma of their experiences. And what can be more traumatic than seeing one's loved ones shot and then having to step on a small flimsy boat? How much more do we want child refugees to suffer? Just over 95 years ago the UK welcomed thousands of child refugees through the Kindertransport scheme – they were not seen as unwelcome and great efforts were made to ensure their welfare – can we not show the same compassion now? If you are a member of a community group or Faith Group then please, please express your concern to your local MP. A photocall with the words 'Asylum children need Mickey Mouse' might also attract local attention.
To add to the above, it has subsequently emerged that children's murals at the nearby Manston Airport processing centre have also been painted over.
A report from Calais
Volunteers from the 'First Aid Support Team' ("FAST") work around Calais and Dunkirk providing first aid and referring displaced people with medical needs to other services, as well as providing first aid training for other volunteers.
It is an entirely volunteer-led organisation, right from the board to the field coordinators and healthcare professionals. They are inspired by a strong belief in the basic human right of being treated with dignity and respect: they apply this belief in their day-to-day efforts when helping and assisting people who have been forced to leave their homes by violence, persecution, disasters and poverty.
A few days ago, a new field co-ordinator, Natasha, reflected upon her experiences.
I have been in Calais for a month now, and I am learning more and more each day.
In the field, we still see a lot of minor respiratory illness like coughs and colds, dermatological issues like allergies, scabies, and eczema, Musculoskeletal injuries and varying degrees of wound care.
People also come to us with conditions obtained as a result of precarious outdoor living conditions, worsened by regular evictions and blatant police violence.
I have seen human bite marks, burns from scalding spilt petrol and many injuries sustained when running from the police.
This is part of the government's policy to discourage people crossing over to Dover. It’s an effort to make the situation more dangerous with the hope that people give up.
However, when someone has travelled for months or years to escape danger at home, running from the police one last time will not stop them achieving their dream of safety.
As we run a mobile clinic, we do not have access to specific medicine or diagnostic testing. In these instances, we refer to the hospital or health clinic and hope our patients go, but many people have very little belief in the system.
Many are fearful of government services or have already been and are very dissatisfied with the care they receive. Relying on this system is very frustrating, as we cannot promise our patients they will receive the care they need and deserve.
If you have relevant experience, please consider spending a minimum of 1 week volunteering with FAST. The more people we have, the more people we can support.
If you do not have the health care experience to volunteer, you can help us by sharing our work, getting involved in other organisations work or by starting a fundraiser for us!
Music for Change
Ooberfuse is a London-based band that is a critically acclaimed favourite on the Indie music scene, having played at many locations worldwide. Their latest release to marked Refugee Week, 'Show Me Love', is about welcoming the stranger. In May, Ben helped the leading duo, Cherrie and Hal, record scenes in Dover for the accompanying video.
The singers decided to return during Refugee Week with other exiled artists and supporters for a free concert in Dover, which features so strongly in many of today's refugee tales. Phil and Ben were pleased to be of assistance again, in finding a venue and issuing publicity.
This video presents excerpts from the concert and from a visit to the memorial plaques near the port entrance, along with an excerpt from 'Show me Love'.
(A different "tour guide" activity for us early in 2022 was to find out how Archbishop Gugerotti, then the Papal Nuncio to Great Britain, i.e., effectively an ambassador, should apply to visit detainees in Napier Barracks. He had formerly worked in Ukraine, and his name is now on the list of new cardinals to be created on September 30.)
In conclusion.
The UK government's "Illegal Immigration Bill" attracted some well argued amendments during its passage through the House of Lords, for example in limiting the time that pregnant women can spend in Detention and providing children with a right to bail after eight days in Detention. The House of Commons have voted to reject about 30 other changes and the Bill now enters a period of 'Parliamentary Ping-Pong'.
With thanks for your continued interest and concern.
6 June 2023
Update for June 2023
'The great masquerade of evil has wrought havoc with our ethical preconceptions'.
(Ben writes) Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote these prophetic words as he struggled to find out how to reconcile his ethical position founded on Christian principles with the evil that was being brought about all around him in the 1930's. It was not just about the persecution of the Jews and others – it was equally about how the nationalist myth of superiority could so easily take root in a society.
Are we seeing the same phenomenon in this country and more widely in Europe? The message – hidden and not so hidden – that those of a different skin colour are not 'one of us' and should therefore be treated differently? The constant threats of detention and deportation are aimed at people who don't in with our racial stereotypes, whatever traumatic experiences they have endured. Has the debate over 'illegals' influenced a new and pernicious kind of nationalism being fed from the far right?
(By the way, until the current Bill is passed into UK Law, it is still not an illegal act to cross the Channel in a small boat, whatever the anti-migration lobby might say ...)
A diversion into local politics
We hear much about the 'will of the people' to 'stop the illegals.' There is a particular spot in Dover's harbour where migrants are brought ashore. And what happened in the local Dover elections in May? A substantial swing to Labour. Not all voters fit with the stereotypes that the authorities like to portray ...
Thought for the Day – 'There is so much we declare to be unbearable – and yet we continue to bear it' Gustav Heinemann, writing in 1938 as storm clouds gathered over Europe
About Mother Maria Skobtsova.
We regret that due to unforeseen circumstances we cannot present our webinar about this remarkable Orthodox Christian woman who worked tirelessly both before and during the war to help the homeless and refugees as well as Jews in houses of shelter in Paris before she was deported. She died in a concentration camp just before the end of the war. Her words about the power of love are still an inspiration for those who strive for justice and peace. The Catholic Worker House in Calais is dedicated to her memory. In the midst of the chaos of war she reflected on love of our neighbour:
'The key tension is that in order to love disinterestedly without 'mercenary intent' we have to attend with all our energy to the particularity of the other: the last thing disinterested love can be is a blandly undifferentiated benevolence.'
Is Western military intervention creating more refugees?
It's a familiar story - a country's security forces, assisted and trained by Western allies, seek to combat terrorism through instilling fear into local populations. This is particularly true in the jihadist wars in the countries of the Sahel. Human suffering is paradoxically increased in the name of fighting terrorism.
Forced displacement has reached new heights – the UNHCR estimates that in 2022 there were 2.9 million refugees and internally displaced people across Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. Violence has spilled over into neighbouring countries, including Benin and Ghana. Our quota of refugees pales into insignificance, particularly as the burden of looking after refugees often falls on the poorest countries in the world.
And 369 deaths later....
A young Sudanese exile, Sammy, is latest of the 369 who have died trying to reach the the UK this century. We note his death on a lorry with sadness, as well as that of Ahmed who was trying to board a lorry some weeks ago. May they rest in peace. We draw your attention to the 'Groupe décès' in Calais which organises funerals and acts as proxy for the families who cannot be present. Each funeral costs several thousand euros and donations are very welcome - we will happily advise on ways in which this can be done.
The causes of death near the northern French coast have evolved. Initially, in the years 2000/2010, many perished on the roads, hit by cars or trucks. Successful exiles hid in the trailers of heavy goods vehicles or clung to the axles. Subsequently, there has been a shift to deaths at sea. The figures for the year 2022 are that five exiles died at sea and four went missing, trying to reach the English coast, while at least three others died near the coast, trying to get on trucks or trains.
(The above figures have been compiled by journalists; official figures vary! According to the Prefecture, 36 migrants died in 2021, including 30 at sea and in 2022, there were 17 deaths, including 5 at sea. In contrast, the International Organization for Migration, 44 people died at the Franco-British border in 2021 and10 died in 2022, including 8 in the Channel.)
Remembering Mawda
A reminder on the anniversary of a distressing event that we have previously featured. On the night of May 2018, during a period when a far right member of the coalition was Minister of the Interior in Belgium, Mawda Shawri, a two-year-old Kurdish Iraqi girl, was killed by a bullet from a police officer's gun whilst sitting in her mother's arms during a car chase on the France-Belgium border. The bullet was said to have been aimed at the wheels of the van, which was carrying people on the move, but came through the window and hit Mawda's cheek.
From then on, various dehumanising measures were inflicted on the family to try to control the narrative of the events that took place and take away the blame from the police operation. These included claiming Mawda was used as a 'human shield', retracting various statements made in court and among other falsehoods, claiming that Mawda had fallen from the van. Mawda's lost her life through racist policies, truth was not served and her parents were offered no sympathy.
The case that was eventually heard two and a half years later was mired in contradictory statements from officials to a narrative that cast doubt on and discredited the family, their own testimony and those of other migrant witnesses who had been in the van. The penalties were four years imprisonment for the man said to be driving the van and a one year suspended sentence plus a €400 fine for the officer whose shot killed the child. The case has become a symbol of the violence and injustice faced by those crossing European borders.
Bishops' document on welcoming strangers inspires song
The Ooberfuse duo recently premiered their new song: 'Show Me Love' in honour of World Refugee Day on Tuesday 20 June. The words arose from reflection upon a document recently issued by the Conference of Catholic Bishops in England and Wales, 'Love the Stranger'. Seeking Sanctuary was delighted to assist by proposing locations in Dover from which scenes in the official video could be filmed.
Reviewing the song, Skylight Webzine writes: "Ooberfuse's ethereal pop anthem, 'Show Me Love,' featuring the mesmerizing vocals of Newroz Oremari, stands as a testament to the power of music in promoting unity and compassion".
Ooberfuse will be performing live during the Refugee Week Vigil outside the Home Office in Marsham Street, London SW1, on Monday 19 June at 12.30, when Bishop Paul McAleenan will provide a reflection.
Watch 'Show Me Love' here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ro-J06pc0cQ
In and around Calais
Concerns about ease of access to drinking water continue, and have been repeated in a report from a UN Agency. Rubbish sacks have been provided for NGOs to conduct clearances but the council refuses to provide a skip to collect them on the basis that it would make the town more attractive to passing migrants. The UK charity, Care4Calais has become careful to avoid obvious campaigns against local and national government actions because there are allegations of smuggling associated with demands from the UK government that it should be banned from working in France. As a consequence its volunteers are keeping away from beaches between certain hours and are unable to keep an eye on evictions, among other things.
And back to Dover ....
... Most people on the streets who were asked for comments about the Prime Minister's speech in the town on 5 June rejected his postulate that his policies had reduced the number of small boat crossings, saying that everyone knows that the reduction is due to poor sea conditions.
Thank you, as ever, for your concern for the scapegoats who few people speak up for.
20 April 2023
Update for April 2023
What's in a Golliwog ?
Seemingly nothing at all and it may seem irrelevant to our subject of humane treatment of asylum seekers. And yet – these so called culture wars in which golliwogs are said to be harmless toys provide the backdrop to a much more serious issue – if these comments are allowed to go unchallenged what hope is there for promoting a humane and tolerant society in which the refugee is received and helped in a humane and tolerant way?
Thank goodness we have a core of committed people such as yourselves who go out of their way to promote a culture of welcome and tolerance in so many different ways. And yet our task is to go further – to work with the people who may be our friends and neighbours to promote a welcoming culture to people who are at risk of being otherwise persuaded by the current intolerant narrative.
Those protesting against new camps are not all bigots – indeed some of the arguments putting asylum seekers miles away from urban environments where they are most likely to integrate have been taken up by campaigners. Meanwhile promises come and go – in recent weeks over 1000 people have made the Channel crossing in spite of the government 'crackdown'.
"Napier Barracks – the inhumane reality"
We welcome the recent publication of this hard hitting report by the Jesuit Refugee Service. Carefully researched and based on the experiences of those involved, the report describes the human consequences of 300+ people being placed in a dilapidated former barracks.
There was little or no room for privacy as residents had to sleep in dormitories with only thin screens to separate them. While they were allowed in theory at least to leave the Barracks there was little they could do with the small amount of money they received each week. Seeking Sanctuary is co-sponsoring the launch event in Folkestone on 27th April from 6 pm to 8pm. Contact us if you are able to attend. You will find the report here.
"Love the Stranger"
Another report come a few days earlier from the Catholic Bishops' Conference, proposing a new starting point for an ethical approach to greeting refugees. It points out the need to uphold the innate human dignity of each person. Our starting point as a society must be to recognise migrants and refugees as people. We need to understand their stories, their reasons for leaving their homelands and hopes for building a future here. We should see those arriving from elsewhere not as a political problem to be solved, but rather as brothers and sisters who we have a responsibility towards, and who greatly enrich our communities. Download here.
"A Radical Spirituality of Welcome – the Life and Legacy of Mother Maria Skobtsova". A webinar to mark World Refugee Week.
We have referred to this remarkable woman, the patron of a house of refuge in Calais, in an earlier update. From being involved in the Russian revolution to becoming an Orthodox nun, she opened houses of welcome in Paris which took in Jewish refugees after 1940. In 1943 she was deported to Ravensbruck where she died two years later.
At the same time she developed a distinctive theology of the Cross particularly relevant to the welcome of refugees. The webinar will take place on 23rd June at 7 pm via Zoom. Just email us if you would like to receive a link. The facilitators will be Ben and the former manager of the Calais House, Brother Johannes Maertens, missionary monk of the Monastery of the Good Shepherd and the Catholic Worker movement. A flyer is attached.
The tragedy of Burkina Faso and the Sahel continues ...
In our reporting of conflict zones across the world we focus this month on the growing instability in Burkina Faso, the landlocked West African nation which has experienced two military coups in the last year. While the country is beset by jihadist terrorism the city of Djibo in the north of the country has been under siege by terror groups for the last18 months. Almost half the country is under jihadist control.
Overall the Sahel is experiencing its worst instability since 2020.It is not surprising that Burkina Faso and its neighbouring countries are experiencing some of the worst refugee crises of recent years. And this can only get worse when the effects of the climate crisis are taken into account. Much of the Sahel is now parched, leading to conflicts over increasingly scarce resources.
Calais Resources
A new document is attached, in French, listing the varied voluntary groups that support exiles in Calais. The scope of their work is impressive. We also attach an (English) infographic presenting the situation faced by unaccompanied minors (UAMs) in Calais.
For almost a month, there has been a group of extremely violent smugglers working under the bridges in Calais. They get a strong hold on newcomers, especially those arriving at the station. There have been five confirmed acts of violence against exiles and support groups are taking measures to protect their teams, especially at night, with some operations suspended.
At A Crossroads
As we write this update we conscious of standing at the crossroads of despair and hope. The anti-migrant narrative continues to worsen - it has become almost normalised. The British public is being duped into accepting this narrative - 'Stop the Boats' has become the dominant political message as part of a catalogue of our woes. How easy it is to stereotype those who are unwanted as being 'scroungers' and not worthy of accommodation in hotels and similar.
In fact as many will describe their experiences, extended stays in a hotel are no sinecures. Food can often be repetitive and often boring. Home Office contracts to not allow for the use of leisure facilities. (Perhaps because there might be an outcry if it migrants were actually having a swim?)
If passed, the Government’s ‘Illegal Migration Bill’ would remove the right of refugees to get tp the UK to claim asylum. Is that really the sort of country we want to be? The Bill will see anyone who has braved a dangerous channel crossing in a small boat locked up in a detention centre, shipped off to another undisclosed country and have their asylum claim deemed “inadmissible”. Instead of allowing a right to safe passage for refugees who have experienced unimaginable hardship. our Prime Minister appears to be intent upon stripping them of their chances for a better life.
Postscript: Remember the reported atrocities of the Wagner group in Ukraine? They are now heavily involved in Mali following the withdrawal of French troops two years ago, and there are reports of indiscriminate attacks on civilians in the town of Moura where 300 were killed in an assault on Islamist militants.
6 March 2023
Update for March 2023
Dear Friends,
There never seems to be enough time and space to cover all the issues around refugees and migrants which we need to discuss. But as the narrative grows ever more hostile we must all do our best to ensure that the current far right (and not so far right) narrative does not enter the mainstream of our political discourse. In this update we look at 're-traumatisation', and the story of one of the most remarkable women martyrs of the 20th century, plus the latest news, even if we are finding it hard to keep up with developments.
Former breaking news
As our last Update was being mailed on 21 January, news broke of criminals recruiting new gang members by effectively kidnapping numerous impressionable under-age asylum seekers outside hotels where they were being accommodated by the Home Office. The amazing backlog of unprocessed asylum claims has put enormous pressure on accommodation and it emerged that many young people were not being accommodated by local authorities (as the law insists) or supervised by suitably trained staff.
Legal responsibility for exercising a duty of care seems often to have become a grey area because experienced local authority staff were not directly involved and central government had made no clear statement about how care should be provided. MPs from all parties are concerned about the situation and hopefully will continue to demand assurances of improvements.
Send them back!
This is the constant call from some of our politicians, including the Prime Minister and the recently appointed Deputy Chair of the Conservative Party. The latest calls are for 'illegals' to be sent back within a few days. But where? As the Dublin agreement is no longer operative they will not be accepted by any European country. And although the Government is reluctant to admit it, an increasing number crossing in small boats are Afghans who have not been able to access the official channels – some reports suggest that they are now beginning to outnumber Albanians. Does our Prime Minister really expects them to be returned into the hands of the Taliban? And even those with rigid views would find it hard to accept Afghans who have suffered trauma to be deported to Rwanda. Prime Minister, get real ...
New breaking news
As we edit this Update, UK media are full of comment about expected proposals for new legislation, this time being pushed by the Prime Minister who is thought to believe that 'get tough' policies will appeal to Conservative voters nationwide. The expectation is for the most Draconian anti-refugee legislation yet, aiming to make the UK off-limits to any refugees other than those who are hand picked.
It is anticipated that under the new laws, people arriving in small boats will:
• Have their asylum claims made automatically ‘inadmissible’;
• Be subject to mass detention;
• Be removed to a third country as soon as practicable;
• Be permanently banned from returning to the UK;
• Be unable to use family rights laws to stop deportation.
Apart from ignoring obligations under international law, this all raises immediate practical issues, and we wait for the dust to settle to see exactly what is proposed.
Rocks
As March began the Calais authorities, following a policy started a few months earlier to prevent the installation of tents, deposited large rocks on several grassy areas of the city centre. Now, they have blocked access to Quai Andrieux, near the Mollien bridge, which provides shelter to many. A water tank is located here to provide for for exiled people near the city centre. The rocks are lined up on the embankment and prevent any vehicle from accessing the tank so that no-one can come and fill it. The rocks also stop people from getting shelter under the bridge.
The risks of 're-traumatisation'
(Ben writes) Although I have worked in Mental Health Services for many years I was not familiar with the above term.
Re-traumatisation can be defined as a risk whenever victims are exposed to their traumatic histories without sufficient tools, supports, and safety to manage emotional, behavioural, and physical reactions.
This applies to the many thousands of people awaiting processing of claims and eking out their lives in poverty.
Following the trauma of being victims in a civil war or instability the experience of life in a hotel where the far Right is demonstrating outside is enough to add significantly to the trauma which is first experienced.
Our post-traumatic services for victims are very limited in dealing with these often complex and life changing reactions to trauma.
If there is a ray of light it is that through the experience of Ukrainian refugees in the UK and elsewhere, we are beginning to understand these experiences in people closer to home which provide us with some insights.
Albania
Recently it has been dispiriting to see Albanian asylum seekers demonised. The rhetoric has been deeply misleading and unfathomably cruel. One of the most toxic narratives has been the idea that Albanian boys and men, as opposed to girls and women, aren’t 'real' victims and aren’t in need of protection. In fact, many young men have been trafficked, either within Albania or from Albania to the UK or other European countries into forced labour or forced criminality, and severely abused.
Another common cause of Albanian boys and men fleeing their country is blood feud. A young man can be targeted because of something his father, grandfather, uncle or even a distant cousin did. Some feuds last for decades and may erupt suddenly even after a years-long lull. Many have no option but to self-confine, remaining inside their homes for years at a time, with devastating consequences for their mental health.
The story of a remarkable woman ...
You may have heard of the Catholic Worker House which is situated in one of the back streets of Calais. Ever since the house was established some years ago it has performed much-needed work in catering for some of the most vulnerable asylum seekers, particularly women and children, who would otherwise be sleeping outside in appalling conditions. Its name is 'Maria Skobtsova House'.
But who was Maria Skobtsova? She was an Orthodox nun who lost her life in the concentration camp of Ravensbruck in April 1945.Known as Mother Maria of Paris, her life journey was quite remarkable.
Spending her formative years in St Petersburg, she was a socialist revolutionary and an intellectual of a leftist bent. She nearly died during the 1917 revolution which she lived through. Twice married and divorced, she raised three children, one of whom survived, only to be murdered by the Nazis. As well as describing herself as an anarchist, she showed great sympathy and solidarity with the Jews. In later years, arriving in Paris with her mother as refugees she experienced what can be described as a 'surge of love'. She opened shelters and houses of hospitality for rootless Russian emigrés, often living in poverty, as well as welcoming Jews during the Nazi occupation from 1940.
As an Orthodox nun she was part of a tradition which placed love of neighbour as a priority of life. Like her contemporary, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, she was driven by the message of the Sermon on the Mount. She was an active member of Orthodox Action, which was founded in the 1930's to promote social justice.
Deported in 1943, she soon acquired a reputation in Ravensbruck of making selfless sacrifices which led to her replacing a fellow prisoner due for execution just before the end of the war. She was also a very profound spiritual writer in the Orthodox tradition, described in this article by Rowan Williams, taken from his 2021 book Looking East in Winter: Contemporary thought and the Eastern Christian tradition.
And as the weather gets colder...
Temperatures have been particularly low in Northern France over the last few weeks. Faced with the choice of sleeping in a flimsy tent in freezing temperatures or taking a chance on a small boat, we think we know what we would do ...
A successful immigrant
British Iranian Johnny Nash provides this video. He is host of the newly formed podcast, Successful Iranians, a career and accountability coach to small and medium-sized enterprises, a Forbes Top 1% global headhunter and author of The Secrets of the Sauce: Ending Career Misery.
21 January 2023
Update for January 2023
Modern Slavery
As we sent out our previous Update, the Home Secretary again claimed that 'modern slavery laws are being abused by people gaming the system' – a follow-up to her previous claims that protections are being manipulated by small boat arrivals. The Office for Statistics Regulation said that it had requested 'specific evidence' for her claims but none had been provided. It is true that the proportion of referrals deemed to be genuine cases of modern slavery in Home Office ‘conclusive grounds decisions’ has risen year by year from 58 per cent in 2016 to 91 per cent in 2021. However, this surely reflects the results of a government strategy encouraging Border Force officers, police and other officials to get better at identifying potential victims. Ministers and officials have still not produced evidence to support the rhetoric, and there is concern is that this style of rant severely undermines the protections of the Modern Slavery Act.
In and Around Calais
Arctic weather can settle in the area when gale force winds come down the North Sea or up the Channel. The usual harsh living conditions and struggle to survive become even harder. Associations working on the ground have reported that there are more young people in the camps, in particular Afghans in one of them. There is particular pressure with increases from new communities from the Near East (North Africa, Iran, Syria and Egypt with young people under 15), including a very large majority of young boys.
A project in Calais provides legal, social and psychological support to unaccompanied minors to strengthen their access to rights. Its review of 2022 reports that it helped 320 minors on the streets, 27% of them aged 15 or less. 47% came from Sudan, 13% from Afghanistan and 10 % from Syria. Only 21 had been recognised as unaccompanied minors by child protection services and received long term care. The average time spent on the streets was 77 days. Instances of psychological suffering were observed: post-traumatic stress with hypervigilance; depressive symptoms with insomnia and nightmares; destructive behaviours, such as eating disorders.
The political strategy of avoiding 'fixation points' has led to daily evictions in the area, mainly in daylight. This involves displaced people being forced to move their tents and belongings, anywhere from 2 to 500 meters. Personal belongings and basic necessities (such as tents, blankets, bags, identity papers, mobile phones, medicines, clothes, etc.) are often taken and/or destroyed on the spot and/or thrown into the skip, without giving their owners any opportunity retrieve them.
A place for people to recover their belongings has been set up without folk being systematically informed of its existence by staff of the Prefecture or the police. Equally, information about alternative options for shelter is not always provided. These acts are unlawful and yet take place in front of the bailiffs in charge of evictions. These operations of harassment are also often accompanied by abusive identity checks, followed by arbitrary arrests and illegal periods in administrative detention.
Deaths
Four more people drowned in the Channel in mid-December, as they risked everything to reach the UK. Over 30 others survived after clambering out of a twisted black dinghy in freezing temperatures. Witnesses said that the survivors came from Afghanistan and Iraq – two countries from which millions of people continue to flee because of war and persecution.
Our deepest sympathies are with their loved ones and all those directly affected by this tragedy. No one risks their own, or their family's life, unless they are running from dangers more acute than those they face on these dangerous journeys.
UK government data show that two-thirds of the men, women and children arriving this way are from countries where war and persecution have forced them from their homes. Yet almost no safe routes for refugees to get to the UK exist, even from these places, even from countries like Afghanistan, Syria and Iran. The only option to make an application for asylum is take a dangerous journey.
The evidence is clear – using ever more Draconian policies to try to ‘deter’ people who have had to flee for their lives doesn't work. We continue to call for compassionate and well-thought through plans that will save lives and give protection to those who need it.
2023 has started with more horrific news of death. Calais is crossed by a number of railway lines placed at ground level among the streets and business areas. On 3 January, Fouad Dango aged 29, from Sudan, walked in front of a train travelling on one of the tracks close to the Rue de Judée, where food and water are distributed to the exiles. He has been buried in the town's cemetery.
A huge thank you from Napier Friends
Napier Friends - the group which supports people held in Napier Barracks in Folkestone, would like to pass on their thanks for your generous festive donations of £850 which have enabled hats and scarves to be purchased for residents as well as for 85 people who were moved to local hotels in Folkestone. These were very much needed and appreciated during the recent cold weather.
Age Assessment - new controversies
How can one tell with precision whether someone is seventeen and a half or eighteen and a half? The answer from a committee of experts is 'You can't. The government is keen to extend the use of 'scientific' methods, including X-rays and MRI scans as well as the development of teeth and bones. The Committee rightly questions whether the use of these methods is reliable or ethical. The Committee stresses that 'no method, biological or social worker led, can predict age with precision.The Committee also point out the potential harm of using ionising radiation as well the distress caused by such tests, particularly on lone children. And what about the duty to obtain informed consent ? We await the response of the government with interest.
Modern Slavery
As we sent out our previous Update, the Home Secretary again claimed that 'modern slavery laws are being abused by people gaming the system' – a follow-up to her previous claims that protections are being manipulated by small boat arrivals. The Office for Statistics Regulation said that it had requested 'specific evidence' for her claims but none had been provided. It is true that the proportion of referrals deemed to be genuine cases of modern slavery in Home Office ‘conclusive grounds decisions’ has risen year by year from 58 per cent in 2016 to 91 per cent in 2021. However, this surely reflects the results of a government strategy encouraging Border Force officers, police and other officials to get better at identifying potential victims. Ministers and officials have still not produced evidence to support the rhetoric, and there is concern is that this style of rant severely undermines the protections of the Modern Slavery Act.
Detention
The often very visible arrival of more people in small boats, and a large and growing backlog in the asylum system, suggest that the UK’s immigration system is in crisis. The government therefore says that it intends to reassert control over the borders through measures that include the expanded use of immigration detention.
Some recourse to detention may be justified if it ensures that those with no right to remain do not avoid immigration control. However, as 2022 drew to a close it became evident that thousands of people were held in unhealthy conditions for long periods in the processing facility at Manston in Kent. At one point around 4,000 people were being held at a site designed for 1,600 and outbreaks of diphtheria and scabies were reported, not to mention Covid. Not only were there risks to the individuals concerned, some of who resorted to self harm and attempts at suicide, but our international reputation for fair treatment and taking responsibility for the welfare of people in government care has surely been damaged.
Safeguarding is particularly important for immigration detainees, who generally lose the protections of citizenship, and may have a history of trauma or be prevented by linguistic or cultural barriers from explaining their circumstances or asserting their rights. For many years regular inspections and reviews have taken place to ensure that policies to protect vulnerable people do work as they should.
The Home Office has invested time and energy to improve policies and procedure, with teams to put the findings of inspections and reviews into practice. But those responsible have noted that although many recommendations are accepted, progress in implementing them has been painfully slow.
With politicians discussing the expansion of detention and taking steps to reopen former immigration removal centres, it is more important than ever that a focus on detainee welfare is maintained and that and ensure that safeguards are robust and effective. The story of Manston suggests that this focus can get lost.
Continued Persecution
The state policy of applying bullying and hindrance to aid workers is still active. On the morning of 19 January the team from the Calais Food Collective found that their tank used to distribute drinking water had disappeared and that rocks had been deposited to prevent its replacement. The two local police forces deny responsibility, despite having been spotted in very similar actions in the past.
In September the Calais municipality, under pressure from reporters, admitted that a tank had been seized and in the following month a court in Lille found that official notices banning the distribution of food and water were illegal. Nevertheless, the obstructive actions continue and the State is preparing to appeal the court decision.
A statement from the Collective called for a halt, saying that freezing conditions put more lives at risk and increase the need for food and water to be provided. They point out that all human life is sacred and promise that they will never stop protesting again these inhuman actions.
Intolerance and Pushback in Europe
News reaches us (via the Guardian) of disturbing developments as the Far Right takes power across several European countries. In Italy landings of rescued people have been been banned and NGO boats have been forced to take much longer journeys to French ports. NGO operations have also ceased in Lesbos following charges laid against rescuers relating to assistance given to people fleeing Syria in 2015/2016.
Sweden, for so long a bastion of liberalism, is now being influenced by far right politicians who exercise much influence in Swedish politics.The earlier policies of 'burden sharing' has not been implemented, resulting in increasing 'pushbacks' , particularly in Romania, Croatia and Hungary. And Austria, long a crossroads of different nationalities, has called has called for a Rwanda style deportation plan.
The reasons for all this are obvious - food and climate insecurity, inequality and rapid demographic changes as well as war and violence are just some of the causes. And humanitarian policies take a back seat in the face of the rise of the far right.
Tigray - reasons for hope?
We always try to include at least one good news story to balance our often pessimistic outlook. This month's story comes from Tigray, scene of of the world's deadliest conflict - tens of thousand have been killed. For years neither side was not talking to the other but after the recent truce it has been possible to bring international aid and telecommunications, including the internet, for people who were cut off from these necessities. And the power grid has now been restored to Tigray
But the peace is fragile as Eritrea, which has played an active part in the conflict, has not yet withdrawn its troops and there is a risk of return to hostilities. Let us hope and pray that this fragile peace will hold.
'Faith and Frontiers'
This is the title of a free online conference on Saturday 18 February from 10h00 to 16h00, looking at Christian responses to the migration crisis. It is promoted by 'Project Bonhoeffer', a charity established to promote the legacy of this well known peacemaker who lost his life in 1945. Ben has joined recently as a trustee of the charity.
The keynote address will be given by Bishop Rose Hudson-Wilkin, Bishop of Dover, and other speakers include Dr Ulrich Schmiedel of the University of Edinburgh, an authority on religion and migration, and Rev Dr Keith Clements, a noted Bonhoeffer scholar, who will be joined by people from groups currently working to meet the needs of asylum seekers in Calais, Kent and the North of England.
The Project, set up in 2011, aims to inform and remind today’s Christians – especially the young as well as the not-so-young – of the challenges of discipleship that Dietrich Bonhoeffer addressed in his radical theology and in the Christian witness that led to his execution by the Nazis at the end of the Second World War.
The project's events seek to enable people to put Christian faith into action in ways that make a positive difference in the world, engaging with the key social and political challenges we face. It encourages and resources theological reflection, conversation and community-building around Bonhoeffer's work and life and its implications for today.
The goal is not unlike that of the well-worn Pastoral Cycle, providing opportunities for people to think and to act – reflecting on faith … and then doing something about it in the context in which they live and feel called to serve.
Book at https://www.projectbonhoeffer.org.uk/events/
Rwanda
NGOs have been granted leave to appeal against aspects of the recent High Court decision suggesting that the proposed UK government policy of deportation may be legal.
14 December 2022
Media Release
Seeking Sanctuary says 'Let's avoid yet more deaths in the Channel'.
Reports are reaching us of some of the dire conditions of sub-zero temperatures in Northern France where many hundreds of migrants are huddling together in flimsy tents. It is little wonder that they seek to escape these conditions by risking their lives in small boats.
Seeking Sanctuary repeats its proposals for avoiding the tragic risk to lives for people attempting to reach the UK in small boats and the consequent impact upon those who are involved in the rescue services:
1. Provide a reception centre in Calais where asylum seekers can make their claims in safe and legal ways and cross to the UK once their claims have been registered. Operate the centre through a system of pre-bookable on-line appointments to avoid unnecessary journeys to Calais and prevent the system being overwhelmed. In this way asylum seekers could stay in other parts of France while waiting for appointments.
2. In these sub-zero temperatures with migrants crowded together in frail shelters and becoming obvious prey for people smugglers with the alternatives being too dire to think about, provide some basic shelter by using some of the millions of pounds already provided to France by the UK government and so avoid unnecessary risks being taken.
Ben Bano, from Seeking Sanctuary said: Those fleeing war and persecution should not be vilified by commentators and be able access a fair hearing and live in safety and dignity while their claims are considered.We cannot solve this problem simply through yet again adding more security systems, more technology, more police and more patrol boats. While our proposals are not ideal, they do indicate practical ways to solve the immediate problems which lead to the current misery and tragic loss of lives. They would also eliminate the need for the often complex and difficult maritime rescue operations currently being undertaken.
2 December 2022
Update for December 2022
Our Festive Season Appeal.
We are appealing this year on behalf of 'Napier Friends' to provide comforts such as woolly hats, scarves, and much else as well for the 300+ asylum seekers currently being put up in Napier Barracks in Folkestone. Life in the Barracks can be bleak and we want to support Napier Friends in offering just some comfort and hope while the residents go through the long process of waiting for their applications to be processed. Let us know if you can help, and we will let you have the relevant bank account details to donate.
'Send them back to Albania'...
This is another call from an MP which fans the flames of intolerance. The only problem – a large number of those classed as Albanians crossing to the UK don't in fact live in Albania any more but in other European countries -- they may not have seen Albania for years – so what might happen to them? As we commented last month, Albania is a major source of victims of trafficking, from which they require asylum.
And News from Rwanda and the DRC ...
There are disturbing reports of possible Rwandan support for the M23 rebels who started an offensive which has led to the capture of the Congolese border town of Bunagana. And in the town of Kishishe 50 civilians were massacred by the M23 rebels. And tens of thousands of people have been displaced.
Deaths
The first anniversary of the deaths of at least 27 migrants in the worst maritime disaster in the Channel for 30 years on 24 November 2021 was marked by vigils on the south coast and elsewhere. People called for safer routes for refugees to come to Britain. Around 100 people including residents from Napier Barracks gathered on the beach at Folkestone in an evening vigil where one participant said: “The horrible weather just made it even more moving and poignant.” Great sadness was expressed that the migrants died in the dinghy disaster while countries bickered over who was responsible for saving them. Another participant wrote on Twitter: “Whether in the Channel, in detention centres, camps, on the street etc, people seeking safety are dying because they are ignored.”
A simultaneous gathering of several hundred people took place near Dunkirk, where three wreaths of white flowers were thrown upon the sea, accompanied by three blasts on a port foghorn. Boats brought rescue workers lifeboat together with elected officials from France and the EU.
Ramsgate witnessed a similar event and flowers left on the Folkestone beach were later taken to Dover and laid at the memorial plaques for the dead near the ferry terminal.
Offering prayers for the dead and those who mourn, Bishop Paul McAleenan, lead bishop for migrants and refugees for the Catholic bishops of England and Wales, said: “This avoidable tragedy challenges us to reflect on our collective responsibility for protecting refugees and migrants from life-threatening danger. As more of our brothers and sisters attempt to make this crossing in search of a better life, unacceptable discourse and policies continue to rob them of their human dignity.”
The names of the dead were remembered at the start of the week in London, during the monthly lunch-time hour's vigil in support of asylum seekers at 12.30pm outside the Home Office in London. The address is 2 Marsham St, London SW1P 4DF and the next vigil will be on Monday 19 December
Manston
We led last month's update with an account of concerns about this – supposedly short-term – processing centre in Kent.
The site has been beset by series of scandals arising from severe overcrowding. These include a diphtheria outbreak, drug use by guards on the site and asylum seekers being removed from the site and dumped in central London.
Manston was initially intended to hold a maximum of 1,600 people, but at one point accommodated 4,000, with many staying considerably longer than the 24-hour legal time limit. Independent monitors condemned failures to provide information to people about the length of their stay at Manston, how their claim would be processed and when transfers would happen and described the conditions as 'squalid'.
Concerns include:
A change in public opinion?
Ben writes: Am I being naïve or do I detect a subtle change in public opinion ? Is there a reaction to the constant anti-immigrant narrative which is being reinforced by our new Prime Minister and his government? In the face of the scandal of conditions at the Manston processing centre and the prospect of deportation to Rwanda, is the 'tolerant' side of British society finally showing its face? Are we seeing a shift of attitude from the groups in our community labelled as 'intolerant'? I have been heartened by the immediate response of people in our town of Deal to an appeal for winter clothing not just in France but here as well. Perhaps the presence of Ukrainian refugees has made us more aware of the issues of migration and being a refugee. Maybe this is an opportunity in this festive season to use our 'soft' power. For those of us who are reluctant to take part in marches or vigils we might do some 'myth busting' with our friends and families as we gather together for the festivities. Perhaps the dinner table can be a place of discernment. You may live near a newly requisitioned hotel - after all the 4000 people evacuated from Manston had to go somewhere... Life in a hotel, particularly for families subsisting on under £40 per week (or only £8 if food has been provided) will be bleak – why not find out if there is a local group to support hotel residents – if not, then why not start one?
Ending
We leave you with a quote from Etty Hillesum, the increasingly well known Dutch mystic and philosopher who lost her life in Auschwitz in 1943.
'We human beings cause monstrous conditions, but precisely because we cause them we soon learn to adapt ourselves to them. to them. Only if we become such that we can no longer adapt ourselves, only if, deep inside, we rebel against every kind of evil, will we be able to put a stop to it.
While everything within us does not yet scream out in protest, so long will we find ways of adapting ourselves, and the horrors will continue'.
8 November 2022
Update for November 2022
An Invasion of our Shores
On 31 October the Home Secretary spoke in Parliament about "stopping the invasion on our southern coast", following heightened concerns over the very visible arrival of asylum seekers in small boats.
And so the rhetoric gets taken to a new level. We wonder who the audience is this time, as we detect a growing public feeling that all these attacks on our fellow human beings risk becoming counter-productive. And we continue to question the more or less constant narrative of the 'illegals' invading the White Cliffs of Dover. They are just a small proportion of those who have been displaced from their homes and deserve to be treated with respect and dignity.
We have constantly stressed that it is not an illegal act to set out in a small boat with the intention of claiming asylum - but it soon will be under new Government legislation. This, yet again, aims to deter traumatised people coming to the UK. Talk solely of "pull factors" shows no recognition of the global scale of the migration phenomenon or of the possibility of working with others to create conditions that will eliminate the conflict, poverty and suffering that push families away from their homes.
The reception facility at Dover is unable to rapidly process the numbers now arriving on most days and a larger centre has been set up a few miles away in a former military airport at Manston, designed to deal with 1000 to 1500 people within 24 hours of their arrival. However, it seems that there is insufficient space receive them when they are ready to move on, with the result that over 4000 people have been sleeping on the ground in marquees for long periods.
As we write, the conditions at Manston continue to be dire, although the total number within the facility is said to be down to some 1500. Imagine having to sleep on the ground in a marquee or between benches. Imagine that there are no sources of contact as mobile phones are confiscated to prevent contact with the media, meaning that you are cut off from loved ones. And in these conditions disease can spread all too easily. The current conditions are as bad if not worse than the Greek holding camps which have been the subject of criticism. The experience of these conditions following the trauma of earlier wars and persecution is beyond our comprehension. Up to now we have been unable to establish whether there are any trauma counsellors or other mental health input on site, particularly as many people have been in Manston for more than a month.
Hundreds of supporters have protested outside the gates and after weeks of inaction the Home Office has suddenly found it possible to find hundreds of hotel rooms for the residents to move on to while their claims for asylum are investigated. This slight success has been marred when poor communication has resulted in dozens of people taken by coach to central London being abandoned at rail stations overnight with no idea where to go next.
Albanians - the latest scapegoats in demonisation of migrants and refugees
Interestingly the latest figures show that 53% of Albanian asylum seekers are granted leave to remain or asylum status. Although reported as being free from military conflict, Albania is a major source of victims of trafficking, from which they require asylum. Women are typically sold into the sex trade and men into agricultural slavery.
The situation is complex with many young people struggling to scratch a living in the context of worsening economic conditions as well as being victims of long-standing blood feuds. It is not surprising that they make easy targets by traffickers who falsely promise an El Dorado for a few thousand euros. And many of those labelled as 'Albanian' are in fact from other countries in the Balkans, for example Kosovo and North Macedonia.. Another surprising fact - last year Albania welcomed two thousand Afghan refugees who were unable to gain access to the United States. Some are still waiting to hear if they will be accepted in the United States.
A message from Harmondsworth ...
Immigration detention is the practice of holding people who are subject to immigration control in custody while they wait for permission to enter a country or before they are deported or removed. It is an administrative process, not a criminal procedure. This means that migrants and undocumented people are detained at the decision of an immigration official, not a court or a judge. Unlike most other European countries, there is no time limit on immigration detention in the UK.
Home Office policy says that detention must be used sparingly and for the shortest possible period. But in reality, many thousands are held each year, some for very lengthy periods, causing serious mental distress.
A power outage that began just after midnight on Friday morning plunged the Immigration Removal Centre at Harmondsworth, near Heathrow Airport, into darkness.
We print below the latest statement from a detainee at Harmondsworth, given at 16:45 on 04/11/2022. At the time the centre had been without running water or electricity since midnight. Some people have been moved to reduce pressure on space, but in some cases moved to inappropriate accommodation such as already crowded prisons.
At exactly midnight the lights went off, everything went off, and the emergency bells went off. It's coming up seventeen hours now.
We are still waiting. We're afraid to go indoors [return to cells at 9pm], because the [emergency] buzzer's not working, the electricity's not working, it's pitch dark. There's not even candlelight here. The only light we get is through the window, but the windows are all black because it's Heathrow. And you can't open the windows, they're all triple glazed and there's no air.
It's cold, and when we go out now it's dark. A lot of people are struggling. They didn't have breakfast or lunch - there's a lot of vegetarians and vegans here and they keep saying the vegetarian food is coming, coming, coming, but it didn't come all day.
We've been given two bottles of water to wash faces and have a drink, but there's no running water, nothing.
We still haven't got a place to go and use the toilet. People are struggling now. There are two people to a cell. It's unbearable - someone wanted to go to the toilet for two or three hours and the manager told them to use a bag. Shit in a bag. That's horrendous - how can you say that? This is the United Kingdom, the world looks up to us.
As I'm talking I'm sweating, my hair is standing up, I've got goose bumps.
It's coming up to five o'clock and I've got four people sitting around me listening to what I tell you.
I'm afraid to go indoors at nine o'clock. If the buzzer's not working they shouldn't be keeping people in their rooms for twelve hours.
There's no water, nobody can go to the toilet - people are basically going to the toilet in the bin.
In another wing there's a gentleman that's had three strokes, he's in his 60s and he's been here for the last 25 months. He phoned me last night because he was in a bad way. I had to call an officer and ask them to help him because the emergency buzzer wasn't working.
Normally [cell] opening time is 8am, but they didn't open until 10.30 today. Before that no officers came to check on people. The buzzer wasn't working - God forbid something happened to someone. There should have been people coming round to check everyone's all right.
I got my medication at 1 o'clock, I'm supposed to take it at 8 o'clock. I've got [chronic, painful medical condition]. I had to argue for it. It's pitch dark - when they gave it to me they had to record it on a laptop because no computers are working.
People came for a visit and they had to turn them away, they said there was no power.
16 hours it's been. I'm dying for a tea or a coffee, my head's hurting, I'm really stressed out. Most people's phones are dead because they didn't know the electric was going to go out. We don't know what's going to happen at 9pm.
Concern
Despite these horrendous situations, only partly described above, we are heartened by the witness of many people who have willingly travelled for miles to show their support for their fellow human beings and their growing concern for the tone of public debate, all too often inflamed by political rhetoric.
6 October 2022
Update for October 2022
On the death of Queen Elizabeth and the accession of King Charles
Alongside so many other organisations we offer our profound condolences at this difficult time. We cannot of course know the views of our late Queen on asylum and refugee related issues, but we can be sure that through her many journeys and commitments to the Commonwealth as well as her public utterances she was committed to multiculturalism and racial equality, as is our new King who has a long record in promoting many inititiatives to promote equality, and efforts to establish justice and peace.
Might our late Queen with her fondness of the story of the Good Samaritan even have cautioned against forced deportations to Rwanda? We would like to think so ...
'I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full' ...
Ben writes: We are very conscious of the need not to 'proselytise' in our updates and the need to respect the views and beliefs of you, the recipients of our updates.
And yet this passage from the Gospel of John is striking and relevant to the crises in the world in which we find ourselves. It describes a belief which transcends faith and belief systems which is based on respect for the dignity of human persons.
That is the message that we take from the World Day for Migrants and Refugees on 25th September. For so many of our friends life is about survival – and the granting of asylum might be the first step in enabling someone fleeing persecution to 'live life to the full.'
The theme of the World Day was 'Building the future with migrants and refugees'. Note the wording – the future needs to be built 'with' rather than 'for' migrants and refugees. A future that, in the words of Pope Francis, leaves no-one behind.
The Political Scene – surrounded by myths
From Ugandan Asians fleeing Idi Amin to Ukrainians seeking refuge from war, Britain has a strong heritage of welcoming those less fortunate than us. Yet asylum remains one of the political policy areas led by rhetoric rather than facts and most fraught with division and polarisation.
Many worry that the asylum system is not sustainable and the government’s perceived lack of control of borders contributes to this. There is no coherent national refugee strategy and a long-term vision is needed to move away from crisis management. Anyone fleeing war and persecution should be able access a fair hearing and live in safety and dignity.
Major barriers to rational discussion result from the repetition of several myths.
First, a belief that refugees deserve to be treated with compassion and given a fair hearing does not mean that you are in favour of uncontrolled migration. Refugee applications make up only a small percentage of the total immigration figures, but concerns about economic migration create scapegoats out of refugees without reducing migration figures.
A second myth is that the number making treacherous and very visible Channel crossings can only be reduced through deterrence policies such as the Rwanda plan. However, such policies are ineffective, costly and risk weakening the global system for managing asylum claims. Quite apart from questions of morality, the cost of creating a sufficient deterrent is too great to have any meaningful impact on the number undertaking Channel crossings. Many of those reaching Calais have faced incredible hardships at home and on their journeys: they are not deterred by the probability of a flight to Rwanda.
Viable ways forward must start with diplomacy. We must strengthen collaboration to stop smuggling and secure agreement from our European partners for creating mechanisms to review cases elsehwere in Europe (with safeguards so that asylum claims are looked at before people arrive here). Additionally, we should create safe routes so that we take a fair share of displaced people and create incentives for European partners to uphold their side of the bargain.
Another important myth is that we do not have the capacity to manage the current caseload safely. This is based on publicity over the use of poor quality asylum hotels costing an astonishing £1 billion annually. The asylum backlog creates a major challenge to orderly management as well as pushing up the exorbitant costs. Clearance of the backlog is essential, and meantime while there are labour shortages, people seeing asylum should be allowed to work and contribute to the common good of UK society.
Asylum and refugee policy should not be divisive.
Our four point plan for avoiding dangerous Channel crossings
We need to find a way of countering the narrative of 'illegals' crossing in small boats which has been repeated again by the new Home Secretary. Here are our proposals which would do away with small boat crossings as well as cutting the risk of asylum seekers falling into the hands of people smugglers.
Under these proposals there would be no need for people to make dangerous Channel crossings. The resources now deployed in border patrols, etc., could be diverted, and most important of all, nobody would put their lives at risk. Your views on these proposals are welcome ....
And the cost of living crisis with its implications for asylum seekers
Those waiting for decisions on their applications in the UK are often housed in poor quality, temporary accommodation. It is more than likely that many will have to use key meters for electric power, which can cost up to 25% more than ordinary meters.
And yet the question remains – how to manage dramatically increased costs on a budget of £37 per week which has to cover food and all other expenses. The simple answer is that it can't be done – do let us know about the impact of the cost of living crisis on asylum seekers in your area so that we can lobby on this issue, as required.
Focus on conflict and civil war – the tragic situation in Burkina Faso ...
This month we turn our attention to the tragic events emerging in the West African state of Burkina Faso. This country has been grappling with a jihadist insurgency that swept in from Mali in 2015. During 2021 there were a number of attacks by armed Islamist Groups which marked a deterioration in human rights and security.
The country was further destabilised by a military coup in January this year. And it is experiencing its worst food crisis in a decade. Currently 600,000 people are existing at emergency hunger levels.
The attacks have continued and on 5th September 35 people died on a bus as they were nearing the capital, Ouagadugou. The town of Djibo has been blockaded since May and is hosting nearly 300,000 displaced people. It is estimated that nearly 5 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance – about a quarter of the total population of the country. And 1.9 million people have been forced to leave their homes. Yet another example of news from a human catastrophe which has barely reached our consciousness.
Disturbing reports also reach us from Eritrea, where in the past few months the military have been targeting boys and young men during Church services. Recently members of an entire choir in their robes were abducted to a military camp to fight as soldiers in current conflicts. It's no wonder that so many young Eritreans are forced to seek sanctuary away from their country ...
A good time was had by all
Meanwhile we would like to thank those of you who contributed so generously to our appeal for a meal for residents of Napier Barracks to mark the World Day for Migrants and Refugees on 25th September. A total of £220 was raised. Because of logistical problems it was not possible to stick to our original plan for a meal in a local restaurant – instead we used the funds to book an excellent local caterer to deliver quality food to the barracks – this benefited many more of the 300+ residents than could be taken out to a restaurant. It was a pleasant surprise from the bleakness of the barracks.
With our thanks for your concern for our neighbours who suffer,
2 August 2022
Update for July & August 2022
'We cannot remain silent' ...
Ben writes: We had intended to take a summer break and resume our activities in September. But how can we not speak out? As we write the Conservative leadership race is in full swing and what we feared most is happening – a race to the bottom. Not content with deportation to Rwanda, new proposals focus on the extension of the scheme to countries such as Turkey, and is all this simply to please the 120,000 or so members of the Conservative Party who will be casting their votes?
Make no mistake – the rhetoric will get even worse – our brothers and sisters will become unwilling pawns in the struggle to win political credibility. And still there are racial overtones in the debate over seeking sanctuary.
Have our politicians become competitors in xenophobia?
In blunt terms Ukrainians seeking sanctuary deserve our sympathy and support (rightly) but what about someone from Mali or the Yemen? And what about Afghans seeking sanctuary? Perhaps the positive news is that the numerous welcome initiatives for Ukrainians have made us reflect on the sheer trauma and experience of seeking sanctuary. Meanwhile there remains a pressing need to 'level up' in the need to ensure that every person seeking sanctuary is treated with dignity and respect.
Many of us had thought the rise of xenophobia might be slowed by the decline of UKIP. Not so – the current political narrative seems to be based on a race to hate any group in society that is 'marginal'. Are we on a slippery slope to the great replacement theory propounded by Victor Orban and other right wing extremists – that the purity' of Europe will only survive without migrants? Perhaps our refugee sisters and brothers are merely the proxy for a wider agenda.
The 71st anniversary of the adoption of the Refugee Convention passed by on 28 July with no public celebration. One wonders if a new Conservative leader will end UK membership before another year has passed.
The Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration issued a report about conditions at Dover on 21 July. He found that the key stumbling block to addressing challenges has been the continued consideration that this situation is an ‘emergency’, rather than an ongoing new reality. Facilities had expanded piecemeal and did not consistently meet operational needs. Work had been undermined by poor staff communications, inconsistent processes, poor record-keeping and potentially missed opportunities to identify persons of interest. Records were often inaccurate and the searching of new arrivals has been marked by staff confusion about how to handle mobile phones, travel documents and cash, resulting in inconsistent practice across the operation. Several other independent reports have identified similar problems and progress with remedial work has been slow or non-existent.
The courage to speak out against injustice
Ben is currently writing a dissertation for a Master's degree in Theology on the theme: 'Barth and Bonhoeffer – an answer to the theology of the New Right?' It took someone with Bonhoeffer's courage to continually speak out and say that Church and State cannot be separated – the Church has a moral imperative to speak out against injustice at the risk of upsetting politicians who believe that the Church should 'mind its own business'.
Keeping our concerns alive in Dover
We organised an Assembly at Dover for the Commission for Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation of the Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark on 25 June, just 22 years and a week after 58 young Chinese were found dead from suffocation in a sealed container vehicle at the port. We were delighted with the attendance and lively participation, not withstanding the national rail strike on the same day.
We heard about a number of ground breaking initiatives, including the work done by the Jesuit Refugee Service, the Ukrainian Chaplaincy and a first-hand account of life in Calais by Brother Johannes Maertens from the London Catholic Worker House.
Download accounts of what was said here or contact Marie at the diocesan office if you encounter problems.
An account
Several of the sisters from Minster Abbey, some 20 miles from Dover, felt honoured to have attended and appreciated not only the excellent speakers but the beautifully prepared and very generous lunch provided by the ladies of Dover Parish.
Sister Benedict commented. The terrible War in Ukraine was in our minds that day and this was, in many ways, a focus. We learned about local projects to support Migrants and the many acts of practical kindness extended to those in need, both locally and far off. We were shared prayer on the Dover Seafront, joining in 'A litany for the Victims'
We stood alongside a place where so many Migrants had lost their lives, and will of course, continue to do so. The Litany began with the prayer:
'O Lord, Our hearts are heavy with the sufferings of the innocent victims who have paid the price of seeking sanctuary with their lives. The cries of the victims still haunt us. Each day lives are risked in desperate attempts to escape death and persecution.'
We heard of the experience of a Catholic Worker who lived with the people of Calais before the 'jungle' was destroyed. This brought home to us the reality of what has happened just over the sea. Where now is the cry of the poor and who will hear their voices?
We were invited for an Ice cream and tea at the local Premier Inn at the end of the day, from which one image stays in my mind and heart.
One of the speakers, Andriy Marchenko from the Ukrainian church in London, left his seat to watch the news on the TV screen. It was a scene we are so 'used to', of a housing block being bombed by the Russians somewhere in Ukraine. I noticed him standing bolt upright. Life carried on around him. People were chatting and laughing, and I was finishing my ice cream.
I went over to him and stood beside him. What to do, what to say? Nothing. I just put my hand on his shoulder. I promised prayer. That is all I could murmur. He responded with quiet gratitude.
A few mornings ago at about 1.00 am we welcomed our Ukrainian family who will stay in our property. They range from Svitlana a Granny of 83 to little Yaroslaw aged 4. This may be only a drop in the ocean, but they have become our family for as long as it takes. They are overwhelmingly grateful, but we are the true recipients of the unbearable injustice.
Our motto is Peace, PAX. This lovely family has been through Hell to find it, and we pray that it will be seasoned with Justice as they strive to rebuild their lives. They certainly have the will and courage to do just that!
'The soldiers knocked on my door'
'The soldiers knocked on my door. But I had no way of knowing if they were government forces or fighting for a local warlord. Either way we decided we had to flee there and then.'
Each month we focus on a different area of conflict in the world. Few can be as long lasting as the civil war in South Sudan where warlords often hold sway. And safety lies in Uganda, but to get there involves a hazardous trip, requiring walking for long distances, taking a canoe on the Nile and finally standing on the back of a truck. The camps are usually full and so refugees have to camp outside. Even worse, the World Food programme has had to cut its distribution drastically. Plus recent (unreported) floods have left many needing to leave their homes. It is tragic because South Sudan is rich in mineral resources ...
Question: If my family and I are faced with starvation, is it OK to become an economic migrant?
A gesture of 'levelling up'
How to mark the World Day of Prayer for Migrants and Refugees on 25th September. We are all used to enjoying a meal, perhaps in social time with our friends and family in pubs and restaurants – it is a normal part of everyday life. But what about our refugee sisters and brothers who might never get this opportunity? We would like to mark the day by inviting 10 or more residents of Napier Barracks to be our guests at a local Inn for lunch. A slight problem – we have no money to fund the meals for our guests! If you would like to contribute a small amount to help this event, please feel free. It's all part of helping to assert the equality and dignity of those who find themselves in the surroundings of the Barracks through no fault of their own.
A final thought
Is there something special about our memorial to deceased migrants being situated just next to the worst of the current traffic queues trying to get into the Port of Dover? The situations both symbolise frustration at not being able to reach a destination. A reminder that humanity is never static and that those facing a challenging journey deserve our sympathy and support, whatever the circumstances.
With thanks for your continued support.
Phil + Ben.
21 June 2022
Update for June 2022
Ben writes:
I enjoyed the Queen's Jubilee service at St Paul's Cathedral with all its pomp and ceremony. The service itself was full of of hymns and prayers which represent the Christian values upheld by our country and the monarchy. Prayers were appropriately offered for those who are suffering and the service represented all that is best in reminding us of our traditional national values.
It wasn't long before my thoughts turned to the young men detained in Brook House. just 25 miles from St Paul's Cathedral, trembling with fear in their cells as they await deportation to Rwanda. Have they not suffered enough? From their initial trauma in Syria and then elsewhere, reaching the dangerous Channel crossings, with the thought of an uncertain future it is unsurprising that they are resorting to hunger strikes: they have already endured trauma at least three times.
There is an increasing dissonance between in our nation's values and its government's actions this has led to a situation never before recorded in this country's history, in which refugees who are welcome are deported to a destination whose credentials seem questionable at the very least.
Perhaps the real lesson of the jubilee is a reaffirmation of what it means to hold a value system based on freedom from oppression and the restatement of humanitarian values and then putting it into action.
THE POPE'S BLESSING FOR NAPIER BARRACKS
We are delighted to let you know that immediately upon receiving the Nuncio's report on his earlier visit, Pope Francis has sent a special certificate of blessing for the young people resident at the Barracks. A lovely and powerful gesture of compassion. You will find full details and pictures here
https://www.cbcew.org.uk/nuncio-brings-popes-blessing-to-asylum-seekers-housed-at-napier-barracks
RWANDA - A LAND OF SAFETY ?
As we started to write this Update we were unsure if the first flight to Rwanda would actually take place. But can refugees really build a better life there? The helpful BBC report linked below describes the reality of being at the bottom of the pile in often unsatisfactory conditions, and in fear of being seen to be 'out of line' in what is an authoritarian society. Read the full report here:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-61111915
CONTINUING OUR ACCOUNTS OF CONFLICT...
An under-reported but topical conflict is the fierce fighting between Congolese forces and M23 rebels. Just a few hours away from Kigali, tensions have continued to mount. There are dozens of armed groups in the Eastern Congo, many looking to exploit the mineral wealth which among other things is essential for the world's electric cars and mobile phones. Thousands have fled from Bumagana into Uganda and the Congolese have a ccused Rwanda of backing the M23. Millions have.died in the Congo in decades of conflict. Could we be seeing a potential repeat of these major tragedies?
HAVE YOU HEARD OF ROBERT GOLOB ?
He is the newly elected Prime Minister of Slovenia who stood on a green and progressive ticket, in contrast to his authoritarian predecessor who looked to Hungary as his model. In his first weeks in office he is dismantling the border fence to keep out migrants and has described conditions in Slovenian reception centres as 'scandalous.' Yes - there are exceptions to our government and the hostile environment ....
REFUGEE WEEK AT DOVER
The Samphire Project started life as the Dover Detainee Visitor Group back in 2002, responding to concerns about the plight of the people detained at the newly established Dover Immigration Removal Centre which could detain up to 400 migrants in a disused Young Offenders' Institution on Dover’s Western Heights. After the closure of the Centre in 2015, several aspects of the work ended, but the Ex-Detainee Project continued and work on Awareness-Raising became important, with a Community Engagement Project starting in 2016. This focuses on working with migrant and British communities to improve social cohesion and better inclusion of migrants in Dover and surrounding areas of Kent. Free legal advice has been provided since 2021.
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The project will be holding a vigil on Friday 24th June from 6.00pm at the seafront plaques near the port entrance that remember deaths in the Channel. Seeking Sanctuary is pleased to support this initiative, and our logo will appear on documentation.
Phil has been working to prepare another event on the following day. This is the June Assembly organised by the Southwark Archdiocesan Commission for Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation. (The diocese covers Kent as well as South London.) The title is 'Caught in the Act' , the Act in question being the UK Nationality and Borders Act 2022. Dover, on the fringe of the diocese, is nationally regarded as an iconic venue for the arrival of asylum seekers who are starting to become entangled in the provisions of this legislation.
The event will go ahead despite all trains to Dover being cancelled due to a national strike, as the Assembly addresses a timely topic and some knowledgeable speakers are lined up. A Livestream facility is being organised for those who are unable to join in person, although rail travel has been used by only a minority of past London participants in Dover events. The roads remain open; if the M20 is congested the M2 is an excellent alternative, in fact preferred by many. So, do still come down to the coast, if you can, and enjoy the hospitality and hot lunch provided by the Dover parishioners; please contact the JPIC Office ( jpiccontact@rcaos.org.uk ) if possible, to let them know that you are coming, so that there are enough chairs and food! Or if you are not driving, contact the JPIC Office to find out the livestream link.
Proceedings will start at 11.00am, with the doors open from 10.40am, and we will conclude with a visit to the seafront memorial plaques at 4.00pm. The day's aim is to help people to discern the correct actions to take when faced with evident injustice. We will hear accounts of life in and around Calais, of life in UK detention centres and ex-military premises (with residents from the nearby Napier Barracks expected to join us), of the welcome being given to Ukrainian citizens, and a concluding outline of relevant Church Teaching and the continuing pleas for support from Pope Francis.
ADDENDUM -
Little Amal’s New Steps, New Friends tour of England will mark World Refugee Week (19-27 June).
One year on from leaving Syria and 5 weeks after her visit to Ukraine, Little Amal arrived in Manchester on 19 June. She will mark World Refugee Week by visiting 10 other towns and cities across England, meeting old friends and making new ones. Amal will be sharing a message of resilience and hope with anyone who has been forced to leave their homes.
#NewStepsNewFriends
Little Amal will also visit Bradford (20 June), Leeds (20 June), Liverpool (21 June), Birmingham (23 June), Cheltenham (23 June), Bristol, (24 June), Stonehenge (25 June), London Southbank Centre (25 June), and Canterbury University (27 June).
Her journey will end on Sunny Sands Beach at Folkestone in Kent on 27 June, where she previously arrived in the UK, standing on the shore remembering the life she left behind and her first days in her new home.
10 May 2022
May 2022 Update
From the latest newsletter of the Passionist Order of clergy
We start this month's update with an extract from the latest newsletter of the Passionists. They are a religious order and deeply committed to the causes of Justice and Peace. We quote here from their latest newsletter...
Meeting today in the shadow of the horrors of the war in Ukraine brings home all too starkly the burden of sin and evil under which our world labours, and has laboured, for millennia.
Our Judaeo-Christian story almost from its opening chapters, shows human beings, made in God's loving and creative image, all too quickly falling into deceit, selfishness, resentment, murder, and disobedience to God's Moral laws - seduced by the wiles of the "enemy" who is intent on destroying God's beautiful new creation out of jealousy, bitter rage, and spite. From this follows all war and hatred, and the desire to exercise tyrannical power, that we see demonstrated so tragically today in Syria, in Ukraine, in Myanmar, in Yemen, in Eritrea, in Afghanistan, and even in the UK's latest asylum legislation.
And still today this Exodus is enacted again and again as our persecuted, oppressed and traumatised sisters and brothers flee in fear of their lives from war-torn countries across the world in search of safety. 28,000 of them last year crossed, not the Red Sea, but the English Channel, pursued by their nightmares of torture, death, rape, and imprisonment.
And it is these very people, when they arrive exhausted, alone, destitute, and distraught on the streets of London, with no means of support or shelter, that 100's of "front line" refugee projects across London are there to help.
'Liberal lawyers' - or defenders of human rights?
And so it goes on...the sad news is that the new Immigration bill finally passed into law as an Act of Parliament without even the most minimal changes that had been demanded by NGOs and peers. It was heartening to hear from the Archbishop of Canterbury in his Easter message that this policy is not the will of God. Will the government dare to implement its new policy of deportations to Rwanda? The hostel intended to house the deportees in Kigali is already occupied by other asylum seekers - who apparently will be displaced. There are disturbing accounts of the infringement of human rights in Rwanda.
There is a community of Ukrainian refugees in Northern France - if any of them should arrive here in a small boat will they be sent to Rwanda? And which airline - if any - will take part in these deportations? The new (or revived) narrative of 'lefty lawyers' is reminiscent of Trumpism and the narrative of rulers such as Victor Orban and is an attempt to denigrate those who believe in human rights and the rule of law. Where next? It's an insult to their professionalism to label people who are doing their job as 'lefty'. Taken with the latest attempts to block the power of the courts over judicial review we must continue to speak up for the voiceless. Monthly vigils to remember those who have died trying to reach the UK take place outside the Home Office in London's Marsham Street on the third Monday of every month at 12.30pm. All are invited to join in, and to take all other opportunities to hold prayers for this disastrous situation.
A critique
Professor Ian Linden looks at the Home Secretary's Rwandan proposals in a recent article, which we summarise at length.
Priti Patel's defence of her money-for-migrants scheme contains at least three claims. Firstly proposing that Britain receives an unacceptable number of migrants and asylum seekers crossing the Channel in small boats. Secondly, that criminal gangs make a great deal of money from these crossings and that deportation to Rwanda of young male 'illegal migrants' who adopt this route to Britain is the only means of destroying the business model and prevent drownings. Thirdly. that the passengers on these unsafe dinghies are mostly economic migrants not genuine refugees.
Each of these claims sounds plausible, but all of them are based on false assumptions, misinformation or simply ignore what is known from research on migration.
Compared with other European countries we do not have a severe migrant problem. Some two-thirds of those crossing the Channel crossing turn out to be genuine asylum seekers when their claims are processed - not economic migrants, though war does cause poverty. Looking at the number of asylum claims per 100,000 of population, Britain ranks 14th in Europe with Germany, Spain, France, Belgium and Switzerland all receiving applications at double our rate. Between 2015 and 2016, Angela Merkel's Germany admitted 1.25 million Syrian, Afghan and Iraqi refugees. By 2018, 72% had gained permission to work, 44% had learnt German and by 2021 some 50% had jobs, were in training or had internships. Britain with a similarly ageing population and labour shortage should study how a country can successfully turn migrants into an asset. The real problem is dog-whistling by the political Right and its supportive Press creating fear of 'swamping'.
The Channel crossing lies at the end of a very long and dangerous journey involving negotiations with ruthless gangs and their collaborators, often working on commission within transnational networks from hubs such as Agadez in Niger. In such poor countries the gangs provide employment for a penumbra of independent guides, drivers, recruiters and middle-men, forgers of travel documents, providers of boats and accommodation. The smugglers' 'business model' is simple: lowest risk with highest profits. The young men who arrive also have a business model. They are often 'crowdfunded' by their village or by relatives, becoming a cross between a human lottery ticket and a living investment made in the expectation of returns through regular remittances home. Many are burdened by the sense of a responsibility to reach the UK and pay back their investors. They are the product of the corruption and incompetence of their own governments, inadequate debt relief and cuts in development aid. Deportation to Rwanda will address none of this.
Limiting demand for the services of smugglers could be achieved by measures directly under our control such as increasing and broadening the channels for regular migration, simpler checking procedures, making it easier to obtain legitimate travel documents. Such opportunities need to increase and be made more accessible in countries of origin as well as in UNHCR refugee camps. The Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme for Syrian refugees ended in March 2021, but should resume with increased annual targets. Better staffed migration and asylum bureaux in Europe are also necessary. The shambles of the Ukrainian visa application system is an example of how to create an incentive to pay smugglers and risk the Channel crossing. With increased government investment in authorised routes fewer people would want to pay smugglers!
The £120 million initially going to Rwanda (plus attendant transportation and accommodation costs) would be better spent on increasing the staffing of the UK's National Crime Agency IN8VIGOR programme which deals with criminally organized immigration. What would also help is better liaison and cooperation with France's 'Office Central Pour la Répression de l'Immigration Irrégulière' et de l'Emploi d'Étrangers Sans Titre', with French immigration and border police, and with Interpol's Integrated Border Management Task Force.
In reality, the money-for-migrants partnership seems unlikely to be implemented and judges and 'left-wing lawyers' will be blamed, while Government headline-grabbing will continue. Irresponsible, deceptive and shameless.
The 'Twilight of Democracy'
Ben writes: I have been reading the excellent recent book 'Twilight of Democracy' by Anne Applebaum. She describes the relentless drift to the Right over the past twenty years and the growing authoritarian narrative - from which our government is not immune - in becoming the new normal. How else do we explain the violent dismantling of camps in Calais, the truly terrible conditions for refugees on the Polish border, the pushbacks in Greece, and so much else. The proposed deportations to Rwanda are an extension of this narrative alongside other repressive measures.
And yet - has the Ukrainian crisis forced us to think again? In the face of suffering of our European neighbours a new response has been found - one of humanity and understanding for people seeking sanctuary. In Poland the welcoming response to people displaced sits alongside the game of ping pong being played out on the Polish/Belarusian border, Are there seeds of hope that we might yet be able to build on the welcome to Ukrainians to build a more tolerant narrative in the face of the rightward trends in our political trends? All of us, dear friends, will need to be the standard bearers in taking this forward.
Tragedy and upheaval in Darfur repeated
in this month's update as we focus on the world's trouble spots which provoke upheaval and seeking sanctuary we turn our attention to Darfur. For so many years the centre of countless human tragedy, for those of you who are Guardian readers you will be aware of the upheavals in West Darfur where many towns and villages have become no-go areas. The many armed militias have been accused of recent atrocities, for example in the town of Kreinik which has suffered severe damage.
Residents can no longer leave their towns to go shopping or seek medical help without an armed escort. Some may have to wait up to 21 days to find a seat in the convoy. The roads are patrolled by armed men and the conflict is driven in part over competition for scarce resources over water supply as well as land. Although local self defence forces have developed, the Arab militias are usually better equipped and thousands have fled their villages. And the legacy of Bashir's rule is still there, with the UN estimating that in the earlier fighting 300000 people were killed and 2.5 million people were displaced.
As we are made aware of the numerous Sudanese in Northern France who are seeking sanctuary, it helps to understand just how tragic and barbaric the recent history of Sudan has become.
14 April 2022
Update for April
Seeking Sanctuary - a new dimension
Seeking sanctuary has now found a new dimension. Who could have imagined that millions seeking sanctuary are now on our doorstep ? We are used to images from war torn countries far away from our consciousness with packed refugee camps in conditions hard to imagine. We have come to associate the act of sanctuary with dangerous journeys in small boats, with squalid conditions in camps in Calais. But this narrative has been displaced by another - that these new arrivals are our white skinned, European neighbours.
Ukrainians are no better, or worse, than Syrians, Yemenis, Eritreans or Iraqis at telling people stories and making them laugh. And yet the West has fallen in love with them as refugees in a way it has proved incapable of doing with those from Africa and the Arab world. The inhumanity and hypocrisy are self-evident. In Calais, Ukrainians are put up in hotels for free while Sudanese and Eritrean teenagers are evicted from campsites by armed police.
What are the lessons which we can draw from this experience ? The background of the 'hostile environment' is still evident in the thousands of Ukrainians waiting to come to the UK, unlike countries in the EU which have provided an immediate welcome.
First, we need to resist the temptation to divide those seeking sanctuary into the 'worthy' and 'less worthy' - otherwise we risk falling into a conscious or unconscious form of racism which devalues and demonises many of our brothers and sisters in humanity.
Secondly, as our friends and supporters are active in defending human rights we need to bring home to our friends and families the serious nature of the existential and humanitarian crisis facing us. In the face of the growing evidence of potential mass murder I am saddened by the extent to which we can shut our minds to one of ther greatest humanitarian disasters in all times.
What about our own consciousness in facing the greatest existential threat in modern times. At our local pub yesterday the conversation seemed indifferent to the suffering so close at hand. Are we at risk of developing a collective amnesia ?
Ben writes:
I recently received an invitation to a wine and cheese party, but I wondered how I could attend this in the knowledge that so many people have lost their lives vin tragic circumstances. A recent U3a meeting of which I am a member here in Deal drew over 100 people to a talk but my request to have a collection for the Disasters Emergency Committee was turned down on the grounds that 'we are not political'.
At a recent lunch organised by a group of Town Mayors (I am a past Mayor of our Town), the taking of a collection was deemed 'inappropriate'. And so an important part of our role is to continue to raise consciousness of the major existential and humanitarian crisis facing us. Indifference to the plight of our brothers and sisters in humanity will become the main challenge. What do you think ?
Ukrainians will be able to apply for asylum during their initial three-year time in the UK, during which they will be allowed to take employment and will be eligible to various benefits. Also, unlike most other exiles, Ukrainian nationals can access further education in the UK immediately without any requirement for three-year residency in the UK before accessing government-funded courses.
Having a name and an address in Calais
The people exiled in Calais and the solidarity associations are implementing a new legal strategy to fight against violent evictions with forced transfers to shelters and without social diagnosis.
After the prefect of Pas-de-Calais was sentenced last week for exceeding his powers in a “flagrant” expulsion from an informal camp on September 29, 2020, mailboxes were set up this week in similar informal living spaces.
In Calais, thousands of people in exile are forced to survive on the streets in extremely precarious conditions and are subjected almost daily to illegal evictions.
In order to protect certain informal living spaces from these evictions and to oblige the authorities to set up a dignified reception policy, mailboxes with the names of the inhabitants have been set up at the entrance to the premises as well as explanatory messages reminding the police and bailiffs that the rules of law must be respected.
Letters have also been sent to the President of the Judicial Court of Boulogne-sur-Mer, to the Mayor of Calais as well as to the offices of the bailiffs, by which the people living in these places make known their desire to defend themselves in the event of an eviction demand by landowners.
From now on, evictions can no longer take place without these people being heard within a reasonable time beforehand by a judge.
Indeed, since the people are established on these areas, these constitute their residence.
A home is protected by law. Any eviction measure must therefore be subject to a fair and equitable procedure before a court: the inhabitants of the land must be summoned to court and be able to defend themselves with the assistance of a lawyer.
In fact, in Calais, the inhabitants of these places are sadly considered by the authorities as “unnamed persons”.
This allows a single judge to order certain expulsions through an arbitrary and expeditious procedure. But the exiled people are identifiable: it would suffice for the bailiffs to address them with interpreters in the languages that they speak.
However, the message from the bailiffs is tirelessly as follows: “I am trying to get in touch but no one speaks French. They discuss among themselves in a language that I do not master... It is impossible to establish anyone's identity.”
Through this action, we hope for an end to arbitrary evictions, the return to the rule of law in Calais and in particular the effective application of the rights to defense in all circumstances.
Welcoming the Papal Nuncio
We were delighted to welcome the Papal Nuncio, Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti, to Folkestone and Dover on 31st March who came at the request of Pope Francis. Accompanied by Bishop Paul McAleenan, the Nuncio visited Napier Barracks and impressed everyone in striking up a warm relationship with th e residents there. He later met with a number of refugee support groups who had come with residents of Napier Barracks - this was followed by a visit and prayers at the memorial on Dover seafront. You will find the full reports here and here, as well as pictures from his visit here.
Continuing our looks at worldwide conflict ....
This month we focus on the long running civil war displacing innocent people in the south of Senegal and Gambia. This little known conflict has displaced thousands of innocent civilians. For some time a rebel group known as the 'Movement of Democratic forces of Casamance who call for separation from the rest of Senegal, have been suspected of trafficking drugs and and rosewood which is exported to China.Thousands of people are fleeing the conflict in Senegal seeking sanctuary in Gambia often with nothing but their children. The Casamance area, is divided from the rest of Senegal by Gambia, and many Gambians on the border are also fleeing their homes because of the insecurity. The war has lasted more than 40 years and it is estimated that up to 6000 people have been displaced and the conflict has flared up considerably in recent months. Yet another example of instability in an unstable and uncertain world.
And so dear friends let us to continue to work for a more just and humane world and not give in to indifference and powerlessness. Our suffering humanity deserves nothing less.
10 March 2022
Update for March
If only we could be like this ...The scene is the Central Station in Berlin at the end of February. Hundreds of people are gathered to greet a train bringing Ukrainian refugees from Poland. Most people carry a placard such as 'room for a mother and two children', or 'families welcome'. There are heart rending scenes on the platform as exhausted people fall into the arms of their prospective hostesses and gratefully accept their offers. After a short period most people have found not just shelter but a temporary home. If only we in the UK could have found and shown this kind of spontaneity more rapidly, instead of requiring in-person visits to one of the few appropriate and ill-staffed offices to try to apply for visas, fingerprinting and much else ...
How to help refugees in the current crisis. Our hearts go out to the people experiencing trauma and suffering and it is natural that we will want to do whatever we can. Our advice is to donate to one of the many deserving charities rather than just give material goods. Some years ago in response to the crisis in Calais we were overwhelmed by offers of clothing and much else. Much effort had to be put into sorting clothes and goods that were not suitable and the volunteers doing the sorting soon became exhausted themselves. We learned that donations could fund bulk buys of items such as trainers and toiletries - after all, people seeking sanctuary deserve and value clothing and goods which are new.
Seeking Sanctuary - the 'worthy' and the 'less worthy'. As we look to the heroic efforts to welcome Ukrainian refugees, particularly in Poland, we have become increasingly aware of the difference in welcome of European and refugees from further afield. As tragic as the suffering under Russian bombardment is, it is not different from the experiences of so many thousands of people in Aleppo in Syria, or that of the Yazidi in the Middle East. And let's remember the many Roma families caught up in the fighting. In Calais the authorities are at least giving homeless Ukrainians shelter in the Youth Hostel but others have to endure life in tents and the like.There should be no differentiation in our treatment of refugees - all must be treated equally.
A call from the Calais NGOs. "We ask the authorities to put into practice the same reception conditions as those for Ukrainian refugees. Whether they come from Ukraine, Syria, Afghanistan, Eritrea, Ethiopia or Sudan, all refugees deserve and must be the object of protection, compassion and security. Europe has just proven that it is possible to establish safe pathways and decent reception conditions for those fleeing their country because of persecution or war. All should benefit from it."
Continuing violations of Human Rights. As we reported in February, the political strategy of avoiding "fixation points" has led to daily evictions in Calais, forcing displaced people to move their tents and personal property, anywhere between 2 to 500 metres. Personal belongings and basic necessities are often seized and/or destroyed. These operations are often accompanied by harassment also by abusive identity checks. Arbitrary arrests and illegal stays in administrative detention may follow. There were at least 153 evictions of informal settlements at Calais during February, when at least 306 tents and tarps, 23 sleeping-bags and blankets, 41 backpacks and at least 12 mattresses were seized. At least 12 arrests were recorded during these evictions.
Observers are regularly intimidated and obstructed. In January, disproportionate police convoys were present, almost always heavily armed, contributing to increasing the hostility and pressure against displaced people blocked at the border. In addition, no shelter is offered to the evicted inhabitants despite the freezing temperatures, nor are they given any kind of information about the possibility of recovering their belongings On occasion there are large-scale dismantling operations, during which inhabitants are forced on to buses and transported out of the area.These repeated evictions are a source of increased fragility and even disappearance of youngsters, and therefore increase the risk of trafficking and exploitation.
Another senseless loss of life. The damaged asylum system, not fit for purpose, continues to see funds going towards further security measures instead of providing safety and dignity for exiles in Northern France. Abubaker Alsaken, a 26-year old Sudanese man died on February 28, hit by a train near Old Lidl.
He is described as upright, caring and generous and had been in Calais for about 6 months. He quietly organised himself to best welcome new arrivals and soften a terrifying daily life. He died a violent death while carrying the belongings of a newcomer and helping him to settle into the makeshift camp He was hit by a train at a location where the track borders the informal camp. A place where no sign or alarm warns of the danger of a train arriving at high speed, where no barrier defines the footpath. A place, like others in Calais, where it seems that the authorities do not think that the lives of exiled people are worth protecting.
25 February 2022
Seeking Sanctuary - a new dimension
As the Ukrainian crisis unfolds we are seeing a new phenomenon – the spectre of millions of people from Ukraine seeking sanctuary within Europe's borders in the face of dangers to themselves and their loved ones.
Seeking sanctuary in the face of danger is no longer the preserve of people from Africa and Asia – instead it has become an all too present reality as people seek safety in the countries bordering Ukraine. The plight of inhabitants of Ukranian descent living in the disputed territories of Eastern Ukraine is of particular concern as many elderly and vulnerable people are caught in the crossfire, alongside families who had been living peacefully with their Russian speaking fellow citizens.
We have received details from CSAN of the relief efforts being made by Caritas Ukraine if you would like to help as the humanitarian disaster unfolds. Caritas points out that even before the start of this week's violence, most of the 25 000 inhabitants of the eastern industrial town of Avdiivka had already lost water and power supplies due to fighting between government forces and Russian-backed separatists, while temperatures had fallen as low as -17C. (Links to more recent Caritas news can be found below.)
This is the donation link: https://www.caritas.org/where-caritas-pawork/europe/ukraine-spes/
At the moment the fastest and most efficient way to get help to where it is urgently needed is to donate to organisations working directly on the ground in Ukraine, or neighbouring countries, as they are able to assess exactly what aid is needed and the aid will not be held up by transport delays, paperwork and duties.
We encourage support through channels that allow the most appropriate and efficient aid getting to where it is urgently needed. Local relief organisations truly risk being swamped with material donations.
The Ukranian foreign Affairs Ministry offers the following advice.
Do you want to help? There are several ways!
You decide to what extent you can help. You can donate the necessary things, provide a flat or shelter for those in need, but also support organizational activities and become a volunteer.
There are several options for help:
An application form for anyone interested in helping Ukraine was launched on 27 February and is available on the website: pomocamukrainie.gov.pl
Information on Caritas efforts in other locations and more recent news can be found via the following links:
Many members of Caritas Internationalis have united in appeals for Ukraine (https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/44174), headed in the UK by SCIAF and CAFOD, whose March 1 appeals are linked from this article. Afew days later, CAFOD joined with the UK Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) to bring help in a rapidly worsening humanitarian crisis. Every £ donated to the DEC appeal will be match-funded pound-for-pound by the UK Government up to £20 million. CAFOD had already committed £100,000 in funds to its partners in Caritas Internationalis, one of the world's largest aid networks: Caritas Ukraine, Caritas Spes Ukraine and partdners in neighbouring countries are on the ground, supporting families caught up in the conflict. On 1 March Caritas Spes shelter in Kharkiv was hit by shelling while families sheltered on a lower floor of the building.
Tetiana Stawnychy, President of Caritas Ukraine, said: "People are moving. We have 25 welcome centres throughout Ukraine that have been providing hot food, shelter, psychosocial support, and a warm place to sleep, and then help people on their way. We've also been helping along the borders - providing tents, heaters, hot food and drinks, and support to women and children who are scared."
Father Vyacheslav Grynevych, Director of Caritas Spes Ukraine, said: "War makes both adults and children cry. We learn this when hiding in basements during air strikes. War-wounded hearts will never be healed. Aside from material losses that can be rebuilt over time, the pain and fear that people experience will take a long time to recover. In Kyiv, most grocery shops are empty and at this time when the city is closed, we cannot leave our houses. We have to remain inside in a safe place. In my house we have 37 people, children usually, with their mothers, and they have this space in our Church, in our house. Usually these people come from our neighbourhood. They also have dogs, they have birds, they have cats, so we have a little zoo."
On 1 March, a Caritas Spes (Ukraine) shelter in Kharkiv was hit by shelling while families sheltered on a lower floor of the building.
7 February 2022
Update for February 2022
A rationale for our work with migrants and refugees ?
For all of us involved in advocating for the rights of migrants and refugees, what is it that sustains us and takes us for forward, particularly in the midst of the hostile environment ? These questions are often important for us particularly where our active concerns can lead to potential burnout.
As you will be aware we continue to be inspired by the supportive words and action of Pope Francis, who helpfully provides a rationale for our work.
Action for those who are oppressed, as Francis expressed it continually throughout the Jubilee, is a four-stage dynamic:
In the next few months we hope to find partner agencies to work with in organising an event where we can reflect on our own experiences of this dynamic and provide mutual support and encouragement.
From terror to boredom - the transition to life in a hotel room
From the accounts we receive, there is a clear sense of relief for many who are seeking sanctuary from terror and oppression to find themselves and their families in the safety of the UK. But however comfortable a hotel room might appear, prolonged stays in such an environment are a constant challenge.
Many people rightly queried the compulsory quarantine period of 10 days during the worst of the covid pandemic - imagine the feeling when 10 days stretch to months for asylum seekers as well as for those displaced from Afghanistan. For many, takeaway meals are the only source of sustenance. For children wanting to play - or do their homework or see their friends - the confined space of a hotel room is enough to drive stress levels to a point which in some cases becomes unbearable. Laundry is a constant challenge in this confined space.Add to this the constant uncertainty about another move - to anywhere in the UK - it is not surprising that people experience severe mental health issues on top of the stress of their journeys to safety and the sufferings that forced them to leave their homes. We learn that from the end of March the costs of various items such as toiletries will no longer be covered by the Home Office.
Simple measures such as allowing those involved to work - even part time - would do much to relieve the stress. It would also contribute to addressing the skills shortage in the care sector - and even have a financial benefit where people pay tax and national insurance.
The Home Office intends to use Napier Barracks near Folkestone as temporary accommodation for asylum seekers for a further four years.beyond the initial 12 months for which permission was granted. To comply with the law it has had to issue a Planning Statement for public comment. Phil has posted a blog based upon his reading of this statement: you can read it at https://www.csan.org.uk/napier-barracks/
And do also read this excellent account from the Guardian of the experiences of asylum seekers and volunteers in Folkestone: https://tinyurl.com/45r8dzku
2021 In Calais and Grande-Synthe
The political strategy of avoiding "fixation points" at the Franco-British border has led to increasingly frequent evictions. Often, no options for alternative shelter are communicated to the inhabitants, who may be forced into buses that take them to unknown destinations.
During evictions, the personal belongings of the inhabitants (shelters, tents, documents, essential supplies, mobile phones, medicine, clothes, etc.) are destroyed and/or thrown into a skip, without allowing the owners to keep them: illegal actions, committed under the eyes of the bailiff in charge of the evictions.
These harassment operations are also often accompanied by abusive identity checks, followed by arbitrary arrests and illegal administrative detention. Additional ID checks and arrests happen daily, independently of the evictions.
The Human RIghts Observers project, supported by the Auberge des Migrants, has been observing, documenting and denouncing daily State violence against displaced people at the Franco-British border since 2017. It has just reported annual figures collected during daily evictions, which took place at least 1226 times in Calais and 61 in Grande-Synthe - and on many more occasions when the Observers were not present.
5794 tents and tarps, 2833 sleeping bags and blankets were seized in Calais, the corresponding figures for Grande-Synthe being 4327 and 918 (plus 57 shelters destroyed). At least 205 arrests were made at the two sites, with at least 127 episodes of violence against displaced people and at least 596 intimidation attempts against observers
And some people wonder why asylum claims are not lodged in France!
Remembering Gadissa, whose body was found in Saltburn at the end of December
'Gadissa, like those who flee for their lives, you were hurt. But you moved us with your intelligence and determination.
The European and Belgian practice towards displaced people who are looking for a better life made you feel worse.
The Belgian detention centres repeatedly applied non-assistance to a person in danger, and subjected you to underhand treatment and attempted deportation. You had arrived at your destination and seemed so relaxed.
Gadissa, for the Belgian families who accompanied you, you will remain the upright, sensitive, respectful man, attached to your convictions.
The world will miss you, your family and friends too. We love you, Gadissa"
( A tribute from his friends)
'Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace. Amen'.
Ezzadine and Abdullah, RIP
'May God care for them more than we did' (inscription on the memorial)
A reminder that Ezzadine and Abdullah who died tragically in Calais last month, were laid to rest in Calais on 21st January. At the same time we remembered them at the memorial on the sea front in Dover. A 'groupe décès' in Calais seeks to provide dignified funerals, each costing €2000. alongside urgent financial support that may be needed. If you or your organisation can help do let us know and we will provide payment details.
A focus on Cameroon
Migration and seeking sanctuary is so often the result of war and conflict. Each month we will feature a war torn area which is often under-reported in the media but which forces innocent people and their families to seek sanctuary. for their own safety.
This month we focus on the longstanding conflict in Cameroon in West Africa, a troubled country which has been hosting the Africa Cup of Nations. Cinflict has uprooted lives and caused instability since 2017.
The country has two English speaking provinces, the remainder being Francophone.This is the result of treaty which resulted in the German colony being split into two protectorates after the First World War. In 1960-61 a few provinces voted to join neighbouring countries and the rest became a federal republic with both languages recognised and protected. Today's problems really started in 1972 when the federal system was abandoned leaving the French-speaking provinces with the vast majority of votes and the English region with the greater share of mineral resources.
English-speaking politicians have advocated for greater decentralisation and even complete separation or independence. The veteran President Paul Biya (89 this month), who spends much of his time outside the country, has reacted harshly and violently, stubbornly refusing to consider change. In recent years people have become caught between separatist groups and government forces and it is estimated that over a million people have been displaced.
In some parts of the Anglophone region people are too scared to send their children to school and normal economic activity is often impossible. A prominent senator was assassinated during the tournament and the more militant separatists who have labelled the region 'Ambazonia' continue to go about their deadly business. facing up against the military. Hospitals and schools run by religious orders have often suffered aggressive armed intrusion for continuing to use the English language
"Canadians for Peace in Cameroon" produce an excellent free weekly update on the situation: you can subscribe by emailing Canadiansforpeaceincameroon@gmail.com. They promote nonviolent paths to peaceful resolution of the conflict, hoping that Canada, as an English-French bilingual country with a large Cameroonian diaspora, can be a champion for human rights and peacebuilding.
29 December 2021
Update for Christmas and the New Year, 2021-2022.
In the wake of 27 deaths …
It is still difficult to grasp the magnitude of the recent 27 deaths in the English Channel. A very moving vigil was held at the site of the memorial last month but more needs to be done to ensure that the sacrifices made by the 27 who lost their lives and those of so many others are not forgotten. We have to combat the UK/French blame game which only feeds the popular press and other prejudices. We were particularly concerned about the claims and counter claims as to which country's emergency services were responsible for the rescue operation. And so we have to continue to press for safe and legal routes to claim asylum in the midst of so much confusion. The French authorities continue to insist that posting police on the beaches will never be sufficient and that safe and legal routes are required for those wishing to claim asylum in the UK.
What makes the recent tragedy so poignant is the evidence emerging of how families in Kurdistan were able to learn of the fate of their loved ones. Over the past few years we have taken it for granted that families were often the last to know of the fate of their loved ones.
However, given the technology available on mobile phones there is now evidence that anxious families were able to track the GPS coordinates of the small boat involved in the middle of the Channel and became increasingly alarmed when these did not change over many hours – suggesting that their loved ones were in trouble – an assumption which of course turned out to be correct. What anguish must have been felt by families during those anxious hours. And a word of appreciation to those brave lifeboat volunteers who never expected to have to deal with the challenges of their new role. We learn also that before boats set off there is one telephone ready to call 112 and another to call 999.
Channel officials are facing legal action after being accused of failing to provide help to the 27 people who drowned on November 24.On December 27 the NGO Utopia 56 initiated legal proceedings against the maritime prefect of the Channel, the director of the Regional operational observation and rescue centre Gris-Nez and the director of Her Majesty’s Coastguard. The case seeks “transparency and truth for the victims and their families,” calling for an investigation into “involuntary homicide” and “failure to help people in need.”
The victims have been identified and are made up of sixteen Iraqi Kurds, four Afghans, three Ethiopians, one Iranian Kurd, one Somali, one Vietnamese and one Egyptian; they include seven women and two minors (aged 16 and 7). The two survivors were an Iraqi Kurd and a Somalian.
Deaths Continue. A body was found on 11 December on the beach at Marck (near Calais), apparently difficult to identify after a long period in the sea. On 20 December a sixteen-year-old Sudanese youth, Moussab, died after attempting to clamber on to an HGV near Calais. He managed to get between the cab and the trailer, but fell when the truck moved off.
And so back to the current proposed legislation. If I am stranded in a leaking boat and there is no one to take control it is a natural assumption that I would do what I can to lead those on board to safety. We note with interest a recent court judgement that under UK and International Law (and contrary to the opinion of the UK Home Office) those responsible for steering a boat in difficulty should not be seen as traffickers but as rescuers – otherwise it is all too easy in the current febrile atmosphere to label them as criminals.
Indeed, the scope of currently proposed legislation is to make everyone on board a boat the subject of a criminal prosecution – even Afghans who take the dangerous overland route via Pakistan to secure their safety and that of their families. It is a sad reflection that Afghans who risk their lives taking overland routes can be criminalised, especially as the main UK Afghan resettlement scheme is not yet up and running, so that about 4000 Afghans have had to wait for the results of their asylum claims.
It was not until 23 December that it was confirmed the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme (ACRS) will open some time in January, providing up to 20,000 Afghan women, children, and others most at risk with a safe and legal route to resettle in the UK. Ten days earlier changes were announced to the Afghan relocations and assistance policy (ARAP), narrowing the eligibility criteria from those used during the Operation Pitting evacuation in August 2021. The rule changes mean those directly employed in Afghanistan by a UK government department on or after 1 October 2001 must now have a “high and imminent risk” of threat to their life to be able to come to the UK, rather than an “imminent” risk.
When survival may soon become impossible ...
The list grows ever longer – Madagascar, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Yemen and so many other places where survival will soon become impossible for many people due to drought and the other effects of climate change. Can we restore the missing amount in the overseas aid budget and give at least some people a chance which lessens the attraction of making dangerous and risky journeys to seek safety and security?
And conditions at 'Tug Haven' in Dover
Disturbing reports reach us about the conditions for the reception of those who make it across in small boats. It appears that some people have to sleep on the floor or have to spend the night on a bus, according to reports. The Independent Monitoring Board have issued a report expressing their concerns about the premises at 'Tug Haven' where people are initially received and processed.
There is another potential solution – Dover has two currently underused cruise terminals which would provide a much more suitable and dignified reception for people who have already experienced a traumatic crossing.
Near the French coast
Traffickers now tend to use somewhat larger boats – still overcrowded – and to launch them from a much longer stretch of coastline. The larger camps are still near Calais and Dunkirk and people remain subject to frequent evictions, transfer to shelter at a distance from the coast, and confiscation of property. Aid groups are prohibited from distributing meals and drinking water in many parts of the town; as of 28 December there was considerable demand for both tents and shoes in Calais, but we are unable to transport goods ourselves, faced with the costs of compliance with current Covid regulations at border crossings.
Church Comment
In a statement issued just before Christmas, the Catholic Church in France comments that its members have long been involved in welcoming migrants and refugees. In recent years, especially since Pope Francis' appeal in 2015, hospitality and support projects have multiplied in most dioceses and many Catholics are committed, in collaboration with others, to work for the reception, protection, promotion and integration of people. The Church again repeats its desire to contribute to the reception process and reiterates its availability for dialogue with the government.
In England, the Archbishop of Canterbury used his Christmas sermon to celebrate the work of volunteers helping refugees, saying: “The Christmas story shows us how we must treat those who are unlike us.” He said the Christmas story of Joseph and Mary searching for shelter demonstrates the need to treat with compassion those people “who have far less than us, who have lived with the devastating limits of war and national tragedy – those who risk everything to arrive on the beaches”. He went on to say, “there is no doubting” the human capacity to show “great kindness”, and volunteers working to welcome refugees arriving on beaches close to Canterbury Cathedral are “extraordinary people”.
Archbishop Welby praised rescuers such as the crews of the Royal National Lifeboat Institute, saying: “I saw them the other day, a couple of days back, just getting on with it: five times as many "shouts" – call-outs – as they’ve ever had in the history of the Dover lifeboat, and they do one thing – save life at sea. It’s not politics, it’s simply humanity."
Concession in the UK.
Pre-Christmas media reports indicate that "Care Assistant" is to be added to the otherwise obscure list of paid jobs that asylum seekers may be allowed to take up if the UK processing of their claims is prolonged. The Covid pandemic has shown that there is a severe shortage of staff available to work in care homes for the elderly and chronically ill or to visit them at home, and the authorities have previously failed to take up many proposals that this concession should be opened.
9 November 2021
Update for November 2021
So why claim asylum in the UK?
It's an oft-repeated mantra that migrants should claim asylum in the first safe country which they reach. (Ben writes). Some years ago I asked young people attending a drop-in for young Afghan refugees what had drawn them to the UK. Apart from the presence of family their answer was nearly unanimous – Manchester United! We have invested many millions, mainly through the British Council, in making sure that appreciation of British culture is embedded in education systems in Afghanistan as well as many other countries. As a nation with this 'pull' factor we have only ourselves to blame!
Refugees or Economic Migrants?
'And they are not refugees – they are economic migrants'. This is the latest false narrative being spread in answer to the continuing numbers of desperate people attempting to cross the Channel. Whether in Afghanistan, Sudan or elsewhere, when a hostile force – be it rebel or government forces – comes into your village, or if your employment meets with the anger of the Taliban, the first effect is often on the loss of precarious jobs. When economic activity can no longer function one becomes a refugee.
As you know, arrivals that are deemed to be 'illegal' will shortly be criminalised under pending new legislation – the Nationality and Borders Bill. So what about those Afghans who are forced to flee because their lives are in peril because of their work in jobs disapproved by the Taliban: will they also be 'illegal'? A a very helpful resource on the Bill has been developed by the SVP and JRS-UK: it comes in a long and a short version, each providing the sort of information that will help individuals and groups engage in detail with what needs to be changed to make the legislation more humane and evidence based as it moves on from the House of Commons to consideration by the the Lords.
Lest we forget … . May they rest in peace ...
We learnt recently of the tragic deaths of Mohammed and Yasser, both dying in their attempts to reach the UK. After each death we lay flowers at the memorial in Dover which we did again some ten days ago. Our friends in Calais have formed a group to organise funeral rites in the Muslim tradition – 'le groupe décès'. They have made an appeal for help to pay for the most recent funerals – you will find details here ....
And on 4 November we learned of the death through hypothermia of a young man on the Wissant beach, near Calais, as well as that of an Sudanese man, Ali Ismail (initially reported to have been an Eritrean), killed by a passing train as he was walking along the tracks. This followed the loss of a Somali refugee overboard off the East coast a week earlier. Also, on 28 September a 15 year old Sudanese boy was run over by a truck near a petrol station in the Calais commercial zone containing many of the wine and beer outlets.
And in the Church of St Pierre in Calais ...
Three brave people, including a 72 year old Jesuit priest, started a hunger strike on 11 October. Their demands include an end to summary expulsions and their demands have led to a very small change – see above. The response of Calaisiens to their action is the subject of a statement from the two priests in charge of the Church – it is well worth reading– you will find a link here.
Latest – Père Philippe finished his hunger strike in early November, leaving his younger fellow strikers to continue. He will still be very involved with the refugees in Calais and plans to celebrate Christmas Midnight Mass in the wasteland where many tents are pitched.
A financial blow for NGOs
We learn that seven NGOs in Calais and Dunkirk who do vital work with refugees will shortly see their funding withdrawn due to a change of policy by the 'Choose love' charity. This will leave a considerable gap with a major impact on the vital work which is being carried out, and an appeal which you will find here has been made to plug the gap.
Expulsions in Nord Pas de Calais region
Frequent reports are reaching us of evictions taking place on a daily basis, where tents are dismantled at dawn and possessions confiscated without warning. This is all leading to continued numbers of attempts to cross the Channel further South – we hear of the rather incongruous situation in which visitors on the beach in Wissant are mixing with migrants taking their boats to the water.
One cruel effect of these evictions is that, on a day when weather conditions are poor, people will be tempted to make the crossing because they have nowhere else to turn. And of course safety is the least concern of unscrupulous traffickers.
There has been a slight positive change following the appointment of a mediator by President Macron, whose ignorance about Calais and the hunger strikers was exposed when he was caught unawares when visiting a town in the Loire on 25 October and responding to questions from a passer-by which were recorded and widely distributed. Those affected are now supposed to be given 45 minutes notice to safeguard their possessions and be taken to a new 'facility' housing up to 300 people in Calais for one night and then be taken further afield. But of course most will find their way back to Calais or Grande Synthe within days.
With our appreciation of your continued concern for those on the margins of society.
8 October 2021
Update for October 2021
A Welcoming Country
What is the most welcoming country in Europe for asylum seekers at the moment ? (Ben writes) Certainly not Germany or France or the UK - instead we should turn to Albania which has received 4000 Afghan refugees in its seaside resorts while their ongoing visa applications are processed. And it was heartening to hear their prime minister speak of Albania's moral duty to help. (He is, by the way, a well known artist turned politician who has just had an exhibition in New York.) And interestingly, Albania and its neighbouring Balkan countries still seem a long way from joining the EU.
Degrading Treatment of Migrants Around Calais - A Depressing Tale
French officials regularly subject adults and children living in migrant encampments around Calais to degrading treatment, Human Rights Watch said in a report released on 8 October. Five years after French authorities demolished the sprawling Calais “Jungle,” more than 1,000 people are staying in encampments in and around the town.
The 79-page report, “Enforced Misery: The Degrading Treatment of Migrant Children and Adults in Northern France,” documents repeated mass eviction operations, near-daily police harassment, and restrictions on provision of and access to humanitarian assistance. The authorities carry out these abusive practices with the primary purposes of forcing people to move elsewhere, without resolving their migration status or lack of housing, or of deterring new arrivals.
“Subjecting people to daily harassment and humiliation is never justifiable,” said Bénédicte Jeannerod, France director at Human Rights Watch. “If the aim is to discourage migrants from gathering in northern France, these policies are a manifest failure and result in serious harm.”
Human Rights Watch interviewed more than 60 migrants, including 40 who identified themselves as unaccompanied children, in and around Calais and the nearby commune of Grande-Synthe from October through December 2020 and June to July 2021. Human Rights Watch also met with officials from the prefecture and child protection office for the Pas-de-Calais department, and the Grande-Synthe mayor’s office.
An estimated 2,000 people, including at least 300 unaccompanied children, were staying in and around encampments in Calais in mid-2021, according to humanitarian groups. Several hundred more, including many families with children, were in a forest in Grande-Synthe, adjacent to the Dunkirk.
Police efforts to push migrant adults and children out of Calais and Grande-Synthe have not discouraged new arrivals and do not appear to have reduced irregular Channel crossings, which hit record highs in July and August. But policing practices have inflicted increasing misery on migrants.
“When the police arrive, we have five minutes to get out of the tent before they destroy everything. It is not possible for five people, including young children, to get dressed in five minutes in a tent,” a Kurdish woman from Iraq told Human Rights Watch in December 2020.
Police routinely require migrants to move temporarily off the land they are occupying while police confiscate – and often destroy – the tents, tarps, and sleeping bags the people have not managed to take with them. Police subjected most Calais encampments to these routine eviction operations every other day in 2020 and the first half of 2021. In Grande-Synthe, these evictions took place once or twice a week.
Police conducted more than 950 routine eviction operations in Calais and at least 90 routine evictions in Grande-Synthe in 2020, seizing nearly 5,000 tents and tarps and hundreds of sleeping bags and blankets, according to Human Rights Observers (HRO), a group that regularly monitors police evictions of these encampments.
Police also periodically evict everyone from an encampment, claiming that these are “shelter” operations. But shelter is only provided for a few days. The authorities carrying out mass evictions also do not effectively identify and take specific steps to protect unaccompanied children.
These tactics leave children and adults constantly on alert and focused on their day-to-day survival. Many are haggard, sleep-deprived, and, as the national ombudsperson’s office, the French Defender of Rights, observed in September 2020, “in a state of physical and mental exhaustion.”
Officials have also placed legal and practical restrictions on provision of and access to humanitarian assistance. Local ordinances prohibit food and water distributions by aid groups in the Calais town centre Government aid sites are often moved, or aid is distributed at the same time as evictions.
Government services do not meet the needs of women and girls. The Calais encampments have no separate toilets for women, and Grande-Synthe has no toilets. Toilets lack adequate lighting, with particular risks for women and girls. Barriers to water access mean scarcity for everybody and problems for women and girls during menstruation.
Police have also harassed volunteers with HRO, Utopia 56, and other NGOs that observe police conduct. “Exiles aren’t travelling to northern France because they’ve heard they can camp in the woods or stay under a bridge. They aren’t coming because groups are giving them a little food and water. They come because that’s where the border is,” said Charlotte Kwantes, Utopia 56’s national coordinator.
French child protection authorities should do more to inform unaccompanied children about their options, including entry into the child protection system, which offers the possibility of receiving legal status at age 18.
The European Union should create a system for sharing responsibility among EU member states that avoids unfair stress on countries of first arrival and the most popular destination countries, and takes into due consideration the family and social ties as well as individual preferences of asylum seekers.
The UK government should develop safe and legal means for migrants to travel to the United Kingdom to seek safe haven, reunify with family members, or work or study.
“French authorities should abandon their failed playbook toward migrants of the past five years,” Jeannerod said. “They need a new approach to help people, not repeatedly harass and abuse them.”
The crime of navigating a boat ... justice for Nabil
Did you know that it is a criminal offence to navigate a boat towards the English coast, even though the intention is to save lives in desperate conditions? We set out below an appeal for help from Justice for Nabil. Please read it carefully and help if you can ....
Justice for Nabil - Drop the charges now - Free ALL refugees convicted of 'assisting unlawful immigration' for boat steering - STOP THE BORDERS BILL!
Demonstrate at Nabil's court hearing in Canterbury Crown Court at 10 am (time may change) on 22 October 2021 (date will not change)
Nabil is a refugee from Sudan who crossed the Channel in a small boat to find asylum in Britain, a member of Movement for Justice (MFJ). He is being targeted by the Home Office as though seeking asylum is a crime.
Nabil’s journey was similar to those of thousands of other cross-Channel refugees. He was a victim of persecution in Sudan because of his ethnicity. He escaped by travelling through Libya, and like many other refugees from African countries, he was enslaved and tortured there. He eventually escaped and crossed the Mediterranean, reaching France through Italy, but he was deported back to Italy under the EU’s Dublin Agreement. He was destitute in Italy and crossed more borders to reach Germany, where he claimed asylum, but his claim was refused. The German authorities planned to send him back to persecution in Sudan.
Faced with that threat, Nabil made the choice to save his life and join the people crossing the Channel to Britain. He contributed to buying a boat and put to sea with other Sudanese refugees. He steered the boat, doing his best to keep them all safe until they could be rescued.
Later Nabil was arrested and charged with "assisting unlawful immigration", something that scores of cross channel refugees have been convicted of because they steered boats so they and others could survive the crossing. That is the Home Office policy; it even uses drones to get pictures of the refugees doing the steering. Then they are prosecuted as though they are criminals.
A Court of Appeal decision in April forced the Home Office to drop some of these cases. That was a setback for the Home Office, but we still know of around 12 refugees in prison convicted of this offence, and still they continue to prosecute Nabil.
The prosecution of Nabil is entirely political. The government is planning the biggest attack on refugees and immigrants this country has ever seen – the new Borders Bill. This Bill will make it a crime for any refugees to come across the Channel to Britain in small boats or in the back of lorries, or by any route the Home Office decides is ‘irregular.’ It will deny the right to claim asylum to any refugee who has come through a country that the Home Office says is ‘safe.’
Nabil's prosecution is an attack on the growing number of cross-Channel refugees, who are now on the frontline of the fight against racism and immigrant-bashing. It is part of the drive by Boris Johnson’s government to fire up every racist in Britain in order to preserve the wealth and power of his class - Britain’s rich and powerful ruling class. That is why the attack on Nabil is an attack on all cross-Channel refugees and a threat to every asylum seeker and every immigrant without papers.
*We Are All Nabil*
We demand that the Home Office drops the charges or the Court throws them out. That will be the issue at the next stage in Nabil’s case – Join us at Canterbury Crown Court on Friday 22nd October.
I hope you can join us there. If you respond to let us know if you are able to support this, we will keep you informed of any change of time.
Best regards,
Kent Refugee Help
And what about the children ?
We rightly place importance on the welfare of children - indeed this is required of us under the Children Act of 1989 and much subsequent legislation. And so it came as something of a shock to learn that unaccompanied children have been housed in a hotel in Brighton without appropriate support. It is a sad fact that many children make the dangerous and often traumatic journey to seek sanctuary on their own - if you know of any similar situations in your area please highlight any concerns with the responsible local authority
A Reception in Dover ...
Conditions are bad enough for refugees on small and flimsy boats, but the Chair of Dover's Independent Monitoring Board has just published a report describing conditions at the initial reception point in the harbour as unacceptable. Those arriving are sleeping on the floor and on benches. Sanitary conditions are basic and catering facilities haphazard - at one point staff had to order take-away pizzas as there was no other provision. Children are being misidentified as adults and treated accordingly. Let's hope that this report is a wake-up call.
Afghans are getting patchy support around the country, probably due to poor communication from Whitehall. Most local authorities are working well but different volunteer skills are needed in different places.
World Day for Migrants and Refugees
Some 25 of us gathered on Dover seafront at the memorial on 20th September to mark this important day. Led by Bishop Paul McAleenan we reflected on some of the key messages of this day - as the Bishop pointed out, the seafront in Dover was a more poignant setting than any Church or Cathedral. You can see a video of the event here.
9 September 2021
A COMING EVENT
1 September 2021
Update for September 2021
AFGHANISTAN - WHERE NOW ?
You know that our concern has not been for the situations that displace people from their homes, but for those of the exiles who travel and gather on the Channel coast. However, over the years, many of these have come from Afghanistan and, like so many of you. we have been increasingly concerned about the worsening there.
Deb Barry from Canterbury-based Care4Humanity worked on the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan nearly 20 years ago, the hope of those refugees who fled during the Taliban rule and fighting to return to Afghanistan. She has written the following.
“I clearly remember the hope of those thousands of people that I met that with the Taliban no longer in power, they could return home and rebuild their lives. 18 months later I would witness rural villages allowing their girls to go to school for the first time and the hope of so many people. I lived there for 3 ½ years and made many friends there and beautiful memories. I also had quite a few challenges while living there and for every step forward we made with communities, we certainly faced our challenges, but we all continued. There were still though people that did need to leave the country because of their association with different groups, or having to leave abusive relationships etc. I could write a book on the amazing people of Afghanistan and what they taught me.
“Fast forward a few years and our Care4Humanity team had one of its first projects in Calais to provide temporary shelter for Afghan refugees and we have continued to help those who are seeking refuge both in Calais and in the UK. Throughout the pandemic we’ve continued to work in the UK and Calais to help refugees. A refugee is person seeking refugee status demonstrating that they were persecuted or fear persecution due to race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.
“Our team has been in daily contact with people that we know in Afghanistan to find out how we can help and what is currently happening, the real human stories of those that have given so much already to the humanitarian work in the country. We are also working with groups in the UK as well to help support those who can leave Afghanistan and are seeking refuge.
“Here are just a few ways that we can all help at this time, and we are grateful for those who’ve all reached out to find out ways that you can help.
• If you are concerned about specific people in Afghanistan who can meet the definition of a refugee, they are able to apply for P2 Visa application – lots of the NGOs around the world are providing letters of support to those applying for this. If they were associated with an organisation, they will need a letter stating the dates that they worked with the organization or international company.
• Cities of Sanctuary – Click on this link to see your nearest community that is part of the cities of sanctuary for those arriving from Afghanistan and other countries. We are working with Canterbury and Cardiff councils now to find out when they will be putting out their lists and will also share that information as we receive it.
• Speak up. – There are a large number of organisations that have signed up to ask parliament in the UK to take more action to help address the issues facing Afghan people. See www.jcwi.org.uk/dont-criminalise-refugees-our...
• Donate to organisations working in Afghanistan. We are still finding out who on the ground is able to continue to deliver humanitarian assistance and what it will look like. We are grateful that PARSA are continuing to work with the Afghans seeking shelter in Kabul. Their majority female workforce continues to try to find ways to reach the people every day and is demonstrating amazing courage. We are currently trying to find out the best way to donate to them for them to get the resources that they need and will keep you updated.
“Care4Humanity will continue to be in regular contact with partners in Afghanistan, here in the UK and in Calais. We know that there is still a lot of change to come in Afghanistan as the international forces end those flights and new laws come into place in the country. We remain committed as a team to help the Afghan people in the choices that they make for themselves and their families. We are grateful for all our Afghan friends and colleagues who with their families continue to show amazing courage and resilience in the face of so much current opposition.
“As opportunities arise for people to do more collectively, we will keep you posted. If you have a specific question or query/idea about something you want to do to help the people of Afghanistan, we would be more than happy to help explore that idea as well. This is a global effort, and every action really is helping to make a difference: email contactus[at]care4humanityuk.org .“
Like others, 'Seeking Sanctuary' is concerned for the 'worthy' and 'less worthy'. While we are delighted that people arriving under the 'official' schemes are provided with decent initial hotel accommodation and a welcome, we worry about those who are equally at risk and who put their lives in the hands of people smugglers out of desperation. Will they be victims of the 'hostile environment'? Even criminalised for crossing the Channel? We hear that all claims for asylum are 'on hold' currently and so claimants – like those in the already appalling backlog of cases – could have years of uncertainty ahead of them, while they are housed in places such as Napier barracks.
For those living near Canterbury, an Afghan resident has started a new Facebook Group "Help For The Afghan Asylum Seekers-Canterbury" which will be working alongside the local council and "Canterbury Welcomes Refugees", accepting sorting, labelling and storing donations that are relevant to those supported by those organisations. You can find out more by posting on the Facebook page www.facebook.com/groups/194342835946828
A page on the UK Government website lists Councils that will welcome volunteer help, and you can click through to find out what sort of assistance each of them requires..
CHANNEL RESCUE
It seems that traffickers are now sourcing larger boats direct from manufacturers, perhaps in China, and coordinating launch times in batches along some 60 miles of the Channel coast to make life difficult for French officials hoping to prevent more departures. Arrivals in the UK, when not escorted by Border Force vessels, seem to occur more at more locations tens of miles East and West of Dover.
Annette, also from Care4Humanity, writes about this team. They are a grassroots organisation founded last year by humanitarians who had previously been active on rescue vessels in the Mediterranean.
Their boat is currently undergoing upgrading but will be relaunched soon under a new name: Artin. After Artin Irannezhad, the little boy from Iran who drowned, together with his family, while crossing the Channel. Experienced sea-faring folk who are able to commit regularly or longer term will be considered to join the boat team.
Determined to do what they can to avoid another such tragedy happening again, Channel Rescue actively monitors the Channel from various locations along the Kent Coast. They need many more volunteers to form a regular rota of ‘spotters’ in different locations. If you enjoy being out and about early morning in beautiful locations on the Kent cliffs and beaches while helping out with an important cause, please sign up by completing this form: docs.google.com/.../1FAIpQLSekGrEfdqSkUt.../viewform. Or for more information, email: channel.rescue2020@gmail.com
More often than not, the dinghies carrying refugees are intercepted by Border Force who bring them into harbour. However, they fail to spot some dinghies, such as one that made a landing one morning on Kingsdown beach. Having spotted the dinghy approaching, Channel Rescue quickly made their way to the beach and ensured a safe landing and debarkation.
Channel Rescue also act as human rights monitors, observing treatment of the arrivals by Border Force, police, extreme right activists and annoyed locals. The group also offers spotting training (using binoculars, telescope and marine traffic and weather apps) and landing training (how to help debark safely and offer first aid specific to water rescue and exposure).
MEANWHILE, ON THE FRENCH COAST
The official estimate of the number of migrants in the city of Calais is around 900. They generally distrust the state authorities and prefer to get food and water from volunteers. Officials do their best to frustrate such assistance. A 2000 litre (440 gallon) plastic tank 'cube' set up for distribution of drinking water one Saturday was slashed by police during its first night in place!
On 23 August the Pas-de-Calais prefecture, on the pretext of avoiding Covid transmission, again extended the Order originally imposed 11 months earlier to prohibit free distribution of food and drinks in parts of central Calais. The measure is decried by the associations supporting the migrants. The state mandates only the Vie Active association to provide meals to migrants and it claims that an average of 2,500 meals have been distributed every day since the beginning of August.
There are three small cabins made up from odds and ends in the heart of the Grande-Synthe 'camp'. They house restaurants run mostly by Iraqi Kurds from Kirkuk or Erbil, and sell sandwiches, soda and cigarettes. Nearly 300 people, including families and children, wait in the woods hoping to cross the Channel. The Afghans have taken up residence at the end of a road, under large pylons of high-voltage lines which soar above their heads.
There are scores of exiles near most of the French Channel ports, not only near Calais and Dunkirk. As yet more arrive, reports of violent quarrels between different ethnic groups increase. According to the BBC nearly 8,000 people have arrived near the coast since the start of the year. Faced with the multiplication of boat crossings, volunteers make risk prevention one of their priorities, trying to warn the exiles about the dangers of the sea. They make the travellers remember 112, the only emergency number – even without a network signal – and show them how to find out their GPS location and use it in the event of distress at sea.
COMING EVENT
Sunday 21 September is a World Day of Prayer for Migrants and Refugees. Bishop Paul McAleenan, the lead Catholic bishop on migration issues in England and Wales is visiting Dover on Saturday 25 September – the eve of that Day – to lead prayers at noon by the memorial plaques on the Dover seafront near the entrance to the Ferry Terminal. Anyone who shares our concerns is welcome to attend.
Incidentally, the Nationality and Borders Bill starts its Committee Stage in Parliament on the Monday, a few days earlier. There will doubtless be much ill-conceived media and political comment to accompany this process.
TO CONCLUDE
Please maintain your efforts to share the correct facts about displaced people. Our response must be a welcome, and a welcome is not something a government alone can create, it's up to everybody.
6 August 2021
Update for August 2021
Afghan Refugees – a never ending story: Ben writes: It was some 15 years ago when my wife and I found ourselves running a drop-in Club in Dover for young Afghan men who were seeking asylum, staffed by volunteers from the Salvation Army and religious sisters.
In between the many games of tennis and football they were always keen to talk in spite of of the traumas they had suffered. They were always warm-hearted and optimistic. There is something in the personality of Afghan people that I have found particularly warm and positive even when faced with the restrictions of detention and the 'no access to public funds' regime.
Some years later we found that the Calais 'Jungle' had a large Afghan community and it is no surprise that Afghans are still well represented in the desperate struggles to find safety in the UK. The Afghan crisis has been with us for at least 20 years and as we look forward we can can only envisage millions more Afghans seeking sanctuary from the Taliban in the desperate situation in which they find themselves. The tragedy is that so many educated and motivated people are likely to be labelled in a disparaging way rather than being able to fulfil their potential.
These are the same people who, as the year progresses, will be vilified as 'illegal' under the pending new UK legislation. As their lives are obviously in danger they cannot be sent back and so many will at best experience a long period of limbo in refugee camps if they are lucky.
The crisis in Ethiopia: Elsewhere there are numerous other hotspots generating large flows of refugees, and in particular in Ethiopia where the under-reported humanitarian crisis has led to famine and destitution. As thousands attempt to make their way way to safety the response of European countries is less and less welcoming and pushback is becoming the norm in several places. Politicians are hardening their attitudes often in attempts to respond to the clamour of far-right and populist groups.
Denmark – a new approach: Denmark is now proposing to process all asylum seekers in a third country and threatening to send back Syrian asylum seekers who have been in Denmark for many years with expulsion and return to Syria. We hear disturbing accounts of other areas of pushback including the construction of a wall in Greece and the continuance of of large and under-resourced refugee camps where are so many thousands linger with little hope.
Even efforts to save lives are blighted by the gradual withdrawal of rescue vessels and other initiatives to save lives. And if we add the effects of drought, flooding and climate change, together with Covid-19, we see our world carry forward a toxic mix which simply must not be ignored by the global community. The narrative of the government which seeks to to demonise those who arrive on our shores by describing them as criminals just exacerbates the problems.
Remembering Alpha: Alpha from Mauritania was one of the first residents of the Calais 'Jungle' in 2014. Not content to live in a shack, he organised a compound for himself in which he kept chickens. He organised another tent to which he invited others to come and develop their painting and creative skills. Over time, materials donated from the UK helped to bring about much satisfaction and self esteem. He organised various signs at the entrance, such as 'Love, not Hate'. We don't know what became of Alpha but we hope that he was able to put his generous and warm hearted character to good use. In our frequent visits to the 'Jungle' at this time we were always struck by the gestures of hospitality we received - when we brought much needed supplies such as milk and sugar we were always invited to share them around makeshift tables
Can't we do better?The recent report of the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee makes depressing reading. Their visit to the Dover Intake Unit found 54 people crammed for days into a small space with mattresses on the floor between benches. And several young people were being held in an office space for more than 24 hours while awaiting placement because Kent County Council are no longer able to accept unaccompanied minors.
On the bright side: Invisible migrant workers have become visible during this COVID time, because many work in essential economic sectors that kept going during lockdown. So the pandemic has made the need to promote the human dignity and rights of all migrant workers yet more clear.
Seeking Sanctuary has always affirmed the dignity of work and urged not only that all workers be respected and valued, but also that migrants should not be prevented from finding secure jobs that enable them to lead decent lives and contribute to the lives of the communities that welcome them.
More of the same in France: Human Rights Observers yet again report that during a morning eviction operation at Grande Synthe – this time on 3 August – members of the cleaning team seized, slashed and destroyed tents and shelters of exiles, with utter disregard for the victims of this operation. https://twitter.com/i/status/1422838156483874818
And again on 5 August, Utopia 56 reported a further morning expulsion aimed at the 400+ people - including dozens of children - sleeping on the ground near Grande Synthe. More tents were destroyed and just six people got access to an official respite centre. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E8BDw6tWYAEn2gq?format=jpg&name=large
Some relevant thoughts:'Our encounter is rooted in the ultimate alterity ["otherness"] of the other, with acceptance even to suffer in response to the suffering of the other and an awakening of one’s feeling of one’s responsibility for and to the other.'
(From the French philosopher Emmanuel Levinas.)
And finally:
'Let us learn to live together in diversity'. (A plea from Pope Francis in preparation for his World Day of Prayer for Migrants and Refugees on 26 September.) In our next update we will cover plans to mark this day.
5 July 2021
Update for July 2021
Two special days – Fathers' Day and World Refugee Day. [Ben writes.] By a curious coincidence the 20th June marked both World Refugee Day and Fathers' Day. I thought of these two occasions not just in terms of our traditional celebrations marked by gifts and goodwill, but in terms of the realities facing so many fathers in war torn and conflict ridden areas of the world where there is not time or opportunity to celebrate. I thought of the fathers in war torn Tigray and so many other parts of the world, where the UN estimates that 400,000 people are facing famine as a result of conflict. With livelihoods lost and families in grave danger, the natural instinct of a father is to save his family and ensure their survival. When war hits a population the first thing to go is often economic activity and sources of employment. Desperate choices have to be made – if disloyalty towards a ruling regime or a rebel army is suspected, the consequences can be fatal.
No time to to celebrate the joys of fatherhood – instead just a despairing struggle to provide safety, let alone economic security. Contrary to popular myths, no one uproots lightly from a community in which they have their roots – their family, friends and much else. And the reality for many young fathers is of years of military service, as in Eritrea, forced to fight in wars. And in their desperate search for safety for themselves and their families, they face the prospect of being cast as 'illegal' in their journeys to seek safety in the UK. (You will find more on the implications of the proposed new UK legislation further down in this update.)
In memory of Artin – A few of you sent donations to pay for flowers which we laid at the memorial for deceased migrants on the seafront in Dover on 20th June. Many thanks for these – and as we laid them we remembered especially Artin, the little toddler whose body was found in Norway many months after his family had drowned in their attempt to cross the Channel. Photos taken at Calais before their attempt show Artin as a sweet, innocent little boy whose smiling face belies the dangers that he and his family faced in their perilous attempt to cross the Channel in a flimsy boat. May he and his family rest in peace.
Facts and figures – It's useful to check some facts as yet another Immigration Bill is laid before Parliament. If you flee persecution and want the protection of the UK government, you must must reach UK soil and apply to the Home Office for recognition as a refugee. Traditionally around two-thirds of these applications are refused, although in 2019 and 2020, around half of the applicants were granted refugee status or another form of legal protection at the first time of asking. Many of these decisions are wrong: thousands of appeals are allowed every year, amounting to 49% in 2020/21. Combining initial grants of asylum with the successful appeals, a clear majority of asylum seekers become recognised refugees or get a similar status. The Home Office’s own figure for 2019 is 64%. The right to seek asylum is universal and does not depend upon how people travel. Our government's proposals set out to undermine the refugee convention and categorise people as 'inadmissible' if they reach Britain by irregular means or have passed through third countries, despite the fact that more than half of them are likely to have valid reasons for claiming asylum.
In 2020, almost 30,000 people applied for asylum (not including dependent family members). This is well below the 2019 level despite the increased number arriving across the Channel by boat. In fact these do not form an extra new flow, but rather represent people who have diverted from crossings in vehicles. Getting on for half of these – 46% – were from five countries: Iran, Albania, Eritrea, Iraq and Sudan, whilst other significant contributors include Afghanistan, Vietnam, Pakistan and Syria. None noted as territories of peace and safety.
The UK’s share of the world’s refugees is light. The World Bank put the number of refugees in the UK in 2018 at around 127,000, or 0.5% of the world’s total. Even by UK standards, the number of asylum seekers today is not particularly high. Numbers peaked around the turn of the century, reaching over 100,000 during 2002, if dependants are included, and have been fairly steady recently, averaging 39,000 over the past five years. The cost of food and shelter for asylum seekers has not risen because more applications are being made, but because they are not dealt with efficiently. The number waiting for more than a year for an initial decision increased almost tenfold from 3,588 people in 2010 to 33,016 in 2020. Within this total, the number of children waiting longer than a year increased more than twelve-fold from 563 children in 2010 to 6,887 in 2020. What is needed is a system that works by making timely decisions and ensures that everybody in need of safety gets a fair hearing.
Some refugees are 'resettled', i.e., brought directly to the UK. Politicians like to stress that resettlement is good and coming to the UK under your own steam (“jumping the queue”) is bad. There are said to be 26 million refugees worldwide, while over the past five years, the UK has resettled around 26 thousand. No-one can apply directly for resettlement in the UK, but instead they must wait in camps near their places of origin and hope to one day be pulled out of the pile by UN agents and assigned to a resettlement programme (not in a country of their choice). There is, in fact, no queue to join! Despite the announcement of a new UK resettlement programme for about 5,000 people a year in 2019, hardly anyone has been resettled since the Covid pandemic began.
Six Bishops unite in calling for migrants rights to be respected – In 2015, at a time when the Calais 'jungle' was still very much in the news, we arranged for the Bishops of Dover, Arras and Southwark to jointly make a statement calling for migrants in Northern France and elsewhere to be treated with dignity and humanity. Six years later – on World Refugee Day, 21 June – we arranged for the joint declaration to be renewed. This time the declaration was signed by three more bishops, with responsibility for more of the Channel coast, from the dioceses of Lille and Bruges and the Anglican Bishop in Europe. It is hoped that this can be the start of continued ecumenical cooperation between British, Belgian and French bishops. The declaration was publicised widely on social media – the post on the Facebook page of the official Vatican News (linked to an article) has attracted over 600 likes.
And some positive stories – Over in Calais we learnt through 'La Voix du Nord' of the activities of 'Mammy Brigitte', who for 14 years has provided a bank of charging points for mobile phones in her garage, as well as providing friendship and support. She may not have made herself popular with her neighbours or the authorities, but she has provided a vital service for people to keep in touch with their relatives thousands of miles away.
Keep a lookout for little Amal – who will set out on 27 July from near the Syrian border in Turkey on an 8000km trek across eight countries. She is nine years old and is searching for her mother, who went off to find food and never returned. She is not so little, being a 12ft (3.5m) tall puppet operated by teams of three performers! She will carry a single message, on behalf of all the thousands of displaced children who will meet her along the way: 'Don’t forget about us.' The Walk is a single theatre show that takes place over four months and had its origins in a geodesic dome in the Calais 'jungle' in 2015, among the artists involved in the 'Good Chance Theatre' .
She arrives at Folkestone on 19 October and reaches Manchester on 3 November, having passed Dover, Canterbury, Lewisham, London, Oxford, Coventry, Birmingham, Sheffield and the Peak District. (There is a "prelude" in Manchester on 18 July, where a young girl struggles to sleep, troubled by the memories of her journey, eventually letting drop her puppet, which slips away into her past …)
June 19, 2021.
Statement for Refugee Week, 2021.
'Seeking Sanctuary is pleased to have facilitated a groundbreaking joint statement by a number of Bishops responsible for the coastline on both sides of the Channel. They express their concern that migrants should be treated with humanity and decency and be provided with a welcome rather than a hostile rejection.
The Bishops represent the Anglican Dioceses of Canterbury and Europe, and the Catholic supporters are the Archbishops of Southwark and Lille, the Bishop of Arras, Boulogne & Saint-Omer, and the Bishop of Bruges.
The statement responds to the ongoing human misery in and around Calais, surrounding ports and coastline towns running from Northern France to Belgium, where many displaced people seek shelter. Download the joint statement here.
Ben Bano and Phil Kerton of Seeking Sanctuary said, 'Countless numbers of people fleeing persecution and violence are still subject to rejection and a hostile environment. In their joint statement the Bishops from the UK, France and Belgium have joined together to speak out against this injustice as well as calling on people of faith to show solidarity for the plight of the victims of persecution, war, and climate change.'
5 June 2021
Update for June 2021
1. The impact upon mental health of war and becoming a refugee.
(Having concluded last month's bulletin with a note about people in Glasgow supporting asylum seekers who were being detained by immigration enforcement officials, we are pleased to start this month with a long extract from a Blog posted by Justice and Peace Scotland on 21 May. In it, Richard Kayumba reflects on the experience of being a refugee and having to flee your home in search of safety, and the impacts that this has upon mental health.)
Wars and becoming a refugee have many consequences on the physical and mental health of civilians and soldiers. Death, injury, sexual violence, malnutrition, illness, and disability are some of the common physical consequences of war, while post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety are the emotional effects.
Many asylum seekers and refugees are survivors or escapees from these traumatic experiences. People escaping from such environments are convinced that when they reach their destinations, they will have a chance to live or to re-build new life and be able to heal these terrible wounds.
However, nothing torments asylum seekers more than being informed that after their miraculous escape from near death situations, they’re unwanted by the country in which they have sought freedom. These torments are intensified by the anxiety of not knowing the outcome of their asylum application. This goes from anxiety to depression once they are disappointed with a declined application following countless years of waiting for the Home Office’s decision.
From this stage onwards, a nightmare begins for asylum seekers, due to the inhumane treatment received during the time prior to their deportation. At this stage, asylum seekers are living in extreme fear of what would happen to them once they are deported. At the same time, they are forced to live on the street by not having a place to stay. Also, this is a period when asylum seekers are made to frequent detention centres without committing any crime. To me, asylum-seeking is the worst thing one would wish his enemy and an asylum seeker’s deportation is equal to being sentenced to the death penalty.
2. Grande-Synthe.
We occasionally report news from this town near Dunkirk, but it figures less in mainstream media than does Calais. We have delved into recent news, Tweets and blogs from NGOs and volunteers to gain a flavour of what goes on.
2.1 The role of the town.
The former mayor Damien Carême, now an MEP, was noted as a champion of exiles, ensuring that a camp meeting UNHCR standards was established and refusing government demands for harsher treatment. Socialist Martial Beyaert succeeded him in July 2019. At the end of April he proudly announced the re-opening of the Puythouck country park whose undesirable occupants had left for a different site a couple of weeks earlier.
In reality, some 500 migrants who had been sleeping rough in the woods this had been forcibly removed in an early morning raid by municipal police. The first time that the local authority had taken such a step. Earlier, most support groups had been refused entry to the area, including the car park where food was distributed. This left mentally and physically fragile people further isolated and vulnerable as conditions deteriorated
The move was for about a kilometre into the woodland, to a site totally out of sight from the road, delimited by barbed wire into separate spaces for each nationality, It is far from normal human life, and occasionally swept by fumes from industrial units. The single water point installed by the State looks like a cattle trough and offers not the slightest modicum of dignity.
Observers comment that the main objective was to make hundreds of lives invisible, abandoning people in a secret location. Adolescents are not seen by social workers and are open to unrecorded contact by traffickers and sexual abuse networks.
2.2 The Role of the state.
On 26 May about 15 van-loads of CRS, (riot) police came to evict people from the new site in line with the government policy of sending them to 'welcome and orientation centres'. There were the usual displays of violence and harassment with batons, flash balls and tear gas against the exiled people. Police tore down the tents and plastic sheeting that had provided some protection from storms. Their next target was the stands where food and tea were served, but unexpectedly a Kurdish man raised his voice in protest, putting forward good arguments and saying, 'We are human beings, we can talk but we cannot fight with you.'
The CRS force withdrew but then returned making a lot of noise. Eventually they did leave and took no passengers on their buses. Former mayor Damien Carême Tweeted, 'This morning at a “shelter” in Grande-Synthe: What a horror! What inhumanity! There are 400 exiles left to survive unworthily on this spot because the State and the city do not have a policy of welcome. These people were fleeing from war, and an army welcomes them. Shame on these leaders!'
The mayor made an unexpected visit on the next morning, along with his team and leaders of opposition parties. They promised a visit from a cleaning team for the next day, but nothing about showers or toilets, nor about cutting back on destruction and displays of power or offering structural solutions, while the mayor agreed that forced evictions may take place twice a week.
And a day later a clean-up operation did take place …. but also a different massive forced eviction of some derelict buildings in the town. It is said that the aim is to fill the orientation centres, creating more profit for hospitality contractors. And few days later on 3 June it was time for more evictions. Repeated dismantling – at least three times per month – remains the norm.
3. More of the same in Calais.
Regular destruction of informal settlements continues, accompanied by an ever stronger police presence. This worsens the already precarious living conditions of the 1500 or more exiles, whose number continues to increase. Difficulty in getting fresh water and food, destruction of tents, confiscation of belongings, tree clearances and installation of fencing on areas occupied by migrants amount to a policy of physical and mental harassment, provoking heightened tensions and increased violence.
This “unlivable” environment pushes people to take more and more risks in attempts to cross the Channel. Secours Catholique suggests that state-sponsored violence has consequences.
At 3.00am in the morning of 2 June some 50 migrants were prevented from getting into the port but later returned in far greater numbers, violently attacking police with iron bars, cobblestones and sticks until 8.00am. Seven police needed hospital treatment. This is said to be the worst violence since the elimination of the “Jungle” in 2016.
With clearance of open areas, many migrants have found shelter in sheds and rough and ready refuges in the southern part of the town. On 4 June 300 police dismantled a makeshift migrant shelter in disused industrial buildings. 500 or more people, including about 30 children, were removed in one of biggest operations of its kind in recent months, starting at around 6.00am, and the buildings were demolished in the afternoon.
4. Numbers.
The number of small boat arrivals in the UK from northern France reached record levels in May with 568 arriving in the last four days of the month. The total for the first four months of 2021 was 2,108, more than double the figure of 896 crossings in the same period in 2020. Officials at Dover are having to work for extended hours to cater for the increased demand at that location and extra transport capacity has been arranged to move people on to short-term holding facilities inland. However, the increased number of asylum applications at the coast has not caused any increase in the overall number. There was a 20-year low in the number of applications in 2010 – 17,916 – before the figure rose, reaching 35,737 in 2019, well below the record of 84,132 in 2002. It is important to note that the number of applications fell to 29,456 in 2020, as far fewer arrived by routes other than crossing the Channel. More accommodation has been needed because applications are not dealt with efficiently, not because of Channel crossings!
Home Office staff say that Vietnamese people-smugglers are switching from lorries to small boats because they consider that these offer a better chance of success in reaching the UK. The increased numbers in Calais include a higher proportion of families, perhaps associated with small changes in the distribution of nationalities involved. Countries in southern Europe face greater challenges. For example, Italy had registered 14,412 coastal arrivals from North Africa by 1 June, almost three times greater than the number for the same period in 2020.
The arrivals are accompanied by a rising death toll. The UNHCR indicates that at least 500 died in the first four months of 2021 during the dangerous sea crossing, up from 150 during the same period in 2020.
5. A feast of flowers.
Sunday 20th June is World Refugee Day when we try if possible to have an event at the memorial on Dover seafront, dedicated to those who have died when seeking to reach the UK. This year we will remember not just those who have lost their lives crossing the Channel but the hundreds who have lost their lives crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa as well those who lose their lives in flimsy boats trying to reach the Canary Islands. If you would like us to lay some flowers on your behalf on that day we invite you to make a donation of £5.00 which we will use to buy flowers on your behalf. The account details are (Halifax): Ben Bano – Sort Code 11 02 32, No. 00490105. Remember to put your name in the payment reference. In this way we will help to raise public awareness of of the tragedy of so many lives lost in the search for sanctuary.
6. An end note.
We are aware of the risk of 'compassion fatigue' from the bleak news which we have given you in this update. We are increasingly aware that migrants and refugees are potential proxies for millions of other marginalised people in our world today in the context of a culture which excludes those of other brothers and sisters in humanity – both in the UK and further afield. That is why we are encouraged by the latest message from the Vatican on the theme of 'towards an ever wider 'we' – in order to combat the notion of shutting ourselves off in nationalistic narratives. Do take a few minutes to watch the latest encouraging video on this theme featuring a Bishop working with migrants on the border of Mexico and Texas: https://youtu.be/bVOJMl-0Aro
With thanks for your continued concern and support
24 May 2021
Phil Interviewed on BBC Radio Kent about New Plan for Immigration
[Click on "Interviewed" to listen.]
18 May 2021
Update for May 2021
We open this month's update with an apposite quote from Pope Francis:
'This is the time to dream together, This as a single human family, as fellow travellers sharing the same flesh, as children of the same earth which is our common home, each of us bringing the richness of his or her beliefs and convictions, each of us with his or her own voice, brothers and sisters all” (Fratelli Tutti, 8).
When is an asylum seeker a trafficker?
The Guardian reports that an Iranian man, Fouad Kakaei, who took over steering a boat 'because he didn't want to die' was jailed and spent 17 months in prison before his conviction was overturned. To date the Home Office has prosecuted asylum seekers forced to take a turn in piloting boats. This original verdict was overturned in March 2021 – a retrial took place and he was acquitted. The obvious argument in gaining the acquittal was that those on the boat did not plan to disembark and enter without respecting the law: like so many others they were hoping to be rescued at sea. It is hoped that others convicted of similar offences will have their cases reviewed.
Countering the narrative of the 'illegals'
Once again we make the point – and we ask you to make a similar point, that to board a boat to cross the Channel in the hope of being rescued is not an illegal act. We cannot imagine how it feels to put your lives at risk in small boats on the open sea. But we can be quite sure that for the majority of those struggling for hours, the sight of a rescue vessel where they can claim asylum is much more attractive than pressing on to attempt a landing and try to exercise their legal right to claim asylum. (An act recently declared illegal by the UK despite the fact that it cannot be claimed in another country.) Hence we prefer the term 'irregular' to 'illegal'.
Black Lives do matter ...
Ben has been reflecting on the relevance of our work to the controversial recent report on racial equality in the UK. Over many years we have done our best to highlight the lack of rights and the discrimination faced by those seeking sanctuary. But have we missed something in focusing our efforts on raising awareness? Ben was told about the abuse suffered by a group of young Eritrean refugees outside a supermarket in Kent, becoming even more telling when they tried to attend a local football match. It made him realise that some those seeking asylum not only have to contend with trauma and marginalisation, but with direct experience of racial abuse. Our sisters and brothers seeking sanctuary are all too readily targets of racial discrimination and abuse. Faith Communities and other organisations do sterling work already – but we all need to understand the impact on migrants – destitution, racism, marginalisation as well as trauma.
And still they keep coming ...
In spite of £34 million outlay, the appointment of a migrant crossing 'supremo' and £98 million spent on previous security measures, the boats keep coming across the Channel, particularly in the milder Spring weather. An interesting article in the Guardian points to the growing blurring of roles between migrants and traffickers as desperate people seeking sanctuary are forced to aid smugglers in preparing boats for the Channel crossing in return for cheaper crossings. And the smugglers get more sophisticated in response to UK tactics.
There is little doubt that the termination of the Dublin agreement has left people even more desperate to be reunited with their families by using irregular means. (Note our use of the term 'irregular; rather than 'illegal' which describes their situation more accurately as they have no safe or legal way of claiming asylum in the UK.) And the Home Office finds itself in further difficulty owing to the impossibility of returning migrants to Europe without the provisions of the Dublin agreement and no agreements from EU countries to accept returns.
Over the last week several boatloads have arrived in Kent. No doubt this puts strain on services, but compare this to the situation over the last week the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa where more than 2000 migrants have arrived – most from sub Saharan Africa as well as from Syria. The list of 'no hope' countries is growing – in addition to the Sahel, atrocities are being witnessed in the Tigray region where 3 million civilians are under attack, meaning that the flow of refugees will be even greater. And between January and April this year there have been 360 deaths. Will the UK offer solidarity by providing assistance in this unprecedented situation? Very unlikely.
Pushback – a Europe wide phenomenon
A recent critical report from the Council of Europe highlights the increasing and dangerous practice of pushback – forcing migrants back across the border when they try to enter a country. The authorities in Hungary, Greece, Slovenia and Italy are among those accused of pushing migrants back to avoid asylum claims. In particular, the Human Rights Commissioner of the Council of Europe has highlighted Greece as one of the main culprits in pushing back migrants trying to enter from Turkey. There are disturbing reports that the French authorities are doing the same at the Italian border. The UK narrative of pushing back migrants across the Channel is just part of a much wider European problem.
'We are not safe until everyone is vaccinated ...'
We entirely agree, but we are aware of the millions living in war torn areas across the world, for example in Syria, the Sahel or the Congo, who have no chance of being vaccinated. And nearer to home, those living rough in Calais and who are unregistered have difficulty getting vaccinated. And nearer to home, what about those in the UK who are worried that their personal details supplied to vaccination clinics could be passed on and lead to their deportation? And those who are afraid to report that they have tested positive for Covid in case their details are passed to the Home Office? This is an issue which needs to be addressed if those most at risk are to be protected.
Mental Health Awareness Week
Mental Health Awareness Week is marked this month. It's timely to note that research suggests that asylum seekers are five times more likely to have have mental health needs than the general population and more than 60% will experience serious mental distress. The incidence of PTSD is also significant, given the trauma experienced when they suffer the effects of war and persecution as well as the trauma in making difficult and dangerous journeys and having to to cross borders in the face of a hostile reception, not to mention finding the prospect of being destitute in the UK. As we work towards better mental health services for all, particularly in the Covid pandemic, let us remember to advocate for a comprehensive and culturally sensitive service for all the migrants who require it, particularly since many refused asylum seekers are not eligible for most secondary medical care (except in Scotland and Wales).
Academic studies in Sweden have found that psychological damage is approximately twice as common among immigrants than in the native population – and three times more prevalent among asylum seekers.
Joint response to government proposals by over 60 faith based organisations
We were pleased to be able to participate in this joint response from numerous people of Faith to the government consultation on new proposals for managing the asylum system. The response points out that we should treat asylum seekers with dignity, which means addressing their problems as individuals. We cannot neatly label all asylum seekers in the same manner; each person’s situation is different, and a streamlined plan for immigration cannot be flexible enough to assess and address the complexity of their issues.
If the Home Secretary's proposals become law, undocumented entry to the UK will be criminalised, with penalties for those falling foul of the new legislation. In practice, this will mean that it will be impossible for most people to claim asylum because “safe and legal” to reach the UK and make a claim are extremely limited because of our island geography and “acceptable” routes under the proposals could never feasibly be made available to all who need them.
Criminalising people for seeking sanctuary seems perverse. In a modern and enlightened society the dignity and humanity of each individual should be central, following any alternative theme ignores the many benefits of welcoming refugees and is likely to create a divisive culture in our communities.
Meanwhile, in France ...
Sad to say, conditions near the French coast show no signs of improvement. We will not yet again repeat the details of both petty and violent discrimination: the repeated evictions from rudimentary open air camps, lack of food and water, barring from certain streets, difficulty in accessing medical care, showers and sanitation, and shortages of clothes – all ameliorated by the dogged efforts of volunteers.
Instead we describe yet another tragic death, in some ways similar to that of two-year-old Mawda three years ago this week.
On 3 May, a number of organisations supporting exiles wrote a statement to express support for the complaint against the police filed by Rupak Hazhar in February, blaming them for the death of her newborn daughter a few months earlier.
On the night of 1-2 September 2020, the Kurdish-Iraqi couple Rupak and Hazhar Sharif, with their children aged 10 and 2, were detained by police along with a dozen others on the shore between Calais and Dunkirk. They were held outdoors for several hours, forbidden to leave, before being freed.
Rupak was in the eighth month of a normal pregnancy, monitored by the local hospital. Later, she told a passing police patrol that she had been in severe pain when detained and that her waters had broken. Five hours after her arrest, she was eventually taken to hospital by ambulance for an emergency Cæserean section. Her child, Aleksandra, was placed in intensive care, being unable breathe without assistance ,and was allowed to die three days later. She is buried in the Muslim section of the Calais cemetery; her family are in London waiting for their asylum claims to be processed. Rupak has said that she wants the truth to come out to save others from suffering the same trauma.
Officials maintain that "none of the migrants mentioned any particular difficulties" at the time. However, the General Inspectorate of the National Police has started investigations, considering a possible criminal offence of failing to provide help.
A Last Word, from Glasgow ...
Staff from Immigration Enforcement detained two men during a dawn raid in a mainly Muslim area on the first day of Eid – a festival devoted to peaceful celebration. By mid-morning, a crowd of about 200 residents had surrounded their vehicle, preventing it from driving away, and chanting “these are our neighbours, let them go”, one of them lying under the van. Police intervened to ensure their release. Nicola Sturgeon tweeted: “I am proud to represent a constituency and lead a country that welcomes and shows support to asylum seekers and refugees.”
Scotland relies on immigrants to offset the pressures of depopulation and on the same day new MSPs were sworn in to to a diverse parliament, taking their oaths in British Sign Language, Arabic, Urdu, Punjabi, Doric, Scots Gaelic, Welsh and Orcadian.
13 April 2021
Update for April
''HAVE FAITH, HEART, YOU WERE NOT BORN IN VAIN: YOU HAVE NOT LIVED IN VAIN OR SUFFERED IN VAIN..."
'I (Ben) often think of these words from Mahler's fifth symphony. They inspire me and many others in these times of darkness as we seek to come to terms with the psychological as well as physical effects of the Covid pandemic. But these words also challenge us to reflect on what they mean for the millions of people seeking sanctuary and who are displaced. Can we hold out this hope to those who we meet who eke out a fragile existence in the context of the hostile environment and so many other barriers? That is the question which challenges those involved in fighting against injustice – these words are no less than a raison d'être for all that we seek to achieve.'
CAN WE STOP CALLING PEOPLE 'ILLEGAL'?
Yet again politicians use this term to describe people who seek asylum through crossing the Channel in small boats. It is not illegal to take to a boat with the intention of claiming asylum with the first UK point of contact – usually the Border Force. – this is the case with most if not all those involved. It is only illegal to cross in this irregular manner if an attempt is made to evade the relevant authorities. Is there this degree of misinformation because the Dublin mechanism of repatriation to EU countries is no longer available to UK authorities? To describe people as 'illegal' immediately stigmatises them and plays to the populist narrative. The government proposes in its 'New Plan for Immigration' that those who arrive 'illegally' should not be given permanent refugee status. This suggestion is just another example of the hostile environment in action, as well being contrary to international treaties, notably the UN convention on refugees.
Sarah Teather, UK head of the Jesuit Refugee Service, has said: 'The Government knows full well that those seeking safety are forced to cross borders irregularly. An asylum system designed to penalise this is lying about its purpose.' A government consultation using an online questionnaire is open here and closes on 6 May: it is important that sensible comments and proposals are submitted.
FRENCH COURT DECIDES THAT SOME CALAIS EXPULSIONS ARE NOT LEGAL
A new and clearly more sympathetic judge in France has decided that the expulsions from the area of Calais known as BMX are unjustified and illegal – this is welcome news for the various supporters and organisations who have been campaigning to put an end to the often brutal expulsions carried out by the Police, usually in the early hours of the morning. It will ease pressure on those who feel sufficiently desperate to put their lives and those of their families in the hands of smugglers to make the dangerous crossing of the Channel.
However, frequent expulsions still occur at other sites in and around Calais and Dunkirk, not to mention Paris.
MAY THEY REST IN PEACE – FOUR YOUNG ERITREANS WHO DID NOT FIND SANCTUARY
We learn of the tragic death by suicide of four young Eritreans who suffered the trauma of leaving their country and arriving in the UK through dangerous means only each to take their own life within a 16 month period. We have always felt a special connection with the Eritrean community ever since our association with the Church in the jungle.
The Coroner at the inquest of the most recent to die, Mulubrhane Medhane Kfleyosu, ruled that more should have been done to recognise and treat his serious mental illness – he was the latest of a group of four feeling so hopeless that it led to their suicide. He had recently been moved from London to Milton Keynes following his 18th birthday despite the fact that those involved with his care considered that he was vulnerable. Sadly this community are often targets of racial abuse: a group of Eritreans left Ben's home town of Deal after being racially abused outside the local supermarket.
NAPIER BARRACKS
As April began, dozens of asylum seekers were again moved into the disused Napier Barracks near Folkestone despite concerns about its suitability and the legality of such a measure. There was a major Covid outbreak there in January and residents were gradually moved elsewhere until it was fully emptied on 2 April. But a week later a new residents started to be brought in without any measures being taken to improve the scope for social distancing. Officials anticipate that they will remain for between 60 and 90 days
Yet again, the Home Office procedures seem to be in chaos. One man was due to be transferred on 9 April before his move was cancelled after charities and lawyers contacted Clearsprings (the contractor that manages the camp), raising concerns over his ability to cope there. Despite being identified as a potential modern slavery victim,he had spent two months in the barracks last year, before being moved out in December because of his deteriorating mental health problems.
'THEY ARE TREATED WORSE THAN DOGS'
These are the words of the recently appointed Bishop of Arras who is responsible for Calais, following a visit he made there at the end of last year, witnessing the consequences of the forced early morning evictions. In his message he expressed his solidarity with all those seeking to alleviate the plight of those on the margins. Let us hope that this might lead to fresh UK/French inter-Church messages to highlight the concerns on both sides of the Channel.
A SENSE OF PROPORTION...
If those in positions of power and influence are alarmed at the pitiful number of migrants crossing the Channel, then spare a thought for those seeking sanctuary from Central America, where the numbers trying to enter the US are rising, not least because of the perception of a more humane attitude by the Biden administration.
This migration is often climate driven, alongside other factors. Two deadly hurricanes – Eta and Iota – struck within two weeks of each other last November, leaving the land flooded for two months devastating the harvest and leaving farmers unable to prepare for the next season. Guatemala and Honduras are among the hardest hit countries. And the number of children seeking to cross the border has hit an all time record.
In the circumstances it is no wonder that, alongside the Covid pandemic and gang violence and lawlessness, climate disasters leave those affected with no choice other than to migrate if they and their families are to survive … and so often worse, to place their lives in the hands of criminal gangs and organised crime groups. Thank goodness for the charities, many of them involving the Church, who are doing their best to alleviate the suffering involved.
OPINION FROM ROME
A new booklet published by the Vatican's Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, 'Pastoral Orientations on Climate Displaced People', calls upon us to 'broaden the way we look at this drama of our time – the drama of those driven from their homes by the climate crisis.' The booklet invites us to become aware of the indifference of societies and governments to this tragedy, asking us to see, and to care.
A COMING EVENT
The regular annual Mass for London migrant workers will take place on Saturday 1 May, livestreamed from the parish church in Forest Hill in South London. Attendance of Londoners in pre-Covid years exceeded 2000, but the livestream will be accessible nationwide. (The livestream will come from either the parish or from London Citizens - ahead of the event, the correct address will appear on the parish website, www.swoy.org.uk). The organisers have picked up our reports of the death of the two-year-old Eritrean girl, Mawda, killed by a police bullet fired into a moving van on a Belgian motorway. She will get a mention during the Mass and her story will be outlined in material that supports the event.
The principal celebrant will be Bishop Paul McAleenan, who is the Catholic bishops' main spokesman on migration issues. In a statement issued at the end of March, he called for a just approach to asylum that has 'people and families at its centre'.He points out that the assistance that we provide to our sisters and brothers fleeing war, poverty, or persecution is a fundamental test of our society. … Tackling the evils of human trafficking, opening more safe routes to resettlement, and treating those who have arrived by other means with fairness and humanity, are not mutually exclusive endeavours. We must recognise the diverse and complex factors that shape the journeys of refugees and welcome all who need our protection.'
AND NEARLY 80 YEARS AGO....
A quote from Lord Baldwin, previously Sir Stanley Baldwin pleading for Jewish child victims of genocide during World War 2.
'I have to ask you to come to the aid of the victims, not of any catastrophe in the natural world, not of an earthquake, but of an explosion of man’s inhumanity to man.”
How relevant today!
AND FINALLY ....
We note with interest the recent publication of the Government-commissioned report on race and equality. It is not our place to provide a detailed commentary, but we do ask one question – to what extent should the way forward be influenced by the lived experiences of those of our migrant and asylum seeker friends who experience marginalisation at first hand?
With, as ever, our appreciation for your concern for these frequently dehumanised exiles and for you actions in their support.
Ben + Phil.
'Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute' (Proverbs 31:8)
22 February 2021
UPDATE FOR FEBRUARY & MARCH 2021
WHICH COUNTRY IS THE KINDEST IN THE WORLD TO REFUGEES AND ASYLUM SEEKERS?
We were taken by a recent press report which sought to measure welcome to refugees in terms of humanitarian welcome, access to education and health care, and rights of residence after a period of time in the country. We have noted the 'answer' at the end of this update and we are sure that there are examples of good practice in many other countries as well.
THE SAGA OF NAPIER BARRACKS CONTINUES ...
You will have read over the last month of the saga of the various upsets at the disused barracks in Folkestone. The situation is currently very confused and the NGOs such as Care4Calais and others are still not allowed in to the barracks. Some very generous donations to 'Seeking Sanctuary' have now been collected by Care4Calais and await distribution to those in need in the barracks, a good number of whom are in a very fragile state due to the traumas that thy have suffered. While the numbers were reduced in the barracks following the recent fire, a significant proportion of those who remained were still supposed to self isolate in totally unsuitable conditions. While we do not condone acts of arson, we are equally concerned by the developing narrative that the residents there have 'abused our hospitality'. Several aspects of the history of the Barracks have come to light. In response to the narrative that that Barracks housed 'our brave service men and women' for many years, a report compiled some years ago in connection with the redevelopment of the site for housing made clear that the Barracks would always be unsuitable for housing Armed Forces personnel due to its ageing infrastructure and poor state of repair. Time to look again at earlier plans to develop the site of for a mix of private and social housing and provide more suitable initial accommodation for asylum seekers?
MORE ON THE POLICE SHOOTING OF TWO-YEAR-OLD MAWDA
It's been quite a while since there was fresh news about this sad case, but now a verdict has been announced. During the night of May 16 to 17, 2018, Mawda was the victim of a police shooting on the motorway near Mons. Born on the road to exile, this little Kurdish girl never had a fixed abode during her short life. Not a single day. An existence spent on the roads, in parking lots and inhospitable camps. A life suddenly interrupted by a 9mm bullet. Right in the face.
Her parents were looking for a better future, wandering from country to country for several years, caught between greedy smugglers and police services seeking to prevent them from passing as part of the fight against trafficking. In today's Europe, policies of excluding migrants result in daily control operations on highways, in ports and in stations.
Mawda and her parents were loaded into a van with twenty others hoping to get to Britain. Avoiding police checks in France, they drove along Belgian motorways in the hope of finding a parked truck bound for England .
However, traffic police patrols were engaged the “Medusa” operations aimed at 'dissuading transmigration on Belgian territory,' started by the former Interior Minister, Jan Jambon, member of a minority nationalist party, on the basis that 'people staying illegally constitute a threat to national security'.
The van was spotted in Namur by highway police, who gave chase. Eventually an officer fired a shot. He has been given a 1-year suspended sentence for manslaughter for lack of caution or foresight. The driver of the van got a 4-year prison sentence for "malicious obstruction of traffic and armed rebellion".
The traffic police were apparently unaware that the van, carrying false Belgian plates, had been seen loading passengers in Dunkirk. French police suspected that it was being used by smugglers and were watching for its return.
Mawda's parents received inhumane treatment. After her death they were treated as criminals rather than victims. The father got out with his bleeding little girl and was himself shot at, then handcuffed next to his 4-year-old son. Her mother was prevented from joining the ambulance to accompany her fatally injured baby.
A number of Belgian parliamentarians are calling for a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the secrecy of police and legal authorities and the degree to which various anti-migrant statements and regulations may have influenced them to see exiled people as dangerous criminals.
THINK OF CLIMATE CHANGE – THINK OF REFUGEES
With COP21 on the horizon and the UK government's clear commitment to address the climate change agenda, spare a thought for another growing crisis – that of climate driven migration. A specific project – Climate Refugees – focuses attention on this growing problem (www.climate-refugees.org). There is now a significant degree of evidence that climate change is contributing to human displacement. For example, an estimated 38 million people from various ethnicities live in the Lake Chad basin. The economy covers a mixture of pastoral livelihoods and farming. There is now a desperate daily search for sources of water and arable land. 17 million of this population live in the conflict affected areas of the Basin.
But as Lake Chad is shrinking, so the diminution of natural resources feeds the insurgency of Boko Haram with pressure on those caught up in the conflict to escape the lawlessness which resulted. If you would like to know more about climate change and refugees, the UNHCR (www.unhcr.org) has some helpful information on climate change and disaster displacement. extreme weather episodes such as flooding in the Philippines and drought in Afghanistan are only set to continue with increasing frequency. The Global Compact on Refugees, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2018, directly addresses the concern that 'climate, environmental degradation and natural disasters increasingly interact with the drivers of refugee movements.' Let's hope that this issue remains an important agenda item as COP21 happens later this year.
OFFERS OF HELP
Sincere thanks to those who have offered to help us. Sadly, with various cross-Channel lorry jams, travel restrictions and anti-Covid regulations both here and in France, we have found ourselves helpless to know what can safely be planned. We hope (again) that we can start to make plans again in just a few months' time and start to decide just how we can be helped.
Answer: Colombia has one of the best records in receiving and settling up to 1.7 million refugees from neighbouring Venezuela. It provides basic health care as well as education and allows refugees to apply for residence rights after a period of time in the country. An example to so many 'rich' countries which turn their backs on asylum seekers.
11 January 2021
UPDATE FOR JANUARY 2021
'FINDING THE HIDDEN TREASURE'
In so many of our updates over the past year we have talked a lot about being a victim – the need to escape violence and oppression simply to find safety and sanctuary for oneself and one's family. Indeed the terms 'migrant' or 'asylum seeker' do little to enhance human dignity – instead they place the recipients of these terms in a subordinate, victim-like context. The prevailing narrative which condemns people seeking asylum as quasi criminals or 'scroungers' simply reinforces this impression.
And yet our need to respect the dignity and humanity of those concerned must lead us in a another direction – to see the 'other' as a person in the way that Martin Buber describes so well in his writing on the 'I-thou' relationship – a person of value, and holding the dreams and aspirations which we hold in common as we grow up.
The young people who come ashore from their flimsy boats in Dover want to contribute to society rather than be seen as victims, even though they are not allowed to work. Many would be ideal volunteers in our NHS in the fight against Covid. There are estimated to be 800 experienced doctors from Syria and elsewhere who could be assisting with vaccinations or working in hospitals during the crisis. A career such as being a doctor or engineer is often in the minds of many of the young people who arrive here. For the 400 or so young men currently in Napier Barracks near Folkestone, there is a huge, as yet unmet need to develop a full programme of educational and vocational activities.
Many of the youngsters who are in the care of local authorities often show outstanding educational achievements – it is tragic that at a time when they can gain qualifications while in care they must live with the spectre of deportation once they are classified as adults
We are often reminded, not least by leaders such as Pope Francis, about about the innate dignity of our sisters and brothers in humanity. Over the next challenging year let us remind ourselves of the need to work with those who seek asylum in a way that enables them to have hope and to dream their individual dreams. Each person has a 'hidden treasure' – let us help those involved to discover and nurture it in order to find their complete humanity.
IF ONLY THIS WERE TRUE...
Minister for immigration compliance Chris Philp said: "France is a safe country with a well-functioning asylum system".
LOOKING BACK
A review is attached, looking back at key events of the past year and how they affected us and those we support.
LOOKING FORWARD
Our partner organisation 'People not Walls' has posted a few short videos from people expressing hope for better news for exiles during the coming year. To find out how you can contribute, please email peoplenotwalls2019@gmail.com – and here's a link to one example of a video cutt.ly/hjxcWGg
TO CONCLUDE
With our thanks for all your support and our best wishes for 2021.
Ben and Phil.
15 DECEMBER 2020
UPDATE FOR DECEMBER 2020
THE WORLD IN TURMOIL AGAIN
As we mark the UN International Migrants Day on 18 December, we reflect on the sacrifices that refugees are making to find sanctuary – the barriers seem to multiply as each day passes. The Horn of Africa is once again in turmoil, and families who have been settled in the Tigray area are being forced to leave and reach desperately poor refugee camps in Sudan. And the route to safety is even more arduous – a 'direct' journey to the Mediterranean through Libya is fraught with hazards and risks of being trafficked or sold into slavery. The refugee camps are equally fraught with danger. The journey out of Africa now often involves long and hazardous journeys with traffickers offering journeys from Dakar in Senegal on dangerous waters and in flimsy boats to the Canary Islands – many hundreds of lives are lost in this journey as well as those who attempt the equally dangerous journey from Libya to Lampedusa. Our world in turmoil has one main outcome – the flight to safety and sanctuary for millions of displaced people.
IN FRANCE
Reports from contacts in Calais are disturbing.
There are usually around 300 people at the Secours Catholique day centre in the afternoons, but at the start of December only 150 turned up on some days. It is very cold and people cannot warm up. They suffer from living in the open, with complaints about frostbite, cracked skin and muscular or bone pains. The usual problems with access to showers and laundry persist: many do their laundry at the centre, but there is no time to dry things. The centre will remain open during the Christmas holidays.
The Red Cross has treated people who have been clubbed. Police violence seems to have increased and phones are seized when people use them to record incidents.
Evictions from informal places of shelter continue to occur on a daily basis, though not always from all sites and not always following the same sequence. Observers are being fined.
In addition to the continuing harassment of refugees in Calais we learn of other initiatives to stigmatise refugees: there is a little known report that 100's of extra gendarmes have been posted to the Alpine border area between France and Italy – near Ventimiglia and Menton – to deter 'terrorists'. And so yet more hazards arise as migrants make the journey through the snowbound French Alps in conditions which are similar to the flights to safety in the second world war.
AND A WELCOME FOR SOME MIGRANTS?
We are well used to the 'hostile environment' – and to the narrative which seeks to stigmatise honest and law abiding people who only want to make their contribution to society. We read that some 600,000 people are expected to emigrate to the UK from Hong Kong.
A QUESTION OF DOUBLE STANDARDS?
It seems to be OK for people to arrive from Hong Kong as a result of anti-democratic policies but not for those who are fleeing worse repression elsewhere. And the 600,000 are just the tip of the iceberg. A question of double standards?
LIFE IN FORMER UK ARMY BARRACKS
Our main concern is with people who find themselves stuck near the French coast and the dangers that they face in trying to reach the UK and claim asylum. However recognition as an asylum seeker is not the end of the story. Claims take months to be processed and the system has operated even more slowly during the pandemic.
Initial Accommodation has been in hostel-type environments where people stay until longer-term – dispersed – accommodation is arranged. Stays should be around 4-5 weeks, but no-one has moved out of their current accommodation during the Covid lock-down. Consequently, asylum seekers have initially stayed for indeterminate periods in one of over 90 hotels – generally the cheapest.
As reported last month, space has been found in disused army barracks for around 600 young men who had arrived in small boats and subsequently spent time in precautionary quarantine. The premises are at Penally Training Camp in Pembrokeshire and in Napier Barracks, near Folkestone in Kent. There have been worrying reports of poor conditions and lack of support, with agencies such as the Red Cross demanding an end to their use.
WHAT WAS ASSURED
Folkestone and Hythe District Council organised a live-streamed community engagement meeting about the Napier accommodation, addressed by a number of people, including Deborah Chittenden, the Home Office Director of Borders, Immigration and Citizenship System.
She stated that residents would receive three daily meals, toiletries and a bed. The site has space for activities and exercise, so people need not leave. (But they are not detained and are free to leave, sticking to the Covid precautionary 'rule of six' and face-mask wearing when indoors.) Appropriate Covid precautions on site are those for community living, treating each dormitory as a 'household'. There is provision for social distancing e.g., spacing between beds, partitions etc. Health services will be provided by a nurse.
A number of others provided information and the Council has an FAQ page on its website, updated as necessary.
The Home Office has contracted Clearsprings Ready Homes Ltd to ensure that the facility is habitable. They will manage the site and provide security. There would be TVs, WiFi, sports facilities, entertainment and pastoral support, and local volunteers would provide English classes (in Covid-safe meeting rooms and training rooms). Telephone interpretation will be available, with briefing documents in the top 10 languages. Hand sanitiser and face coverings will be available for all. Those leaving the site should return by 10.00pm, and mobile phones will be issued as necessary, so that people can be contacted off site. (Daily management is subcontracted to Nationwide Accommodation Services, an East London property management firm.)
The charity, 'Migrant Help', is to provide help and support for topics such as education, health, form filling and discovering the local area. Residents are selected as being relatively fit and healthy with no mental health problems that might be aggravated by boredom; only those no indicators of vulnerability, modern slavery or exploitation will be accommodated. Migrant Help will liaise with Clearsprings to resolve issues brought up by the residents and collate offers of help from local groups. Considerations are being given to providing specific mental health care support to complement offers made by charitable organisations and faith leaders.
WHAT IS THE REPORTED REALITY?
Reports suggest that conditions are far more grim than suggested. Up to 14 share rooms, even with some cases of Covid-19 confirmed in some rooms. There are not generally partitions and sheets hang between beds to provide privacy and dignity. No clothing is supplied and many still wear the clothes in which they crossed the Channel. Numbers even share shoes. They apparently complain of queues for food with no social distancing and of frequent queues for the few leaky toilets.
The likely spread of Covid-19 is a concern. Residents complain of a lack of soap dispensers, crowded washing facilities and little social distancing. There is a nurse on site five days a week, yet there are allegedly complaints of not getting necessary treatment. Some say that the camp is like a prison with Far Right groups protesting outside. Many who fled conflict and danger, suffer from stress and depression, whilst reporters have been told of frequent cases of self harm and at least one suicide in surroundings that resemble a prison. It would appear that there is little mental health support available.
Some staff speak Arabic, but a third of residents speak neither English nor Arabic and communication is difficult. It appears that, despite assurances that the premises are for accommodation prior to dispersal, 14 people were removed to be deported on 23 November, while the only others to leave are those who have threatened legal action against the conditions.
One of the first requests for aid was for bedding, as the provision was inadequate for the the cold buildings dating from the 1890s. Next came requests for donations of toilet rolls, toiletries, books and equipment for indoor and outdoor games, whilst later the need was for socks and underwear.
It seems that a good number do not understand where they are or why, and do not get enough answers about how long they will be staying, aggravating their mental disturbance. Both residents and lawyers have complained about access and it is likely that some do not understand the process by which they can get legal advice.
As we write, it is reported that eight of the residents have gone missing.
PROTEST
Public concern is growing, but rather than being seen to address the issues, Clearsprings has told local volunteers who wish to continue visiting to sign confidentiality agreements forbidding reports of what they see. These are based around the Official Secrets Act – relevant to contractors, but not to charity volunteers – and as a consequence most volunteers have refused to return until the matter is resolved. We have heard that, in the absence of volunteers, security staff refuse to take delivery of aid packages.
Similar concerns have been expressed about Immigration Detention Centres. Seeking Sanctuary joined 62 other organisations and individuals in signing a letter (attached) asking for improvements, sent on 8 December to the responsible Minister (Chris Philp, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State – Home Office), copied to his Opposition shadow (Nick Thomas-Symonds). Other signatories include Refugee Action, Detention Action, Care4Calais, Migrant Rights Network, Kent Refugee Action Network (KRAN), Doctors of the World UK, Choose Love/Help Refugees, Liberty, Jesuit Refugee Service UK and Samphire.
We say, that: "While we want to see the barracks closed, closing them won’t solve the problem, the residents will simply be moved to more unsuitable ad hoc accommodation. A first vital step is the immediate release of everyone from the barracks into safe, supported, community-based alternatives. The issue then has to be fixed at the source, and that is the often-glacial processing of asylum claims. … There is growing evidence that managing people’s cases while they remain in the community with access to support is both less expensive and more effective. Given the significant backlog in processing asylum applications, made worse during the current pandemic, it is time to consider alternatives. The government has talked about a reset moment for migration. Now is the time, but this can only be done by involving and engaging with civil society and people with experience of the system."
It is unfortunate that the reality of daily life has not lived up to that expected from early assurances. Perhaps too little preparatory work was done or budgets are proving inadequate – or reports are not reaching those who can make decisions?
END PIECE
And so dear friends and supporters we wish you a happy festive season in these challenging times. We thank all of you who have offered and continue to offer both practical and moral support. We salute those volunteers both in the UK and further afield who give up their time and sacrifice their careers at a time when obstacles never cease to be put in their way. And equally we salute those put their lives at risk end endure countless traumas just to survive. And as we find ourselves needing to make sacrifices we might find it easier to focus our minds on the stories and struggles of so many of our brothers and sisters in humanity as they seek sanctuary and in many cases just survival.
With renewed thanks for your concern and for your help.
Ben and Phil.
2 NOVEMBER 2020
UPDATE: ARE WE ALL SEEKING SANCTUARY?
Dear Friends
Just as new lock-downs are being announced, it feels as if many of us are having to find ways of living with the Covid pandemic. These often involve making difficult sacrifices and discovering ways of dealing with so many types of loss and bereavement. Just as our lives are turned upside down we might find a glimpse of what it feels like to suffer the losses and traumas faced by refugees seeking sanctuary. And for many refugees, particularly those awaiting decisions on their claim, life is particularly challenging. The recently-announced 3p per week increase in the asylum seeker subsistence allowance is nothing less than an insult. The weekly amount is now to be £39.63; 14 years ago it was £40.22.
MAY THEY REST IN PEACE
In this month of November, at a time when the thoughts of many turn to remembering loved ones who have died, our thoughts this month are dominated by the tragic deaths of refugees trying to cross the Channel in dangerous conditions. First we heard of a corpse found on the beach at Sangatte near Calais on Sunday 18 October. Initially known only as 'BB' the deceased was eventually identified as Behzad Bagheri-Parvin, an Iranian due to celebrate his 32nd birthday on 12 November.
And on Tuesday 27 October there was the tragic drowning of a family of five (pictured here) of Kurdish/Iranian origin from the city of Sardasht in western Iran, near the border with Iraq. Rasoul Iran-Nejad, 35, his wife Shiva Mohammad Panahi, 35 and their children Anita, nine, and Armin, six, were crossing from France to the UK in an overcrowded small boat that set off into rough seas and soon capsized in the Dunkirk Channel. The body of their younger son, 15-month-old Artin, is yet to be recovered, as are those of two additional adults thought to have been on the boat.
The Bishop of Dover, Rt Revd Rose Hudson-Wilkin, spoke for many when she said: 'My heart is full of sadness. We cannot stand by while those who seek refuge and safety are dying at the hands of those who exploit them and their hope. Children and their families are being washed away just miles from our shores. We must do more to help our fellow sisters, brothers, sons and daughters seek safe haven and be offered the same chances to live their lives as we do, with peace and love.'
HONOURING THE DEAD
At Seeking Sanctuary, our hearts go out to their families and loved ones. Like others, we have pledged to lay flowers at the memorial on the Dover seafront after every death of this nature. After the intolerant words of the Home Secretary we were grateful that our simple act of remembrance was filmed for the BBC and ITV news programmes, and our simple act of humanity was also covered by other media outlets. On the evening of 30 October, Kent Action Against Racism organised a candlelit vigil which drew over 50 people to the memorial on the seafront at Dover – a true action of solidarity. (See photo and video in press reports.) We cannot imagine the desperation which leads parents to make such agonising choices about their family's future.
In response to the so called 'words of sympathy' from official sources we have a simple message – forget walls and fences and security guards and instead devise ways for people to apply for asylum in the UK in safe and legal ways, and so prevent these tragedies at source. And, by the way, despite the sympathy of many individuals it's wrong to see France as a safe country – certainly not when the State ensures that riot police harass refugees every day and bar their access to the most basic amenities from the moment that they come across a spot in Calais where they might find shelter and rest.
You will be aware that the costs of a dignified and respectful funeral cannot usually be met by the family concerned. Our colleagues in Calais – Secours Catholique – have made an appeal to initially cover funeral costs for BB who was laid to rest in Calais on Tuesday 27 October. The sum that needs to be found is €2130. At the end of this update you will find details of the account in France to which money can be transferred: if this is too complicated, Ben will be happy to receive your donation for conversion to euros and transmission to France. His account details are also shown below.
ACCOMMODATION IN KENT
The British Army has used land at Shorncliffe near Folkestone since 1794. with the permanent barracks buildings dating from 1890. In 1803, Sir John Moore trained the first Light Infantry Division at Shorncliffe to fight in the Napoleonic Wars. His 'Shorncliffe System' yielded military methods from which the modern British Army developed. In the twentieth century it was a vital staging post for troops gathering for service on the continent in the two World Wars. Three recipients of the Victoria Cross are buried in the nearby cemetery.
Large parts of the site have been prepared for sale to civilian developers over the past twenty years and there are no longer any significant numbers of active military staff living there. Other units come for temporary stays when training. One set of buildings, Napier Barracks, is now housing asylum seekers while their claims are assessed. These are young men previously placed in some of the 90+ hotels used as contingency accommodation this year. The eventual capacity will be up to 400.
Within a couple of weeks of the first refugees arriving, ugly scenes started at a result of anti-migrant demonstrators visiting daily outside the gates. As a consequence various local groups decided to demonstrate a more friendly stance.
An hour's 'Welcome Event' held outside the barracks on Saturday 17 October attracted more than 300 supporters. There were heart-warming placards and banners on display, and many chants, songs and cheers sounded out to welcome the newcomers, who also showed up in the barracks courtyard with their own messages in response. Despite the wire fence surrounding the site, all were connected by their common humanity, and even with mask wearing and attempts at social distancing, the mood was one of pure celebration and solidarity. (See here and here.) A strong police presence kept a few dozen protestors some distance away until the welcome party broke up.
A message was received, saying: 'I am a resident of Napier Barracks, and I felt very satisfied with everyone who came to welcome us. You broke the barrier of fear and anxiety that we had. You made us feel welcome in your beautiful town. Thank you all from the bottom of the heart.'
In the outside communities a number of local initiatives are getting started at gathering supplies for the asylum seekers. As the season changes, bedding very much appreciated and there are repeated requests for toilet paper. The government logistics and procurement operations seem to be as haphazard here as they have been in some of the efforts to counter the Covid pandemic. Because meals are provided the unit has been classed as “full board” and no allowance is provided for the cost of essential sundries such toiletries, hand sanitiser, non-prescription medicines, phone calls and bus fares, despite demands to keep in touch with solicitors and travel to the checks and interviews that are part of the asylum system.
But there is good news! After a long legal battle, refugee charities were told at the end of October that payments of £3 per week for clothing will be made (backdated to March) and £4.70 per week for travel needs (backdated to July), in light of Covid restrictions that were in place before that.
CRITICAL REPORTS
The Red Cross points out that military premises are totally inappropriate for housing many asylum seekers, who have fled unimaginable horrors, including conflict, persecution, and imprisonment in their home countries. Poor communication during transfers to Shorncliffe led to many panic, believing that they were being readied for deportation. Others fear that the 200-year-old and run-down buildings, vacant for a number of years, are unsuited to Covid-proof life, with up to 14 beds per room separated into 'cubicles' by hanging sheets and only one leaky toilet per 100 residents. (Was refurbishment left incomplete due to pressure to reduce the use of hotels?)
A confirmed case of Covid has left many residents literally confined to barracks.
The Children's Commissioner recently reported upon visits to the intake unit for new arrivals in the port of Dover. She has expressed serious concern for the welfare of young people who get stuck there, sleeping on the floor alongside adults for as long as two or three days while homes are found for them across the country, places in Kent having been filled. Another critical report emerged from the Chief Inspector of Prisons, whose staff had also visited reception facilities in Dover and Folkestone. They, despite praise for the sympathetic attitude of staff, found the premises to be “very poorly equipped to meet their purpose”.
With our appreciation of your continued concern,
Phil & Ben.
_____________________________________________
BANK DETAILS FOR FUNERAL DONATIONS
Secours Catholique
Account name “Sécours Catholique, Délégation du Pas de Calais”
Bank: Société Générale
Account number: 30003 01678 00050014638 50
Swift Code: SOGEFRPP
IBAN: FR76 3000 3016 7800 0500 1463 850
Ben Bano
Account name: B W Bano
Bank: Halifax
Sort code:11 02 32
Account Number: 00490105
Reference: Calais Funeral
8 OCTOBER 2020
UPDATE FOR OCTOBER 2020
On the Coasts of the English Channel
We sometimes wish we could bring you better news - indeed as you will see in this update there are many inspiring stories of solidarity and support across the country. To mention just one – Doverstandup2racism is organising an event to promote tolerance and understanding in a park in Dover on 17th October. And Ben reports on an occasion not long ago when a jogger out running at 5.30 in the morning in the village of Kingsdown encountered a family which had just landed and was able to give words of welcome before the Police arrived.
But the anti-migrant narrative continues unabated – indeed migrants and refugees are increasingly becoming a proxy for those who are condemned as 'illegals' – the latest attack by the Home Secretary on immigration lawyers does not bode well. The suggestion that migrants can be 'pushed back' into French territorial waters (an illegal and dangerous act) is part of this narrative. At what cost the deportation flight that took just 14 migrants to Germany, the majority having been kept back in the UK due to failures to correctly process their asylum claims? As you will see from this update the popular myth that migrants are safe in France is an illusion – instead they are harassed by the Police and deprived of food and water. No wonder they put their lives and those of their family into the hand of traffickers.
Songs of Praise
The Catholic Church observed its annual Day for Migrants and Refugees on 27 September. This saw the issue of several statements from Rome, and also from Bishop Paul McAleenan, who is the spokesman on these issues for the bishops of England and Wales. He visited Dover in advance of the Day to meet volunteers working alongside the people who arrive from France in small boats and pass briefly through the port. 'Seeking Sanctuary' was delighted to find local people willing to meet him and also provide similar advice to a TV team who visited on the same day to record material which is expected to be included in the BBC1 broadcast of 'Songs of Praise' on the afternoon of Sunday 11 October.
Fortunately Bishop Paul was willing join in and be filmed on the Dover seafront: his contribution and those of local volunteers will hopefully conclude the Songs of Praise episode. The day of his visit was marked by extreme traffic jams on the major roads towards Dover, but all went well and an account of the visit can be found here.
But what has been happening in Calais?
Charity volunteers have been officially prohibited from making free distributions of food and water in many streets in central Calais. With repeated clearance of shelters and confiscation of property every few days, people have started to sleep at places remote from the officially sanctioned food distributions and to reach these many must walk for several hours each way (if they are strong enough), while others stay away due to the prominent police presence. The human rights ombudsman (Défenseur des droits) reports that preventing the charitable provision of essential supplies removes several human and constitutional rights.
However, that opinion failed to convince the courts that the ban should be overturned. Secours Catholique and others organised a solidarity gathering to protest about the situation and British members of the cross-Channel network of NGOs and charities, 'People not Walls' (with which Seeking Sanctuary is associated), organised an on-line petition in support. This was delivered by hand at the French Embassy in London but, despite having been given several days notice of the pending delivery, the Home Office refused to accept their copy unless a solicitor was in attendance – a hitherto unknown requirement. The small delivery group was hardly threatening, being made up of two ladies, a monk and two Catholic priests!
As a consequence the petition remains open for signature – please sign, as the total is just a handful of votes short of 500 as we write – and it will be delivered when a helpful lawyer can be recruited. Our friends are trying to find out just how this ban has come about, and whether it has any legal basis.
As September drew to a close, Calais saw the largest eviction since the elimination of the infamous 'Jungle' in 2016. According to the State 800 migrants were taken away in coaches in the early morning to 'places of shelter' elsewhere, 38% of them in the north of France and the majority further away. Aid workers expect a similar operation near Dunkirk at any moment. We expect that, as in the past, almost all will make their way back to Calais within week or two, with their fear and distrust of French officials further confirmed. The first returnees turned up within 48 hours and found that prohibition on distribution of aid had been extended to a larger area of the town and that access to more areas of shelter had been blocked.
The Défenseur des droits visited Calais for two days to assess the situation, meeting at length with many exiles and associations coming to their aid, as well as with State services, the Prefect, the heads of all the security forces present in the area, the services in charge of welcoming unaccompanied minors for the Department and the Mayor. At the end of this visit, she issued a report that reiterates the observations on violations of basic human rights previously made by her team and by her predecessor. Whilst aware of the difficulty of the situation, she asks that urgent solutions be found to “put an end to these unworthy and shameful living conditions”.
The apparent response by the authorities in the area has been to start daily disruptions of areas of shelter around dawn, confiscating tents and property and leaving the exiles to wander in search of alternative places to avoid extremes of weather (among the smaller number that remain accessible).
On the English Coast …
At least two relevant Parliamentary Inquiries are taking place. Firstly, the Home Affairs Committee is looking into “Channel crossings, migration and asylum-seeking routes through the EU”. It has held several Oral Hearings and links to accounts of these can be found on one of its pages on the Parliamentary website, also to the 32 written submissions that have been received. Secondly, the Public Accounts Committee has more recently begun investigation of “Asylum accommodation and support transformation programme”, and its publications appear here. It has unearthed the fact that logjams in the system have resulted in asylum seekers being housed in 90 hotels.
Alternatives to the hotels are being sought, and offers of two disused military barracks are being followed up as locations to house young men, leaving space in hotels for families and women, One of these is near Folkestone, where the District Council set up a useful Q&A session with Home Office officials and others. A video recording of this event is available, A gathering of local supporters is planned outside the barracks to convey the fact that some people do welcome the “inmates” despite the likely run-down state of the interior.
Conclusion
'Seeking Sanctuary' finds no joy in reporting such grim news, but we are buoyed support by repeated generous individual responses from members of churches and community groups whose examples continue to contradict the claim that a hostile environment prevails throughout the UK.
Thank you for all that you do to dispel myths and respond to our news.
1 SEPTEMBER 2020
UPDATE FOR SEPTEMBER 2020
Our most recent update (in August) dealt largely with 'myth busting', so this issue will deal more with news and views.
A LOST LIFE
The body of a 16-year-old boy washed up on a beach in Calais on 19 August. He had been trying to reach England in an inflatable dinghy using shovels for oars. He was identified as Abdulfatah Hamdallah, originally from West Kordofan, a Sudanese state bordering the war-torn areas of Darfur and the Nuba Mountains. His age was first listed as 20, then reduced to 16, subsequently moved to 28 (as found on fake identity papers that he carried), and finally 22 – based upon reports from family members.
He was buried in Calais. The Canterbury-based aid group, Care4Humanity, laid a wreath in the colours of the Sudanese national flag at the plaque on the Dover seafront that remembers all those who have died trying to reach the UK. More flowers were soon added by Ben and his family.
This tragic event led to many requests for media comment, sadly, often responding to reports of increasingly hostile treatment of new arrivals and other immigrants in the UK.
IN FRANCE
The number of exiles in and and around Calais remains high, and conditions have gone from bad to worse. Frequent forcible evictions and erection of fresh barriers continue and it is not easy for exiles to get access to showers, soap and drinking water. Food distributions can also be disrupted. Despite this, the number of exiles surviving along the French coast remains high and there are frequent reports of attempts to cross the Channel in small boats, many at the hands of traffickers.
PROTEST
A number of French associations have asked the Défenseur des Droits (an independent Human Rights ombudsman) to investigate human rights violations, and a protest about the lack of access to fresh water and showers is scheduled in Calais for 26 September. A gathering in solidarity is being called in London on 25 or 26 September to deliver a letter at the French Embassy (copied to the Home Office). Details will be provided nearer the date. An associated petition demanding greater respect for human rights is available to sign, and we commend it to you.
Another petition that is open for signature calls upon the Home Secretary to put an end to charter flights used to forcibly expel migrants to countries such as France and Spain where, rather than having asylum claims investigated, they face rapid onward removal to unsafe locations. Reports suggest that recent, often brutal, deportations have been carried out in a rush as a knee-jerk reaction to pressure from anti-immigrant voices and may often have involved significant legal irregularities.
UK PARLIAMENTARY INQUIRY
An inquiry into Channel crossings, migration and asylum-seeking routes through the EU was announced on 6 August by the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee, chaired by Yvette Cooper.
This will examine the reasons behind the growth in migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats. It will look at the role of criminal gangs in facilitating the growth of this form of illegal [sic] immigration and the response of UK and French authorities to combat illegal migration and support legal routes to asylum.
The Committee wants to hear views and welcomes submissions from anyone with answers to the questions listed in its terms of reference. Information about how to submit evidence is available here. Our associated 'People not Walls' consortium has informed its French members about this process and has obtained confirmation that their submissions will be welcomed. The deadline for written submissions is 12 noon on Monday 14 September 2020. Further background, including a link to the on-line process for submitting evidence can be found at this page.
ARRIVING IN THE UK
The increasing number of successful Channel crossings has put pressure on accommodation and some empty hotels are being used. Facilities for youngsters in Kent will soon also be full and there is an appeal for other local authorities to accept transfers.
There is no legal difference in claiming asylum after arriving by boat, on a plane, or any other way. However, these small boat crossers have been singled out by our government to be processed in a special way seemingly designed to obstruct their rights to claim asylum.
Once people are safely on shore the strategy to make this route unviable moves along. In practice, there is no way that the UK can deport everyone who makes it across, but the aim is to be seen to be tough both to deter other arrivals, but probably also to play to key media audiences.
Initially, after a health check and a meal, people spend a day or two either in the Kent Intake Unit (a small prefab holding facility at the tug haven in Dover's Western Docks) or in the police station at the port. The next destination for adults is usually Yarl’s Wood detention centre in Bedfordshire which was, until recently, a longer term facility, mainly for women. However, on 18 August it was repurposed as a 'Short Term Holding Facility' specifically to process people who have crossed the Channel. People stay usually just a few days, the legal maximum stay being a week.
The Home Office conducts initial asylum screening interviews whilst people are at Yarl’s Wood, sometimes in person, sometimes by phone. This crucial first interview decides many people’s chances of claiming asylum. Information from this interview is used to deport the Channel crossers to France and Germany under the EU's 'Dublin III' regulation, which allows governments to pass on responsibility for assessing asylum claims to another (willing) state without even starting to look at individual cases.
According to 'Corporate Watch', many of these assessments have been made in a rushed and irregular way, perhaps using only weak circumstantial evidence and with few having any chance to get legal advice, or even interpreters to explain the process.
From Yarl’s Wood, people may be given immigration bail and sent to asylum accommodation. At the moment, this means a cheap hotel because due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the usual initial asylum accommodation was closed and those held were moved into hotels. People usually stay in initial accommodation for several weeks before being moved into normal 'asylum dispersal' – shared houses in the cheapest parts of cities far from London.
People are picked up for deportation directly from these hotels, usually in dawn raids. All the people on recent flights had claimed asylum immediately upon arrival at Dover some weeks earlier. They were not known to be 'dangerous criminals' and had faced no charges. All had well-founded fears of persecution in their countries of origin, where there have been extensive and well-documented human rights abuses. At least some were survivors of torture – and had been documented as such in the Home Office’s own assessments.
Many, if not all, have friends and families in the UK, a factor which is supposed to be examined at the outset of each 'Dublin' process. France is accepting these requests to 'take charge' , i.e., to take legal responsibility for asylum claims. But reports show that it has denied people the chance to claim asylum by immediately issuing expulsion papers as soon as the charter flights arrive.
ALL IS NOT LOST ...
And yet in these challenging times all is not lost. We are constantly heartened by the messages of support and the unexpected offers of help and donations. A recent donation by a religious community will provide food for a few days in Calais. In spite of the various obstacles and high fares on the ferries, goods and supplies are still being taken to France and our garages in Kent have got space for donations – just contact us to find out more details about essential requirements and ways of getting goods to Calais. At this time there is a severe shortage of tents, party due to rapid police clearances and also to the lack of tents abandoned during this year's festival season in the UK.
And we need your involvement more than ever in the midst of the hostile narrative of intolerance and indifference to the plight of refugees – both in signing petitions and in your practical support.
Keep up the good work!
21 AUGUST 2020
UPDATE FOR AUGUST 2020
DEMONISATION OF THE INNOCENTS
We bring you this update a little earlier than usual this month, because the narrative surrounding those seeking sanctuary on our shores is little short of a demonisation of innocent people.
The sight of people risking their lives in small boats in the Channel gives rise to all sorts of extremist fantasies and is a golden opportunity for a post Brexit narrative. It allows fantasies to run riot, such as likening these hapless people in small boats to 'invaders with Napoleon and Hitler'.
No wonder jingoism can run riot in this febrile climate. Much ignorance, many lies, misunderstandings and untruths persist about these desperate human beings who have passed through France, mostly originating in Afghanistan, Sudan, Eritrea, Iraq, Iran and Syria – all listed among the 28 most dangerous countries in the world.
We are both doing our best to counter this narrative – ten media interviews over the past week – but it is not enough – we need you – our supporters to help counter this narrative with your friends, family, politicians, Faith Communities and beyond. The the rest of this update consists of a 'myth-buster' that may be helpful.
BECOMING DEMONISED
Innocent people have become demonised by the vocabulary used by politicians and commentators to describe them, and some apparently consider them as less than human.
LET'S STOP TREATING THEM AS 'INVADERS'
It seems obvious that these people are not 'invaders', but have probably fled from violence and terror and are therefore likely to be granted asylum. Nevertheless, we hear calls of 'They are illegal', 'They should apply in the first safe country', 'Send them back' and 'Sink the boats'. They can, in fact, only claim asylum on UK soil and the international refugee convention recognises the fact that they will often arrive without appropriate documents: their journeys may be irregular, but they are not illegal. Indeed, having applied for asylum they achieve the legal status of 'asylum-seeker'.
GOVERNMENT OBLIGATIONS
Our government is expected to allow people to reach our soil and obliged is to consider the merits of each person's case without making sweeping assumptions about the likely merits of asylum claims made by groups of people who happen to arrive together.
INTERNATIONAL LAW
Despite statements by government ministers and others, international law does not demand that asylum applications are lodged in the first safe country, but that travel should be 'direct'. France need not accept people back just because that was the last country visited – and did not do so a few decades ago when people from ex-Communist countries arrived on ferries. (There is an EU agreement that attempts to prevent multiple applications from being made, assuming that the first country where a claim was lodged will take charge of a case, but that will become irrelevant in 2021.)
And sinking the boats expecting most of those on board to drown is illegal, immoral and an act of murder.
THE LAW OF THE SEA
The law of the sea requires that people in distress are saved, and attempting to forcibly remove people from their fragile vessels actually adds to their distress.
There are no international waters in the Straits of Dover, which contains only either French or UK territorial waters. The Royal Navy may have more suitable vessels and experience in this field than the Border Force, but it needs consent to operate in French waters and further consent to have folk accepted back on French soil.
Seeking Sanctuary has long called for the setting up of safe and legal routes to claiming asylum. This could mean measure such as establishing facilities to make claims in France, negotiating with France to accept returns, bringing rescued people to the UK, re-invigorate sponsorship schemes for displaced people brought from Syria and nearby.
OTHER PRACTICAL STEPS
Other practical steps that would require less delicate diplomatic negotiations could be speeding up the family reunion process; allowing people to make claims for a new class of “humanitarian visas” at overseas embassies; hiring unused cruise liners to house people and setting up immigration facilities on board – or perhaps adapting shut-down oil platforms.
Walls and fences are a pointless investment. The many millions spent on fences and walls in Calais by the UK government have failed to deter the many hundreds reaching UK shores in dangerous and flimsy boats.
TREATING PEOPLE WITH HUMANITY AND DECENCY
Treating people with dignity and humanity will help to make people less desperate to make dangerous journeys and take their lives and those of their families into their hands.
Asylum claims often take a long time to be processed as part of the 'hostile environment'. They are not allowed to work unless there are extreme delays, and then only in a limited set of jobs. They get a weekly allowance of £37.75, plus accommodation. For a few, it's sometimes in hotels for short periods, but for most of the time it's in hostels and ‘hard to let’ properties, not wanted by other people. They are never placed in social – “council” – housing, so they are not "taking away" homes from British people. The private accommodation is really basic and often would not be deemed suitable to be put on the council list.
WE ARE NOT CROWDED
Urban areas cover just 10% of England and Wales: although cities are crowded, the rest of the land is not. Even though homelessness is still a problem, there are over 600,000 empty homes in England alone, with over 200,000 of these classed as long-term empty properties. The truth is that there is no need for anyone to be homeless and society has problems that need fixing for everyone.
Refused asylum seekers – perhaps after appeal – are expected to make arrangements for leaving the UK. The Home Office funds voluntary returns programmes and if a person does not leave the UK the Border Agency may arrange an enforced return. (Some who fail to meet the legal definition of refugee may be granted humanitarian protection, usually for 5 years, or discretionary leave to remain.)
DO THEY ALL COME HERE?
Far from it. Most of the world’s displaced people are currently hosted in the world’s poorest countries. In 2016, developing regions hosted 84% of the world’s refugees, according to the UN’s Refugee Agency.
Very few do want to get to the UK; the idea that everyone tries to reach the UK is a common, and false, misconception. For example, Sweden and Hungary, which both have much smaller populations than the UK, have taken several times more refugees per head of population than the UK has. About 5% of people crossing the Mediterranean end up trying to reach the UK.
There is no reason for the UK to take proportionately fewer refugees than any other country in Europe. People in the UK are no less compassionate and we know they want to help. We see this in the thousands of volunteers that come to Calais and those that work hard to help refugees all over the UK.
INTERLINKED FACTORS
There are a number of interlinked factors for those who are keen to get here. People fleeing from conflict and persecution want to settle with relatives and friends of their own ethnic background and there are large communities of people from various countries in the UK. For unaccompanied children, relatives in the UK are often the only chance of family – hence the cruelty of ending all the Dublin regulations at the end of this year.
FAMILY TIES
The top reason refugees for continuing journeys to the UK is that they have family ties here, and they have heard that it is possible to establish a decent life here. In fact, this covers at least 50% of cases. These ties run deep, especially when you have lost everything else. Other factors that people will take into account are more practical, such as speaking a language that gives you more chance of finding a job, and that you can better navigate everyday tasks like understanding public transport or going shopping – English is the accepted second language for billions of the world population.
A POST IMPERIAL LEGACY
Further, British culture is much admired, as are sporting sporting networks. Manchester United and other clubs are followed avidly across the world – this is after all big business!
Having been “sold” on the UK as a destination by gossip or by the alluring stories of smugglers, people make desperate attempts to finish their journeys because it seems that all other options have failed. Conditions in Northern France, with the frequent evictions and lack of access to basic amenities in all sorts of extreme weather are so dire that people put themselves and their families into the hands of unscrupulous traffickers.
French authorities have tried countless times to persuade people to stay elsewhere in France but people often very soon find a way back to the Northern French coast. They are perhaps offered accommodation that is unappealing and with few facilities and no choice but to accept food that is not to their taste. French is the dominant language with little effort made to accommodate others and there are often no established support groups.
WHY NOT CLAIM ASYLUM IN FRANCE?
A good number do claim asylum in France – more than attempt to do so in the UK – but it is a lengthy and complex process. Imagine trying to get to an office open one afternoon per week 100 kilometres away when you have no money and then waiting for a year or two with no income for a start to to be made to process your application.
WHY ARE THERE SO MANY MEN?
In the countries where they are from, such as Syria and Afghanistan, young men are often primary targets for recruitment by radical groups like ISIS and the Taliban. In Sudan, young men may be killed to stop them rebelling against the government and in Eritrea they can be conscripted for what is effectively a life sentence.
For all these reasons, men as young as 13 and 14 have to run away from their homes and their families.
YOUNG MEN ARE OFTEN OVERLOOKED IN PLACES OF ORIGIN
Moreover, young men understand that in the official refugee camps, host countries understandably prioritise selection of women, children and families first for their humanitarian quota intakes.
As young single men, therefore, their chances of selection are very slim and so they resort to their next best hope – which is to get to a makeshift camp by whatever route seems possible.
In Calais we see more women and children from certain countries such as Syria or Iran, but they are usually prioritised for social housing and not as often seen on the street.
The images that make their way into the news therefore tend more to be men, as often in Calais the women stay in the background and out of sight.
WHAT ABOUT MOBILE PHONES?
Refugees have mobile phones as they are the last lifeline back to the families they have left behind, who may still be in danger, and their primary hope of getting to a secure place of shelter. They use them to update their families on their perilous journeys, and to try to make sense of their route in an alien and often dangerous context. Making land-line calls to other continents is too expensive and in third world countries the lines are unstable, so even at home they need smartphones to use free WiFi networks and apps like WhatsApp and Viber.
If they have fashionable clothes, it's due to the generosity of donors in the UK and elsewhere.
AND THE EXAMPLE OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN
Life was more simple for the Good Samaritan when he went to the aid of a needy traveller from a hated race and saw to it that his wounds were treated and that he was given shelter. If only nation states could become inspired by the parable when establishing systems for dealing with the world's increasing supply of displaced people.
7 AUGUST 2020
Ben is interviewed on Premier Christian Radio
Every migrant has a name, a face, and a story!
Link
1 AUGUST 2020
UPDATE FOR JULY 2020 – So near and yet so far ...
Living in Deal just a few metres from the seafront ,Ben can easily see the French coast near Dunkirk on a clear day. And his thoughts turn to the human tragedy which unfolds on a daily basis, not least as more people take their lives into their hands crossing the Channel in flimsy boats headed for Dover, with a number of them arriving on the beaches of nearby coastal towns such as Deal.
We have been focusing recently on the plight of unaccompanied minors, not just the 100 estimated to be in Calais but the many thousands (estimates suggest 12000) who are languishing in dismal camps in Greece and elsewhere without hope of a future and at the mercy of traffickers as well as sexual exploitation. Britain rightly has strict rules in place for safeguarding children – but only those within its borders.
The Home Secretary has stated her aim to put an end these crossings. But all safe and legal routes are being closed off. The 'Dubs scheme' is at an end and the Dublin regulations which permit family reunion will finish as the UK finally leaves the European Union at the end of the year. The result – yet more desperate attempts. The excellent charity 'Safe Passage' is, with others, challenging the failure to plan for the end of the Dublin framework – please do sign their petition and support their important work with your donations. Here at Seeking Sanctuary we will continue to press for the rights of these vulnerable children to be respected.
'THEIR LIVES MATTER'
We are founder members of the cross-Channel organisation 'People Not Walls', which has recently issued a wake-up call 'Their Lives Matter'. This was inspired by the moving address provided in Dover by Bishop Rose Hudson-Wilkin on World Refugee Day last month. A copy of this wake-up call is attached: please share it as widely as possible.
CALAIS – HOSTILITY AND EVICTIONS
In mid-July we saw a large-scale eviction of over 1000 people from one of the biggest informal living sites in Calais, accompanied by continued hostility against refugees and displaced people and a worsening of the situation. The industrial wastelands where most makeshift camps have sprung up are now completely blocked off and people simply have nowhere left to go.
People who stop to rest are immediately removed by the authorities. State-funded basic food distribution at the biggest former informal campsite has been suspended and police installations prevent access to water points. NGOs are making all of their services mobile, working around the clock to get essential supplies to people in need. Hundreds of food packs, hot meals, blankets and plastic sheets for protection from the weather were distributed in the few days following the eviction.
The ramping up of these events started as Gérald Darmanin was appointed as Minister of the Interior, and he visited Calais within a week to meet the British Home Secretary, Priti Patel. They visited several security installations – but no NGOs – and agreed to set up a new joint anti-trafficking team and to meet again to discuss progress.
Secours Catholique reported that most of the removed exiles – who come principally from Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Syria and Iran – returned almost immediately, ending up spread through woodland with no access to water, toilets and food. The remaining state food distribution points were at least an hour's walk distant, as were departure points for the shuttle buses serving the shower blocks at the fringe of the town.
The regional Prefect stated that the government was intervening in this manner because it is determined to avoid the reappearance of shanty-towns and sees no alternative way doing this. Secours Catholique retorts that there is an obvious method: assure shelter; offer prospects of settling in France; suspend the operation of the parts of the Dublin agreement that require people to be returned to other countries in Europe; and regularise ways of reaching the UK.
UNSOLICITED ADVICE!
Ben commented about the continuing and increasing small boat Channel crossings on a regional TV news programme, which resulted in the following email communication.
When are you dumb do gooders going to get it in your thick heads that the only reason these immigrants come to Britain is to claim benefits what is wrong with you 90% of us British DONT want them here ? You disgust me I hope you get karma for trying to destroy our British culture
Negative press coverage of people arriving in the UK across the English Channel has ramped up and appears to have convinced some that we should turn away from the plight of people across one of the most dangerous shipping lanes in the world.
Relentless evictions and intimidation tactics in Northern France deter people from wanting to stay, and create the conditions that convince them to try and get to the UK at any cost. Apart from resettlement schemes for people of certain nationalities, the only route to making a claim for asylum is to get into the country, even taking increasingly dangerous risks to do this. Despite the UK border controls being in Calais, people cannot claim asylum there, and it is not easy to access the French asylum system in that area. The UK has failed for decades to provide a system of safe, legal means for people to seek asylum or to enable people to reunite with their families.
We are often told that people should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach, but this is not an obligation under international law, but a deliberate misreading of parts of the Dublin regulations. People have the right to seek asylum from persecution in any country and to have their claims properly considered. Nobody would put themselves or their children on to a small boat in the Channel unless they think it is safer than what they are leaving.
However, the daily media attack on these vulnerable people is working. Headlines create the idea of a crisis, building the assumption that our border controls are not good enough and Home Office policies are too lenient. Although this is not the case, people are being scapegoated and portrayed as less than human in order to justify even more hostility. Resentment and rage replace empathy.
Granting access to territory for people in need of international protection is an international obligation – an essential aspect of our long-term responsibility towards our fellows. Those drafting the International Refugee Convention hoped that governments would establish policies and programmes aimed at protecting the human rights and dignity of the needy and make their development as human beings possible. We should seriously work to ensure people's right to life, liberty and security of person, so that saving the lives of potential asylum seekers is always paramount.
Behind the headlines, the majority of these so-called 'illegal migrants' are individual people who have either experienced grinding poverty, discrimination or the adverse effects of climate change or who have fled war, persecution and terror, having experienced torture and human rights abuses. In the face of the worst this world has to offer, they have chosen hope and life.
A few days after her visit to Calais, our Home Secretary Priti Patel announced plans for a more 'compassionate' Home Office. With the major evictions just before her visit, she didn’t have to see any of the people at the sharp end of her policies, who see little compassion!
CALLS FOR CHANGE
The current framing of boat arrivals as a 'major threat' to the border needs to be challenged and put into perspective. In fact, the total number of arrivals by boat so far in 2020 is around 2000, compared to 1,890 in the full year 2019. This is a very small number in comparison to the 65,000 claims for international protection made in Europe in January 2020 alone. Stories about boat arrivals being a threat to public health via Covid-19 must also be scrutinised: the Minister for Immigration Compliance has stated that 'there is no evidence to show that there is an increased risk [of Covid-19 transmission] from migrants.'
The shift towards people resorting to increasingly risky boat crossings across the Channel (rather than using freight traffic) is a symptom of increased desperation amongst displaced people facing squalor in northern France. Increased security spending at the ferry port and Eurotunnel rather than investment in human security and long-term solutions, heightens desperation.
The heavy-handed French riot police presence with daily evictions of living spaces makes France an unappealing country in which to seek protection and acts as a push factor driving prospective asylum seekers away from police violence, lack of decent accommodation and anti-migrant sentiment. The increasing number of unaccompanied children making the crossing probably indicates inadequate resourcing of the overstretched French State Child Protection service that should provide support on French territory.
Priti Patel’s recent endeavours to introduce new powers to turn back individuals off the coast and return them to France (feeding into populist, demonising narratives) will do nothing to address this decades-long humanitarian disaster at our doorstep. Increased security and hostile treatment of vulnerable people only push people to take ever more dangerous routes. Provision of safe and legal routes is more likely to enable the UK to achieve its stated goal of dismantling trafficking and smuggling networks and reduce reliance on irregular pathways whilst whilst still upholding international and European law and its moral responsibility towards prospective asylum seekers. It is also likely to be a cheaper solution.
Local authorities across the UK have pledged more than 1,400 places for unaccompanied children if a safe and legal route to entry is devised.
FURTHER MEASURES IN CALAIS
As the month came to an end, another informal camp was dismantled in a pre-dawn raid, and its remaining occupants removed, after many had run into hiding. Observers comment that the policy has become even more repressive, based on the alleged pretext of 'protecting the frontier'. Another smaller site was also emptied and plans were announced for the closure of streets to prevent access to the pitiable territory where informal settlements have been most frequently located.
The migrant community has been dispersed and rendered invisible. It is now much more difficult to deliver humanitarian aid. Some have found hiding places in the town centre and more have relocated to Coquelles, which reports an increased population of exiles.
AID
One glimmer of good news is that several humanitarian groups have recommenced operations, though typically on a limited scale until more people can readily travel to join them. As well as food, water and other emergency supplies, there is now an urgent need for tents and sleeping bags to replace those destroyed – and with the regular summer festivals cancelled, the usual supply from abandoned goods has dried up.There are several drop-off points around the country where goods can be dropped off without the need to travel to Calais and take the risk ot getting quarantined.
With our thanks for your continued concern –
Phil + Ben.
PS Do not forget the fight against human trafficking. The relevant UN Day has just passed by. [Click to open link]
3 JULY 2020
UPDATE FOR JUNE 2020 – 'And will they find sanctuary?'
REFUGEE WEEK
We are late with issuing this Update! Refugee Week ran from 15 to 21 June and included UN World Refugee Day on 20 June. We were involved with planning and taking part in two new live-streamed events to mark the Day and afterwards, in thanking others and reporting upon their success, hence our delay
The first event was a cross-Channel “virtual rally” in which over 60 people took part 'live' and for which more have have since viewed the recording. A report has been posted, including a link to the recording.
The other took place on the Dover seafront, remembering all who have died trying to reach our shores – especially the 58 young Chinese found dead in a sealed container 20 years ago, as recounted in this article. Conforming to pandemic restrictions, this was attended “live” by just a handful of people, among them a deputy Lord Lieutenant of Kent, representing the Queen, and Rt Revd Rose Hudson-Wilkin, Bishop of Dover, who delivered a stirring and challenging address. This link leads to a report on the Dover event, including a further link to a video of the bishop's address. A video of the complete event is also available.
'We must always mourn them' - with these words Bishop Rose reminded us of our obligations to the 58 Chinese. From our socially distanced event next to the memorials on Dover seafront we were reminded of the many others who have lost their lives trying to reach the UK. These memorials are a place of tranquillity in an otherwise busy port town and we ended with determination that they and so many others will be remembered. As Bishop Rose reminded us, there are words from the Pope on the Chinese memorial plaque: 'Every migrant has a name, a face, and a story''. She also reminded us of the hypocrisy of calling for restrictions on migration when the history of the British Empire was all about emigration to seek a better life.
IMAGINE
The theme of Refugee Week was “Imagine”. Imagine a world after the Covid-19 era. Old ways of working are already imaginatively adapted and some old ways no longer function. Many see signs of hope for a future where we see new ways to care for our planet, and protect and value human lives. Ways looking less at how much things cost or how much a person earns, but rather at the benefits they bring.
Hopefully more people will begin to imagine how desperate people are to leave homes and families, and take perilous journeys in the hope of reaching places where they may get away from conflict and famine and find decent shelter, education and employment, so becoming able to contribute to society and retrieve some sense of dignity.
A statement issued by the Catholic Religious calls for 'eyes and hearts to open to action by recognising, contemplating and sharing the lives of refugees and migrants'.
CURRENT SITUATION IN FRANCE
Little has changed near the French coast since our last update: it's a story of “more of the same”. Accordingly we are not reporting upon details (which, in any case, you can hear in the recording of the Virtual Rally on World Refugee Day). This is a chance to be a little more reflective!
It's easy to write off those stuck near Calais as only seeking better lives and to somehow drag the rest of us down. In fact they deserve better lives than those from which they have fled and genuine chances to realise their potential. Many of those who reach Calais come from three of the world's top four sources of forcibly displaced people – Syria, Afghanistan and South Sudan.
Calais has become known for its very visible array of fences, walls, ditches and barbed wire. There are also hidden walls: walls of indifference, even hostility, born from living alongside the inhumane ways in which the official policies of harassment are played out every day.
Our partner organisations in Calais also organised events to mark World Refugee Day. Testimonies and demands for the respect of human rights and chances of more dignified lives were posted around the town, with stories of solidarity and proverbs, all celebrating the strength of solidarity and paying tribute to the courage of the exiles. People whose voices are rarely heard and who attempt to hide and become invisible.
Later in the afternoon a socially-distanced group of about 50 marched to the beach, carrying a giant paper boat that attracted some attention. More testimonies of solidarity were read, and the paper boat led the way back to the promenade, with followers chanting, shouting and singing, handing out small paper boats to curious bystanders.
LOOKING BACK
We can look back over some 30 years of the modern migratory phenomenon that affects Calais.
After the Berlin wall fell at the end of 1989, people from many former Communist countries came by bus and train in order reach the UK. Soon afterwards, in 1991, the Sangatte protocol was signed between France and the UK, notably outsourcing British border controls to French territory.
At first Yugoslav exiles joined the Germans, further attracted by the advent of more public transport services via the Channel tunnel after 1994. Then, from 1999 Kosovans came, followed by numerous Iraqis and Afghans. The Sangatte centre was opened to shelter them, but was closed in 2002. Successive waves of migrants came from conflict zones around the world: from the Balkans, Yemen, Vietnam, Iran, Eritrea, Sudan, Ethiopia, North Africa, Syria and yet more countries, all attempting to reach Britain.
Strategies to manage the influx were generally inadequate in vision and incompetent in execution, and 30 years after the Berlin Wall has fallen, it has been replaced by new fortifications around Calais.
Apparently, it makes better business sense to militarise and repress rather than regularise and welcome. And people suffering from border policies, are nevertheless determined to crumble them. If governments genuinely want to stop border crossings, in particular in small boats, securitisation has not worked and it is time to construct better and human-based solutions.
Our governments should take seriously their obligation under international law to ensure the right to life, liberty and the security of persons. Saving the lives of asylum seekers should always be a paramount duty. Limiting access to a nation's territory to those in need of international protection for the sake of national security, presupposes that it is valid to choose between human safety and national security. But the safety of people should always take priority over national security: the situation of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees requires that they are guaranteed personal safety and access to basic services.
Granting access to territory to persons in need of international protection is an international obligation and an essential element of our long-term responsibility towards our fellows. It should result in policies and programmes aimed at protecting their human rights and dignity and making their development as human beings possible.
LONE CHILD MIGRANTS
Just over 80 years ago there was a generosity of spirit in this country which led to a reluctant Neville Chamberlain being persuaded to accept thousands of child refugees fleeing from Nazi oppression on the kinder-transports from Prague and Vienna. Have we since become more mean spirited? Even a letter from 250 faith leaders failed to gain votes in the Commons to pass an amendment which would have protected channels for family reunion and relocation for unaccompanied children in Europe.
The letter organised through 'Safe Passage' pointed out the injustice following the announcement that the 480 places available under the Dubs scheme had been filled. A meagre token compared to the thousands who were brought to safety in earlier times. And the consequences? Young children make risky attempts to cross the Channel in flimsy boats, putting their lives and their futures at risk, not to mention all the children festering in dismal refugee camps in Greece and beyond. How can we call ourselves a 'civilised society' and allow these things to to happen? As time goes by there are enhanced safeguarding procedures in place to protect vulnerable children but these don't apply to all the children who are nearly, but not quite, in the UK.
Our partner's Virtual Rally on World Refugee Day was focused on the challenges affecting under-age exiles. If you are inclined to take action for these vulnerable people, you may be interested in a new on-line petition addressed to members of the EU Council. It asks them to task their Commission and negotiating team with finding a replacement for family reunion under the ‘Dublin III’ regulation as part of EU-UK post-Brexit negotiations .
30 May 2020
UPDATE FOR MAY 2020: Seeking Sanctuary in a Covid World
Our thoughts this month are influenced by the enormity of the pandemic crisis across the world and in particular its effect on all those seeking sanctuary. In our Update we note some of the direct effects on those concerned – a complete lack of access to centres and facilities which have been a lifeline in the past, the appalling sanitary conditions which spread infection and the growing stigmatising of migrants as potential Covid carriers, as seen in our report on Calais buses which refuse to take migrants, seeing them as potential sources of infection. Advice on hand hygiene is of no use when there is not even a water tap in the places where many of those seeking sanctuary are forced to exist.
WORLD REFUGEE DAY
This is marked on Saturday 20 June, at the end of Refugee Week, with the theme: 'Imagine'. We are keen to mark this in Dover because it is also the 20th anniversary of the discovery of the 58 dead Chinese migrants found in a sealed trailer at the port.
Ben remembers well the traumatic impact on all involved – the reports of the impact on families who sent their young people abroad with such high hopes, the traffickers who saw the young people as objects rather than people, and not least the impact on the emergency service workers and port staff who had the gruesome task of dealing with the aftermath.
In keeping with the current pandemic restrictions, instead of asking people to gather, we will mark the Day with a live-streamed time of remembrance from the Dover seafront starting at about 11.20 am. This considers all who have died trying to reach the UK, but especially the 58 Chinese,.
The Bishop of Dover, Rose Hudson-Wilkin, will follow her predecessor, Bishop Trevor Willmott by leading the event and providing food for thought. Additionally, 'People not Walls' will stream an interactive discussion beforehand, starting at 10.00 am.
Details of how to register for these combined live-streamed events via Eventbrite will be sent out beforehand.
THE CALAIS SITUATION
As reported last month, the outbreak of coronavirus and the consequent regulations have rendered an already bleak and desperate situation far bleaker. Prior to the virus outbreak, Northern France was home to between 1500 and 2000 migrants hoping to get to the UK and living on the outskirts of towns in abandoned warehouses, the edges of industrial estates and on barren wasteland. They continue to do so, the vast majority being male, aged 16 to 30.
The state’s hostile approach is based upon the assumption that migrants have chosen to come. But it is hardly a choice to leave destitution, poverty, climate breakdown, persecution, oppression and conflict. People would not take such enormous risks and live under such hostility if they were not desperate or had no other options.
Since the Covid-19 lock-down most support organisations have either suspended or drastically reduced their services. Meantime, we still read reports of police brutality where migrants are beaten, tear-gassed and in several instances hospitalised – sadly, a relatively normal practice. With a lack of volunteers on the ground, there are far less observations and nobody is held to account. The few remaining aid workers now rely more than ever before on monetary donations.
The state has provided some premises to house people safely, but this has been a slow process, and space is often still unsafe, unsanitary, ill-suited to proper social isolation, and unlikely to accommodate everyone. Forcible evictions from rough campsites continue every two days.
There is currently a dire lack of food for displaced communities, but a new group of volunteers have established an organisation alongside Care4Calais – the Calais Food Collective, which aims to provide dry food packs for communities to cook for themselves in a way that provides some safety from viral transmission. Over five weeks up to 18 May, they have provided food for over 40,000 meals. Migrants around Grande-Synthe are similarly supported by 'Solidarity Border' who bring hot meals prepared by Emmaus.
Of course, the 'camps' should not even be called camps, but ´survival areas´, and they are mostly in Calais (in five locations) and in Grande-Synthe, near Dunkirk. The Zone Industrielle des Dunes is the most populated area in Calais, containing about 900 people at the moment. In Grande-Synthe, there are currently about half that number – but sometimes the situation is reversed.
The total population of displaced people remains quite stable because more arrive every day, and others return from accommodation that has turned out to be unsuitable for practising social distancing.
At the moment in Calais, there are more Sudanese than a year ago, and still quite a few Iranians, Eritreans, Ethiopians, and some people from Mali and Mauritania who couldn´t get asylum in France; also Afghans, but less than before. In Grande-Synthe, there is a great majority of Kurdish people from Iraq and a small group of Pakistanis. The proportion of Iranians has fallen in both locations.
There are very few families in Calais, plus a few single women, sometimes with a young child. There are about 30 families among the Kurdish people in Grande-Synthe. As for lone minors, the count in early May was about 60 in Calais and up to 150 in Grande-Synthe.
Another difference between Calais and Grande-Synthe is the behaviour of local government officials. In Calais the Prefecture was ordered in 2017 to provide showers and toilets and grant access to drinking water, and that still holds. Food is also handed out, although no hot meals since the pandemic started, just breakfast and a sandwich for lunch. The local council at Grande-Synthe has provided a few toilets with some access to water and a couple of showers. Another difference is that proposals to move into isolation from Calais have generally been on a voluntary basis, whereas people in Grande-Synthe, have been ordered on to buses and then all their belongings have been destroyed.
Individuals and organisations generously gathering donations in the UK are now prevented from crossing the border to deliver them. French border control staff claim that humanitarian aid work is non-essential. In fact, European countries should be ready share their privileges of economic prosperity, safety and stability with those who have been fled their homes to find such ‘ideals’. In fact, not ideals but basic rights which our European passports have provided for all of us. The Canterbury-based 'Care4Humanity' group have loaded pallets of food on to a commercial truck for delivery as it passed through Calais.
The lock-down has meant that everyone was limited in their movements, unable to go to shops without certifying the necessity (via a Form found on-line and needing printing out). In any event, security personnel at nearby supermarkets no longer let migrants in, despite management claims that no discrimination takes place. Additionally, local buses rarely stop for migrants, allegedly because locals fear that they are carriers of the virus.
The Calais deputy prefect says that medical teams regularly check on migrants and that shelter is on offer for up to 715. On the other hand he also states that evacuations are necessary every two days 'to prevent them from settling'.
Most migrants simply don't trust the government to help them: they'd rather stay at the camps and try to cross the Channel, and Amnesty reports that aid workers are harassed and taken into custody by police on flimsy pretexts.
MAWDA: 2 YEARS ON
We continue to report upon the killing of Mawda: a two-year old girl hit by the bullet of a Belgian policeman during a car chase two years ago. Her family was brutally treated by the Belgian police and courts following her death. In January 2020 the policeman who fired the shot was convicted of 'involuntary homicide'. A committee seeking justice has now launched a legal procedure against the Mons public prosecutor, citing ill-treatment of Mawda's family following her death, and legitimisation of the police force's defence.
ROYA VALLEY – AT THE ITALIAN BORDER
We have previously commented on the case of Cédric Herrou, a farmer in the Alpine valley who became a symbol of aid to migrants and an embodiment of the revolutionary call to 'liberty, solidarity and fraternity'. He was given a suspended four-month prison sentence in August 2017 for taking some 200 migrants, mainly Eritreans and Sudanese, from the border to his home, and then organising a reception camp. He subsequently approached the Constitutional Council with two priority questions on the constitutionality of the 'Solidarity offence' of which he considered himself a victim.
At the end of 2018, the High Court retained the 'Principle of Fraternity' to set aside M. Herrou’s conviction and ordered a new trial before the Lyon Court of Appeal. On May 13, he was finally 'Dismissed from all proceedings '.
Then, a few days ago, the Lyon public prosecutor’s office appealed on points of law against the May decision. Such an appeal is very rare in a case that has already been considered by a higher court, and defence solicitors describe the prosecutor as 'obstinate'.
SMALL BOATS
Sadly, over a period of a few weeks, boats have been stolen from the French national lifeguard stores around Calais and sold on the internet, ending up recovered by UK coastguards a few weeks later. The resultant damage amounts to some €50,000 and the workers are unable to properly continue their mission, including rescuing dozens of migrants from drowning every week.
'Utopia 56' published shocking photos of children at Grande-Synthe being fitted with bundles of empty plastic bottles as makeshift buoyancy aids for Channel crossing attempts. 'People not Walls', the Anglo-French network supported by Seeking Sanctuary, issued a Media Release regretting such desperate measures and calling for the establishment of safe and legal ways to claim asylum in the UK.
The numbers of both attempted and successful crossings have risen to new heights. The Auberge des Migrants estimates that, with good weather, probably less shipping in the Channel during the virus pandemic, and with potential eyewitnesses confined at home by the French virus regulations, the success rate has increased from around 60 to 80 percent.
The cost for the crossing in 2019 was €3,000 to €4,000 per person, with at least six people per boat. Others say that people-smugglers, despite now using more powerful vessels, have lowered their fees to some €1,600 per person or even €1,000 for a less seaworthy vessel, but there are fears that some proposed cheaper fares may prove to be enticements towards a route into slavery. The departure area now extends down to the Baie de Somme in Picardy, 75 miles from Calais.
ARRIVING IN BRITAIN
At least 1,000 migrants arrived in Britain in small boats during the eight weeks following the start of the virus lock-down on 23 March. 145 arrived on 8 May alone, including 17 unaccompanied minors. These claimed to be of various nationalities, including Iranian, Iraqi, Kuwaiti, Pakistani, Syrian, Yemeni and Afghan.
Kent officials face the tough task of dealing with the influx while social distancing measures are in place to add financial pressures to local budgets. The county council, perhaps the most experienced in the UK, is concerned at the number of under-age arrivals. Whereas last year Kent dealt with around 240 young migrants, the number arriving this year reached 469 by 22 May, coming mainly from the Middle East, especially Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan. In addition to caring for these 469 minors, mostly boys aged 15 to 17 (younger children are usually part of a family group), the council is also responsible for supporting 932 young people aged 18 to 25 who have left the care system.
Two new reception centres for young migrants have been added to the single previous establishment, but social distancing measures during the pandemic have cut capacity and the county is appealing to other districts to volunteer to share the load.
Sky News reports that French Navy vessels escort small boats, rather than intercepting them. This is due to a requirement of the Law of the Sea. All mariners have a duty to provide assistance to vessels in distress under the 1974 International Convention on Safety of Life at Sea. Overloaded small boats in the Channel may be taking on water, but it seems that when French vessels attempt to intercept them, migrants have threatened to jump into the sea, or even to throw children overboard. Refusal to be rescued puts lives at risk, so that the French vessels have no option but to shadow the boats until they reach British waters, where the migrants know that they will be taken to the British coast, rather than back to France.
In a little-publicised move of questionable legality, Britain is working with France to rapidly send back more migrants who arrive by boat in an attempt to deter others thinking of making the dangerous journey. The Home Office confirmed to Sky News that, under 'Operation Sillath', whilst 157 people were intercepted on 22 May, only 57 were taken to Dover while 100 were returned to France.
According to the Guardian these swift returns to France are made without demanding enough evidence that people had either been fingerprinted, had claimed asylum or had spent time in their first EU country of arrival before moving to the second. In other words, migrants are not assessed properly but rather are being summarily returned to France without due process, whereas their cases should be processed by the EU country where they first registered an asylum claim – if any.
Human rights lawyers and campaigners say that they have gathered evidence upon which to base a legal challenge. The Home Office has reportedly refused to respond to a Freedom of Information request regarding Operation Sillath on the basis that this would be too costly.
An immigration detention centre visitor group has also raised concerns about the practice of returning people to France. They are concerned about 'an alarming trend' to attempt to remove asylum seekers from the UK to France even though their fingerprints cannot be found in the European-wide database and there is no clear evidence they have spent any significant amount of time in France or claimed asylum there. One person removed by the Home Office to France was then subjected to torture and abuse by traffickers.
Surely we should expect fair and proper treatment for those in distress, rather than sustained hostility?
UNITED KINGDOM
There are concerns that more unaccompanied minors will be left in rapidly deteriorating conditions and at higher risk of exploitation in Europe since Home Office confirmed that the 480 places it had offered under the 'Dubs scheme' have been filled. There are renewed calls to bring unaccompanied child refugees to the UK – given that that thousands remain stranded in Europe.
Lord Alf Dubs, who proposed the amendment, said he was pleased for the 480 accepted under the scheme, but 'heartbroken' for the many more unaccompanied children who now have no hope of reaching safety in the UK.
Without safe and legal routes like the Dubs scheme, there’s a real risk that more will be pushed into the hands of traffickers and risk their lives in dangerous Channel crossings. 'Safe Passage' has said that the UK must replace the scheme with a long-term alternative that offers more children in Europe the same lifeline.
TRAFFICKING – THE ESSEX VICTIMS
It was announced yesterday that police in Belgium and France have arrested 26 new suspects in various towns as part of an investigation prompted by the deaths of 39 Vietnamese migrants found in a truck container in Grays last year. In addition, vehicles, cash and electronic equipment were seized and 21 migrants were taken to safety.
Belgian authorities said the suspects are part of an organised crime group that smuggles people from Asia, particularly Vietnam, which has likely transported up to several dozen people every day for several months. The suspected smugglers face sentences of up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to €150,000 per victim.
The people found dead in October comprised 31 men and 8 women, aged between 15 and 44, who had died in a container loaded on a freight ferry from Zeebrugge, having previously travelled to Dunkirk and Lille. Like the Chinese found in Dover 20 years ago, their deaths arose from a combination of asphyxiation and overheating.
Five other people have so far been charged by Britain. The truck driver, Maurice Robinson, 25, pleaded guilty to manslaughter last month at a central London court. Co-defendant Gheorghe Nica, 43, has denied manslaughter charges. A trial on remaining charges is scheduled to begin on 5 October. Several others have been arrested, including at least seven in Vietnam.
HELP
Many of you will be wondering how you can help in these challenging times. Here in the UK, with access to support either suspended or severely limited, there are newly created ways of financial help – such as a new scheme in the North East which provides £30 digital vouchers sent to the phones of refugees for use in supermarkets. You will find details here. Other relevant organisations include the Jesuit Refugee Service (UK) and various members of the Caritas network of charities, plus Care4Calais operating in France.
And so in the hope of better times ahead, we wish you safety and security.
Phil + Ben.
30 April 2020
COVID Takes Control - Update for April 2020
SEEKING SANCTUARY MARKS ITS FIFTH BIRTHDAY
It's a strange time to mark or even to celebrate our 5th anniversary but at the same time we did not want to let the occasion pass.
It was in Spring 2015 at the height of the crisis which marked the growth of the "Jungle" camp that we felt that we needed to take an initiative which could bring together all those who wanted to show their solidarity in the UK with those in Northern France who were desperately trying to meet the day-to-day needs of our exiled brothers and sisters.
Our early efforts were marked by our enthusiasm although not always by thinking through how we were going to operate effectively. We were overwhelmed by offers of help often, but not always, from Churches and Faith Communities, and then for some months we were not able to to ship over all the goods that we received.
Our thanks go to the Bruderhof for their help in storing goods as well as to Care4Humanity, based at the Church of the Latter Day Saints in Canterbury, who came to the rescue in organising the transport logistics. From our inception we took to speaking to the media about the conditions facing migrants, and at times we felt that we were one of the few voices to speak up on behalf of these exiled brothers and sisters.
We were also pleased to be able to channel offers of help – both goods as well as financial help – to those who needed support and our most satisfying memories are of Churches and Faith Communities mobilising their people – often driving to France with much needed goods and teams of volunteers.
And what of the future? Some of us felt that when the "jungle" was cleared in 2016 the need for our services and those of many other NGOs would come to an end, but it was not to be and in fact conditions worsened in Calais. Soon, the need for direct help was even greater. Meanwhile we were pleased to be one of the founder members of the new cross border organisation 'People not Walls'.
And so we will continue alongside other organisations for as long as we are needed. Thanks to all of you for your encouragement and support. After each update we get positive messages which help to sustain our motivation. We hope that that when the Covid-19 crisis has passed we can get back to work and continue making sure that support reaches those who are so vulnerable.
HOW THINGS LOOK NOW
What can we report from the coast of Northern France in this strange life of virus avoidance? The situation gets worse every day. Covid-19 is now prevalent and the few remaining volunteers try to support the homeless while wearing significant amounts of personal protective equipment to distribute water and basic food rations from dwindling stocks.
Those seeking sanctuary put their lives at risk by attempting crossings of the English Channel, which remains one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. The situation is so desperate that people at risk still choose this way to escape. These vulnerable people must not be abandoned to the global pandemic. We urge the British and French Governments to provide places of safety where the exiles spread along the Channel coast can safely practice isolation and receive food, clothes, shelter and medical support.
In normal times, well over 100 volunteers work in the camps in Calais and Dunkirk to provide for people’s basic needs. Now there are probably ony a dozen or so charity workers on the front line, stretched deadly thin as they try to support 1,500 people living across multiple sites. We continue to admire the hard work and energy of the volunteers who spend time in and around Calais and the patience of the refugees who are persistently harassed and humiliated by the authorities. The aid associations who soldier on during this time of crisis deserve both our our financial support and our prayers.
CAMPAIGNS AND PETITIONS
A list of relevant campaigns and petitions of possible interest can be found here. Please consider them with care.
DAILY LIFE
Food in Calais comes in the form of picnic bags from the state-funded La Vie Active, and breakfast from Salam, who a offer a few extra ingredients to prepare a meal, when possible. A small grass-roots organisation has sprung up, the “Calais Food Collective”, working under the auspices of the Auberge des Migrants. It aims to distribute ingredients and cooking equipment so that the displaced people have the means with which to cook hot nutritious meals. Under the strict quarantine measures in place, without proper paperwork, migrants cannot visit supermarkets to buy food for themselves.
Different camps are dismantled every 48 hours, continuing to reinforce distrust of those in authority. Police supervise these operations, confiscating tents and personal property at the times when people have gone to get breakfast rations from La Vie Active. Rather than encouraging self-isolation, this repeated destruction of camps prevents people from staying in their tents and pushes them together, one on top of the other.
In Grande-Synthe, food is distributed three times a week by supporters of the national charity Secours Populaire, assisted by Salam. Social distancing is required and face masks and gloves are worn. They were joined at the end of March by members of a new group, “Solidarity Border” who bring hot meals prepared by Emmaus in Dunkirk. They also distribute blankets, sleeping bags and tents. For months, there have been no toilets or showers, just a single standpipe at one site and a daily delivery of a water bowser (with liquid soap) at the other. However, as evacuation began (see below) sanitary services and medical checks were established and arrangements for a refuse skip were promised.
To remove the need for trespass upon the tracks, the national rail company provided 24-hour access to electric power for people to charge their phones at La Linière in Grande-Synthe. A great solution, but one that was rendered useless after a few days' use: we do not know its current state. .
CORONA VIRUS
On 27 March, Prefects were instructed to look after vulnerable people during the pandemic. The state has proceeded on the basis that there are about 1300 people in need of care, whereas the aid associations consider the number to be more like 1800. About a third of these are at Grande-Synthe, including some 50 families with small children and expectant mothers. Official figures indicate that 5 migrants in the Nord/Pas-de-Calais region have contracted coronavirus, two of whom have recovered, while three remain in isolation.
The Prefecture contacted the heads of voluntary aid associations to say that they must accept strict restrictions upon their operations. A curfew prevents any distributions between 10h00 and 08h30, claiming that this is necessary to "respect the sanitary conditions for combating the spread of Covid-19". In particular, this would allow associations to intervene only "at favourable times of the day".
Alongside the time restrictions, geographic limits have also been imposed. For example a prohibition against distribution of food in the Calais town centre where there are a number of homeless people. This decision is allegedly justified by the fact that the associations must intervene "as close as possible to the migrants, on their camp located in the industrial zone". However, humanitarian work is also applied to the homeless, wherever they are. Many prefer to be in the town to avoid the unsanitary conditions in camps, which could well encourage the spread of the virus.
The police have issued numerous verbal warnings to those volunteers who are said to be breaking these rules or not respecting the principle of isolation..
“EVACUATIONS”
The stated intention is that everyone is to be moved away to places of shelter. From 3 April, several times a week, buses have moved people to one of six accommodation centres some distance inland, where it is proposed that they can live in compliance with the appropriate health rules. The capacity is 659 places.
The authorities initially said that only the sick would be moved away from Grande-Synthe, but the operations have become more widespread. By 23 April the official figure was 322 voluntary departures from Calais, with no figure given for Grande-Synthe, though certainly several lightly loaded coaches had taken people away.
The forced operations of removal to shelter are extremely violent towards the exiles. First of all a moral violence since no information is given them prior to these operations: they do not know when things will happen and, when the buses are there, no one tells them their destinations. Secondly, because they are sometimes rightly reluctant to get on buses during evacuations, they are subjected to violence from the police. Finally, confinement in collective accommodation is far from optimal in times of health crisis, especially since many exiles have complained about the inadequacy of the meals distributed in these accommodation centres. For example, people returned 50km on foot from St Martin Boulogne to Calais on the night of April 16, having only just arrived.
(Similar evacuation measures are being taken in Dieppe and Cherbourg, among other places, while at Ouistrahem and Steenvorde there are already buildings in which people can, at least to some extent, self-isolate.)
Reports from Grande-Synthe suggest that most of the departures have been voluntary, although sometimes helped by rather “muscular” incentives. The presence of dozens of vans of CRS (riot police) has often been enough to scare people away. They hide and sleep elsewhere to isolate themselves and move away from existing services to avoid evacuation. They see police inviting them on to buses wearing the same uniforms as those who harass people. The necessary%
Current Needs for Donations in North-West France
November 2023
MOST NEEDED ITEMS
Volunteers!
Tents
Men’s and boys’ coats (especially small and medium sizes)
Sleeping bags and blankets
Jogging bottoms or jeans, size 26-34 waist (joggers with cuff bottoms if possible)
New boxer shorts (esp small and medium, tight fit if possible)
Socks, hats and gloves
Hoodies and jumpers
Trainers
Unlocked mobile phones with chargers
Powerbanks
Tarpaulins
Rain ponchos
Backpacks
ITEMS THAT ARE NOT NEEDED
Because organisations already have lots of these, or there is no demand for them, or they aren’t appropriate.
Anything that is dirty, torn, or otherwise damaged
Children’s toys
Women’s and children's clothes
Men’s trousers larger than 34’ waist
Electrical goods
Handbags
Towels
FOOD – please note that due to Brexit restrictions we can only transport dried foods to France
OTHER ITEMS NEEDED, BUT NOT PRIORITY
Toiletries and toiletry packs
Rollmats
T-shirts
Bin bags
Anti-bacterial hand wash
CHECK THE LATEST SITUATION AND HOW TO DELIVER GOODS AT
Collective Aid
E: calaisdonations@collectiveaidngo.org
W: collectiveaidngo.org
Care4Calais - see list above
E: admin@care4calais.org
W: https://care4calais.org/thedropoffmap/
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Latest News Latest News Latest News Latest News
21 November 2023
Update for November / December 2023
Visiting Calais
Phil writes:
Taking advantage of a ferry £39 day return offer from Dover for a car and passengers, I delivered tents and sleeping bags to Collective Aid in Calais on 14 November. They have moved back into the rue Clément Ader warehouse provided by the Auberge des Migrants. This has been halved in size from its former 2000 sq m, with the right-hand bay apparently now leased to someone else. There are more organisations working from Portakabins in the yard outside the warehouse, as well as others sharing the space inside – as several did when they moved to premises in the rue Antoine de Saint-Exupéry for a few years. For example, the Refugee Women's Centre, Project Play, the Woodyard, the School Bus Project, Human Rights Observers, Utopia 56, the Channel Info Project, Calais Food Collective, and more. The gate is not locked or supervised as used to be the case.
The Refugee Community Kitchen (RCK) is still there, serving about 1200 meals a day, but as with Collective Aid, there is a shortage of volunteers - typical for this time of year. However, forced expulsions by the municipality and CRS riot police mean that the refugees are forced closer together into such shelter as they can find. This has resulted in a number of violent scuffles which have forced several of the NGOs to stop distributions of food and goods for a few days at a time – despite the freezing temperature, heavy rain and mud. I did not find time to visit other sites, but reports from others describe much the same situation.
The number of people accessing nutritious cooked food are higher than ever befor – over 13,000 in September in Calais and Dunkirk – and demand continually increases, as do costs. Fortunately, legal challenges have forced the authorities to accept half a dozen regular distribution points without disturbance, apart from occasional interference with tanks of drinking water.
There are hundreds of people sleeping rough in the cold and rain right now in and around Calais and Dunkirk. Frequent mass clearances mean that refugees aren’t even allowed the dignity of keeping hold of their tents – their only their only shelter – when they are ripped away from them.
Now, as winter approaches, cold rain and winds are beginning to bite. It’s just a matter of time before conditions become lethal. Volunteers have to work hard to distribute tents and replace things lost in the evictions.
They provide:
- Safe drinking water, dry food, fresh fruit and vegetables, pots and pans. As well as daily distributions of healthy cooked meals including a salad and side of bread.
- Psychosocial support for families with young children, through informal education, games and the creation of safe spaces.
- Protection for women experiencing violence or harassment through access to overnight shelters and individual case work (visiting doctor, lawyer, translation…)
- Mobile charging stations, WiFi, SIM cards for people to stay in touch with their families, as well as translated information about medical and legal services available to them.
- Replacement tents for shelter, blankets, clothing, chopped wood for heating or cooking & hygiene items including menstrual products, soap and toothpaste.
- Witnessing and documenting State violence and forcible evictions perpetrated against displaced and vulnerable people including women and children.
Warehouse volunteers were delighted to welcome the arrival of scores of tents and blankets, surplus donations from just one Oxfam shop, skillfully crammed into every spare space within my car. (See attached photo.). An updated list of needed goods has just been added to our website along with contact detilas for some relevant organisations where you can check the latest situation and find out how best to deliver in Calais or at drop-off points in the UK.
What else has changed? There is now only one “duty free” wine warehouse operating near the Auberge’s warehouse, evidently an indication of less UK shopping trips!
Fatalities
On the evening before my visit a 22 year old Sudanese man had his throat cut during an altercation near the Mollien bridge, not far from the iconic Town Hall with the statue of the Calais burghers. The customary memorial gathering was to take place at 6.30pm after my departure by ferry. He is said to be the 363rd victim of Franco-British frontier policy.
There were two more deaths during the night of 6th November when a truck reversed into a group of 15 people on the port access highway.
Is Rwanda unsafe for refugees?
The Supreme Court thought so, citing not just the risks of 'refoulement' but equally the record of the Rwandan government on civil rights and with its opponents. It is wishful thinking that a proposed new law would suddenly make Rwanda safe ... or has the Government become so obsessed with the 'Stop the Boats' agenda that truth and justice suffer. Above, Phil recounts a visit he made a few days ago – it is as much the desperate and appalling conditions in Calais and Dunkirk that are forcing migrants to place their fate in the hands of people smugglers and traffickers. And how many Afghans who have risked their lives for the UK have had to risk their lives for the UK now have to risk their lives in small boats because they cannot be admitted through official channels? Are we really going to see them sent back if the Rwanda scheme comes to nothing?
Remembering Fr Dominique Pire
Ben writes:: I have been reading about the heroic efforts of this Belgian priest who fought tirelessly for the rights of displaced persons at the end of World War II for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The end of the war saw millions of refugees displaced with nowhere to go. Fr Pire founded villages of welcome which took in many thousands of refugees before they were able to return to their own homes. A thought strikes me. The term on which Fr Pire insisted, 'displaced persons', is perhaps a little less stigmatising than the term 'refugee' which has become a proxy for messages of hate and intolerance. What do you think ?
Christmas is coming!
Here is a note a couple of Carol Services in central London that aim to gather support and funds for refugee projects. There will be others at various locations!
Jesuit Refugee Service UK - Advent Service
15.Dec.2023, 7:00 PM
Church of the Immaculate Conception, Farm Street, 114 Mount St, London, W1K 3AH
Takes place online (www.farmstreet.org.uk/livestream) and in person
All are warmly invited to join JRS UK for this year’s Advent Service at Farm St Church in London on Friday 15th December at 7 pm. This year’s service will include carols, readings, and performances by refugee friends. The service will be followed by a reception of mince pies and mulled wine. You and your loved ones are all very welcome to join JRS UK in person or via livestream.
Please help JRS prepare to welcome guests at the Advent Service by informing them of your attendance. Email: Loddan at loddan.othman@jrs.net
London Churches Refugee Fund
Carols: 1 December, Highbury and Islington Station (inside if weather is poor)
Contact m@maggiehindley.org to advise when you can join in, between 3.00 pm and 8.00 pm
If you do not sing, come and collect money!
25 September 2023
Update for September 2023
Ben writes: We apologise for the late arrival of this update after a long gap since the mid-July issue. But it begs the question, am I − and maybe others − suffering from 'compassion fatigue'? Are we seeing a 'culture of indifference' which has been described so well by Pope Francis? In the seaside town of Deal where I live, every day social discourse is predominantly about what we did yesterday or what we might do today rather than the pressing injustice issues which are all around us. Great spiritual leaders such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer knew this all too well as they battled within indifference. In his last months before his execution in 1945. Bonhoeffer battled with the question 'Are we still of any use?'
This thought came to mind when I organised a prayer vigil for deceased migrants at our seafront memorial. In spite of extensive publicity the vigil attracted just one person. Have we become so immune to the tragedies of lost lives that we become indifferent to suffering?
Have we become immune to the deaths of 20,000 Libyan's, or 10,000 Moroccans in recent natural disasters? As well as the deaths of thousands crossing in flimsy and unsuitable boats? Are our constant efforts at advocacy wearing us down in the face of a relentless 'official' narrative of intolerance?
Thank goodness there is an antidote to my pessimism as hundreds of groups and individuals seek to combat injustice and provide as much support as they can.
I console myself with the thought that the situation is too urgent to allow for pessimism. A recent Guardian report suggests that record 71.1 million people worldwide in 2022 were fleeing their native communities in search of safety and shelter, a 20% increase on the year before. Nearly three-quarters of the world’s displaced people live in just 10 countries, including Syria, Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ukraine and Sudan, all racked by war.
Pope Francis has repeatedly called for a 'culture of tenderness' to combat the culture of indifference. This is a challenge both for us personally and for the groups to which we belong. And so when I experience this feeling I will reflect on how I and those around me might begin to mirror some of these very human qualities.
Frank Ospina, RIP
News reaches us of the suicide earlier this year of a young Colombian man, Frank Ospina, in Brook House Removal Centre, near Gatwick Airport. Frank had come to England to explore University courses but decided to pursue his studies in Spain instead. He made the fatal mistake of getting a job as a kitchen assistant before leaving to join his course and was discovered and detained in Brook House. After a month he became suicidal − because, unlike many others, he wanted to leave the UK but no arrangements were made and he grew more and more depressed. His death was followed by four further suicide attempts in the Centre. When will we ever learn?
And if an application for asylum is successful ... ?
That's when the problems begin. We learn that in a new twist to government policy successful claimants are given just seven days notice to leave their accommodation — hence often sleeping out in streets and parks is the only option. And Universal Credit takes at least 5 weeks to come through: the asylum process is a 'no win' in every respect.
Pope Francis
As we issued our previous Update, Pope Francis issued a message for the 109th annual World Day of Migrants and Refugees, which is now almost upon us. He pointed out that, ‘The migratory flows of our times are the expression of a complex and varied phenomenon that, to be properly understood, requires a careful analysis of every aspect of its different stages, from departure to arrival, including the possibility of return’. And chose the theme of Free to choose whether to migrate or to stay.
His concluding words are as follows. ’Joint efforts are needed by individual countries and the international community to ensure that all enjoy the right not to be forced to emigrate, in other words, the chance to live in peace and with dignity in one's own country. This right has yet to be codified, but it is one of fundamental importance, and its protection must be seen as a shared responsibility on the part of all States with respect to a common good that transcends national borders. Indeed, since the world’s resources are not unlimited, the development of the economically poorer countries depends on the capacity for sharing that we can manage to generate among all countries. Until this right is guaranteed – and here we are speaking of a long process – many people will still have to emigrate in order to seek a better life.‘
Food for thought!
Government
Around the same time, we joined at least 278 other national and local organisations in signing a letter to the Prime Minister to urge him to ‘listen to common sense’ and scrap plans for asylum camps at Wethersfield, Catterick, Bexhill and Scampton, as well as on ferries and barges. The sites are ‘deeply unsuitable’ and the Government risks creating ‘an entirely preventable humanitarian catastrophe’ by pressing ahead with plans to use them to house people seeking asylum.
This had little effect, with the “Illegal Migration Bill” receiving Royal Assent on 18th July and becoming an Act of Parliament.
Our contention remains that people seeking safety can now expect that they will yet more often find themselves isolated in prison-like conditions without adequate advice, healthcare, or support. These facilities segregate and re-traumatise people.
The use of hotels as ‘contingency’ asylum accommodation is a result of the Home Office’s enormous backlog of asylum cases, and its failure to work with local authorities to adequately plan and resource the asylum dispersal system. Meantime, poorly regulated private companies make huge profits. The safest, quickest and most cost-effective way to end the use of hotels and fix the problems in our asylum accommodation system would be through making fair and timely decisions on people’s asylum claims, enabling people to rebuild their lives in our communities.
The much vaunted crisis is clearly the Government’s responsibility and it is one for which vulnerable people and local communities are paying the price.
On 20 September, two All Party Parliamentary Groups issued a joint Call for Evidence for an inquiry into the effects of the UK immigration system and refugee policy on poverty. They want the Call to be widely shared.
Calls for Change
• Expedite asylum decision making.
• House people in safe, dignified conditions − in communities.
• Drop the racist, inflammatory rhetoric that blames people seeking sanctuary
for government failures.
Meanwhile, in France
Thousands of undocumented migrants, including families with children and unaccompanied minors, hide in the fields and forests near Calais and Dunkirk. Reaching the UK is their hope to start a new life.
The situation in Calais and Dunkirk is much as it was years ago. The French and British governments’ efforts to stop the gathering of refugees in Northern France with a hostile welcome have done nothing to rectify the reasons for the initial displacement of these people from their homes. Civil war goes on in Sudan, Taliban control is stronger than ever in Afghanistan, and the Iranian government continues to persecute those who speak out against it. So, the displacement continues.
The so-called "illegal" crossing of the English Channel with smugglers is dangerous. Even if they manage to cross, the new immigration act raises concerns about respect for basic human and asylum rights: there is a possibility of being sent back. This raises the question: ‘Are we at a point of no return when it comes to how Europe and the UK are treating irregular migrants, dehumanising them, and failing to find a solution for a problem that will continue to persist and potentially worsen?‘
Six Afghan men aged around 30 drowned off Sangatte in the early hours of 12 August when a fragile boat lost power. 61 people were rescued. According to Associated Press (France), over 100,000 people have crossed since the start of the ‘small boat phenomenon’ in 2018, responding to the upgraded security around French ports and the Channel Tunnel terminal. (Ironically, the UK government claims that there are safe routes from Afghanistan to the UK, but these are not effective: just 107 were resettled in the UK in the year to June under part of a scheme set up to help the most needy, whilst at least 1,474 arrived in small boats )
Personal Story
We attach an illuminating account of a recent Calais visit by Anne M Jones, a frequent volunteer in the region.
Wishing peace and good health to all readers!
13 July 2023
Update for July 2023
'The stranger who resides with you shall be with you as one of your citizens' (Leviticus 19:34)
We open our update this month with these wise words from the book of Leviticus. Written thousands of years ago, they still provide us with a lasting moral compass as relevant today as they were then. They provide an ideal backdrop when discussing with our friends and neighbours why we find the Illegal Migration Bill so hard to stomach. And they introduce our account of some of the activities to mark the recent Refugee week with which we have been involved.
Do you live in 'Middle England' ?
If so there is a battle for your hearts and minds in 'red wall' as well as 'blue wall' constituencies. The Government is counting on the opposition of 'Middle England' to the arrival of small boats as well as support for the Rwanda scheme. But is the support actually there? A number of polls suggest that there is a large degree of sympathy with the plight of asylum seekers even when there are concerns about placements in local hotels as well as the proposed use of barges and disused army camps. Why not organise a group of like minded people to request a meeting with your MP to show that, rather than being heartless, our humanitarian instincts need to be expressed to our politicians? Just remember the words, with which we will all be familiar, of that epic song from the sixties – a kinder decade – 'All you need is love'. Perhaps 'Middle England may yet show its compassion in the face of forced deportations to Rwanda. What do you think ?
Some tips if you live near an 'asylum hotel'
- Find the local support group and offer your services – perhaps in English conversation or in advocacy in accessing local health and education services.
- Enquire about possibilities of local hospitality – remembering that residents of hotels are entitled to just £9. 35 a week to cover all personal needs.
- Music is a great leveller, as we discuss later in this update. If you are involved with a music group why not suggest a session in which refugee musicians and singers can show their talents
- If you are a member of a sports club, encourage engagement of local hotel residents.
Mickey Mouse is no longer allowed ...
It is difficult to understand the rationale behind this ridiculous story of a government minister demanding that cartoon images on the wall of a reception centre for child asylum seekers must be painted over because they rendered the place 'too welcoming'. The centre concerned is in Dover and is the first point of contact for children coming off a small boat.
It is well known within the field of children's mental health that children need positive images to alleviate the trauma of their experiences. And what can be more traumatic than seeing one's loved ones shot and then having to step on a small flimsy boat? How much more do we want child refugees to suffer? Just over 95 years ago the UK welcomed thousands of child refugees through the Kindertransport scheme – they were not seen as unwelcome and great efforts were made to ensure their welfare – can we not show the same compassion now? If you are a member of a community group or Faith Group then please, please express your concern to your local MP. A photocall with the words 'Asylum children need Mickey Mouse' might also attract local attention.
To add to the above, it has subsequently emerged that children's murals at the nearby Manston Airport processing centre have also been painted over.
A report from Calais
Volunteers from the 'First Aid Support Team' ("FAST") work around Calais and Dunkirk providing first aid and referring displaced people with medical needs to other services, as well as providing first aid training for other volunteers.
It is an entirely volunteer-led organisation, right from the board to the field coordinators and healthcare professionals. They are inspired by a strong belief in the basic human right of being treated with dignity and respect: they apply this belief in their day-to-day efforts when helping and assisting people who have been forced to leave their homes by violence, persecution, disasters and poverty.
A few days ago, a new field co-ordinator, Natasha, reflected upon her experiences.
I have been in Calais for a month now, and I am learning more and more each day.
In the field, we still see a lot of minor respiratory illness like coughs and colds, dermatological issues like allergies, scabies, and eczema, Musculoskeletal injuries and varying degrees of wound care.
People also come to us with conditions obtained as a result of precarious outdoor living conditions, worsened by regular evictions and blatant police violence.
I have seen human bite marks, burns from scalding spilt petrol and many injuries sustained when running from the police.
This is part of the government's policy to discourage people crossing over to Dover. It’s an effort to make the situation more dangerous with the hope that people give up.
However, when someone has travelled for months or years to escape danger at home, running from the police one last time will not stop them achieving their dream of safety.
As we run a mobile clinic, we do not have access to specific medicine or diagnostic testing. In these instances, we refer to the hospital or health clinic and hope our patients go, but many people have very little belief in the system.
Many are fearful of government services or have already been and are very dissatisfied with the care they receive. Relying on this system is very frustrating, as we cannot promise our patients they will receive the care they need and deserve.
If you have relevant experience, please consider spending a minimum of 1 week volunteering with FAST. The more people we have, the more people we can support.
If you do not have the health care experience to volunteer, you can help us by sharing our work, getting involved in other organisations work or by starting a fundraiser for us!
Music for Change
Ooberfuse is a London-based band that is a critically acclaimed favourite on the Indie music scene, having played at many locations worldwide. Their latest release to marked Refugee Week, 'Show Me Love', is about welcoming the stranger. In May, Ben helped the leading duo, Cherrie and Hal, record scenes in Dover for the accompanying video.
The singers decided to return during Refugee Week with other exiled artists and supporters for a free concert in Dover, which features so strongly in many of today's refugee tales. Phil and Ben were pleased to be of assistance again, in finding a venue and issuing publicity.
This video presents excerpts from the concert and from a visit to the memorial plaques near the port entrance, along with an excerpt from 'Show me Love'.
(A different "tour guide" activity for us early in 2022 was to find out how Archbishop Gugerotti, then the Papal Nuncio to Great Britain, i.e., effectively an ambassador, should apply to visit detainees in Napier Barracks. He had formerly worked in Ukraine, and his name is now on the list of new cardinals to be created on September 30.)
In conclusion.
The UK government's "Illegal Immigration Bill" attracted some well argued amendments during its passage through the House of Lords, for example in limiting the time that pregnant women can spend in Detention and providing children with a right to bail after eight days in Detention. The House of Commons have voted to reject about 30 other changes and the Bill now enters a period of 'Parliamentary Ping-Pong'.
With thanks for your continued interest and concern.
6 June 2023
Update for June 2023
'The great masquerade of evil has wrought havoc with our ethical preconceptions'.
(Ben writes) Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote these prophetic words as he struggled to find out how to reconcile his ethical position founded on Christian principles with the evil that was being brought about all around him in the 1930's. It was not just about the persecution of the Jews and others – it was equally about how the nationalist myth of superiority could so easily take root in a society.
Are we seeing the same phenomenon in this country and more widely in Europe? The message – hidden and not so hidden – that those of a different skin colour are not 'one of us' and should therefore be treated differently? The constant threats of detention and deportation are aimed at people who don't in with our racial stereotypes, whatever traumatic experiences they have endured. Has the debate over 'illegals' influenced a new and pernicious kind of nationalism being fed from the far right?
(By the way, until the current Bill is passed into UK Law, it is still not an illegal act to cross the Channel in a small boat, whatever the anti-migration lobby might say ...)
A diversion into local politics
We hear much about the 'will of the people' to 'stop the illegals.' There is a particular spot in Dover's harbour where migrants are brought ashore. And what happened in the local Dover elections in May? A substantial swing to Labour. Not all voters fit with the stereotypes that the authorities like to portray ...
Thought for the Day – 'There is so much we declare to be unbearable – and yet we continue to bear it' Gustav Heinemann, writing in 1938 as storm clouds gathered over Europe
About Mother Maria Skobtsova.
We regret that due to unforeseen circumstances we cannot present our webinar about this remarkable Orthodox Christian woman who worked tirelessly both before and during the war to help the homeless and refugees as well as Jews in houses of shelter in Paris before she was deported. She died in a concentration camp just before the end of the war. Her words about the power of love are still an inspiration for those who strive for justice and peace. The Catholic Worker House in Calais is dedicated to her memory. In the midst of the chaos of war she reflected on love of our neighbour:
'The key tension is that in order to love disinterestedly without 'mercenary intent' we have to attend with all our energy to the particularity of the other: the last thing disinterested love can be is a blandly undifferentiated benevolence.'
Is Western military intervention creating more refugees?
It's a familiar story - a country's security forces, assisted and trained by Western allies, seek to combat terrorism through instilling fear into local populations. This is particularly true in the jihadist wars in the countries of the Sahel. Human suffering is paradoxically increased in the name of fighting terrorism.
Forced displacement has reached new heights – the UNHCR estimates that in 2022 there were 2.9 million refugees and internally displaced people across Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. Violence has spilled over into neighbouring countries, including Benin and Ghana. Our quota of refugees pales into insignificance, particularly as the burden of looking after refugees often falls on the poorest countries in the world.
And 369 deaths later....
A young Sudanese exile, Sammy, is latest of the 369 who have died trying to reach the the UK this century. We note his death on a lorry with sadness, as well as that of Ahmed who was trying to board a lorry some weeks ago. May they rest in peace. We draw your attention to the 'Groupe décès' in Calais which organises funerals and acts as proxy for the families who cannot be present. Each funeral costs several thousand euros and donations are very welcome - we will happily advise on ways in which this can be done.
The causes of death near the northern French coast have evolved. Initially, in the years 2000/2010, many perished on the roads, hit by cars or trucks. Successful exiles hid in the trailers of heavy goods vehicles or clung to the axles. Subsequently, there has been a shift to deaths at sea. The figures for the year 2022 are that five exiles died at sea and four went missing, trying to reach the English coast, while at least three others died near the coast, trying to get on trucks or trains.
(The above figures have been compiled by journalists; official figures vary! According to the Prefecture, 36 migrants died in 2021, including 30 at sea and in 2022, there were 17 deaths, including 5 at sea. In contrast, the International Organization for Migration, 44 people died at the Franco-British border in 2021 and10 died in 2022, including 8 in the Channel.)
Remembering Mawda
A reminder on the anniversary of a distressing event that we have previously featured. On the night of May 2018, during a period when a far right member of the coalition was Minister of the Interior in Belgium, Mawda Shawri, a two-year-old Kurdish Iraqi girl, was killed by a bullet from a police officer's gun whilst sitting in her mother's arms during a car chase on the France-Belgium border. The bullet was said to have been aimed at the wheels of the van, which was carrying people on the move, but came through the window and hit Mawda's cheek.
From then on, various dehumanising measures were inflicted on the family to try to control the narrative of the events that took place and take away the blame from the police operation. These included claiming Mawda was used as a 'human shield', retracting various statements made in court and among other falsehoods, claiming that Mawda had fallen from the van. Mawda's lost her life through racist policies, truth was not served and her parents were offered no sympathy.
The case that was eventually heard two and a half years later was mired in contradictory statements from officials to a narrative that cast doubt on and discredited the family, their own testimony and those of other migrant witnesses who had been in the van. The penalties were four years imprisonment for the man said to be driving the van and a one year suspended sentence plus a €400 fine for the officer whose shot killed the child. The case has become a symbol of the violence and injustice faced by those crossing European borders.
Bishops' document on welcoming strangers inspires song
The Ooberfuse duo recently premiered their new song: 'Show Me Love' in honour of World Refugee Day on Tuesday 20 June. The words arose from reflection upon a document recently issued by the Conference of Catholic Bishops in England and Wales, 'Love the Stranger'. Seeking Sanctuary was delighted to assist by proposing locations in Dover from which scenes in the official video could be filmed.
Reviewing the song, Skylight Webzine writes: "Ooberfuse's ethereal pop anthem, 'Show Me Love,' featuring the mesmerizing vocals of Newroz Oremari, stands as a testament to the power of music in promoting unity and compassion".
Ooberfuse will be performing live during the Refugee Week Vigil outside the Home Office in Marsham Street, London SW1, on Monday 19 June at 12.30, when Bishop Paul McAleenan will provide a reflection.
Watch 'Show Me Love' here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ro-J06pc0cQ
In and around Calais
Concerns about ease of access to drinking water continue, and have been repeated in a report from a UN Agency. Rubbish sacks have been provided for NGOs to conduct clearances but the council refuses to provide a skip to collect them on the basis that it would make the town more attractive to passing migrants. The UK charity, Care4Calais has become careful to avoid obvious campaigns against local and national government actions because there are allegations of smuggling associated with demands from the UK government that it should be banned from working in France. As a consequence its volunteers are keeping away from beaches between certain hours and are unable to keep an eye on evictions, among other things.
And back to Dover ....
... Most people on the streets who were asked for comments about the Prime Minister's speech in the town on 5 June rejected his postulate that his policies had reduced the number of small boat crossings, saying that everyone knows that the reduction is due to poor sea conditions.
Thank you, as ever, for your concern for the scapegoats who few people speak up for.
20 April 2023
Update for April 2023
What's in a Golliwog ?
Seemingly nothing at all and it may seem irrelevant to our subject of humane treatment of asylum seekers. And yet – these so called culture wars in which golliwogs are said to be harmless toys provide the backdrop to a much more serious issue – if these comments are allowed to go unchallenged what hope is there for promoting a humane and tolerant society in which the refugee is received and helped in a humane and tolerant way?
Thank goodness we have a core of committed people such as yourselves who go out of their way to promote a culture of welcome and tolerance in so many different ways. And yet our task is to go further – to work with the people who may be our friends and neighbours to promote a welcoming culture to people who are at risk of being otherwise persuaded by the current intolerant narrative.
Those protesting against new camps are not all bigots – indeed some of the arguments putting asylum seekers miles away from urban environments where they are most likely to integrate have been taken up by campaigners. Meanwhile promises come and go – in recent weeks over 1000 people have made the Channel crossing in spite of the government 'crackdown'.
"Napier Barracks – the inhumane reality"
We welcome the recent publication of this hard hitting report by the Jesuit Refugee Service. Carefully researched and based on the experiences of those involved, the report describes the human consequences of 300+ people being placed in a dilapidated former barracks.
There was little or no room for privacy as residents had to sleep in dormitories with only thin screens to separate them. While they were allowed in theory at least to leave the Barracks there was little they could do with the small amount of money they received each week. Seeking Sanctuary is co-sponsoring the launch event in Folkestone on 27th April from 6 pm to 8pm. Contact us if you are able to attend. You will find the report here.
"Love the Stranger"
Another report come a few days earlier from the Catholic Bishops' Conference, proposing a new starting point for an ethical approach to greeting refugees. It points out the need to uphold the innate human dignity of each person. Our starting point as a society must be to recognise migrants and refugees as people. We need to understand their stories, their reasons for leaving their homelands and hopes for building a future here. We should see those arriving from elsewhere not as a political problem to be solved, but rather as brothers and sisters who we have a responsibility towards, and who greatly enrich our communities. Download here.
"A Radical Spirituality of Welcome – the Life and Legacy of Mother Maria Skobtsova". A webinar to mark World Refugee Week.
We have referred to this remarkable woman, the patron of a house of refuge in Calais, in an earlier update. From being involved in the Russian revolution to becoming an Orthodox nun, she opened houses of welcome in Paris which took in Jewish refugees after 1940. In 1943 she was deported to Ravensbruck where she died two years later.
At the same time she developed a distinctive theology of the Cross particularly relevant to the welcome of refugees. The webinar will take place on 23rd June at 7 pm via Zoom. Just email us if you would like to receive a link. The facilitators will be Ben and the former manager of the Calais House, Brother Johannes Maertens, missionary monk of the Monastery of the Good Shepherd and the Catholic Worker movement. A flyer is attached.
The tragedy of Burkina Faso and the Sahel continues ...
In our reporting of conflict zones across the world we focus this month on the growing instability in Burkina Faso, the landlocked West African nation which has experienced two military coups in the last year. While the country is beset by jihadist terrorism the city of Djibo in the north of the country has been under siege by terror groups for the last18 months. Almost half the country is under jihadist control.
Overall the Sahel is experiencing its worst instability since 2020.It is not surprising that Burkina Faso and its neighbouring countries are experiencing some of the worst refugee crises of recent years. And this can only get worse when the effects of the climate crisis are taken into account. Much of the Sahel is now parched, leading to conflicts over increasingly scarce resources.
Calais Resources
A new document is attached, in French, listing the varied voluntary groups that support exiles in Calais. The scope of their work is impressive. We also attach an (English) infographic presenting the situation faced by unaccompanied minors (UAMs) in Calais.
For almost a month, there has been a group of extremely violent smugglers working under the bridges in Calais. They get a strong hold on newcomers, especially those arriving at the station. There have been five confirmed acts of violence against exiles and support groups are taking measures to protect their teams, especially at night, with some operations suspended.
At A Crossroads
As we write this update we conscious of standing at the crossroads of despair and hope. The anti-migrant narrative continues to worsen - it has become almost normalised. The British public is being duped into accepting this narrative - 'Stop the Boats' has become the dominant political message as part of a catalogue of our woes. How easy it is to stereotype those who are unwanted as being 'scroungers' and not worthy of accommodation in hotels and similar.
In fact as many will describe their experiences, extended stays in a hotel are no sinecures. Food can often be repetitive and often boring. Home Office contracts to not allow for the use of leisure facilities. (Perhaps because there might be an outcry if it migrants were actually having a swim?)
If passed, the Government’s ‘Illegal Migration Bill’ would remove the right of refugees to get tp the UK to claim asylum. Is that really the sort of country we want to be? The Bill will see anyone who has braved a dangerous channel crossing in a small boat locked up in a detention centre, shipped off to another undisclosed country and have their asylum claim deemed “inadmissible”. Instead of allowing a right to safe passage for refugees who have experienced unimaginable hardship. our Prime Minister appears to be intent upon stripping them of their chances for a better life.
Postscript: Remember the reported atrocities of the Wagner group in Ukraine? They are now heavily involved in Mali following the withdrawal of French troops two years ago, and there are reports of indiscriminate attacks on civilians in the town of Moura where 300 were killed in an assault on Islamist militants.
6 March 2023
Update for March 2023
Dear Friends,
There never seems to be enough time and space to cover all the issues around refugees and migrants which we need to discuss. But as the narrative grows ever more hostile we must all do our best to ensure that the current far right (and not so far right) narrative does not enter the mainstream of our political discourse. In this update we look at 're-traumatisation', and the story of one of the most remarkable women martyrs of the 20th century, plus the latest news, even if we are finding it hard to keep up with developments.
Former breaking news
As our last Update was being mailed on 21 January, news broke of criminals recruiting new gang members by effectively kidnapping numerous impressionable under-age asylum seekers outside hotels where they were being accommodated by the Home Office. The amazing backlog of unprocessed asylum claims has put enormous pressure on accommodation and it emerged that many young people were not being accommodated by local authorities (as the law insists) or supervised by suitably trained staff.
Legal responsibility for exercising a duty of care seems often to have become a grey area because experienced local authority staff were not directly involved and central government had made no clear statement about how care should be provided. MPs from all parties are concerned about the situation and hopefully will continue to demand assurances of improvements.
Send them back!
This is the constant call from some of our politicians, including the Prime Minister and the recently appointed Deputy Chair of the Conservative Party. The latest calls are for 'illegals' to be sent back within a few days. But where? As the Dublin agreement is no longer operative they will not be accepted by any European country. And although the Government is reluctant to admit it, an increasing number crossing in small boats are Afghans who have not been able to access the official channels – some reports suggest that they are now beginning to outnumber Albanians. Does our Prime Minister really expects them to be returned into the hands of the Taliban? And even those with rigid views would find it hard to accept Afghans who have suffered trauma to be deported to Rwanda. Prime Minister, get real ...
New breaking news
As we edit this Update, UK media are full of comment about expected proposals for new legislation, this time being pushed by the Prime Minister who is thought to believe that 'get tough' policies will appeal to Conservative voters nationwide. The expectation is for the most Draconian anti-refugee legislation yet, aiming to make the UK off-limits to any refugees other than those who are hand picked.
It is anticipated that under the new laws, people arriving in small boats will:
• Have their asylum claims made automatically ‘inadmissible’;
• Be subject to mass detention;
• Be removed to a third country as soon as practicable;
• Be permanently banned from returning to the UK;
• Be unable to use family rights laws to stop deportation.
Apart from ignoring obligations under international law, this all raises immediate practical issues, and we wait for the dust to settle to see exactly what is proposed.
Rocks
As March began the Calais authorities, following a policy started a few months earlier to prevent the installation of tents, deposited large rocks on several grassy areas of the city centre. Now, they have blocked access to Quai Andrieux, near the Mollien bridge, which provides shelter to many. A water tank is located here to provide for for exiled people near the city centre. The rocks are lined up on the embankment and prevent any vehicle from accessing the tank so that no-one can come and fill it. The rocks also stop people from getting shelter under the bridge.
The risks of 're-traumatisation'
(Ben writes) Although I have worked in Mental Health Services for many years I was not familiar with the above term.
Re-traumatisation can be defined as a risk whenever victims are exposed to their traumatic histories without sufficient tools, supports, and safety to manage emotional, behavioural, and physical reactions.
This applies to the many thousands of people awaiting processing of claims and eking out their lives in poverty.
Following the trauma of being victims in a civil war or instability the experience of life in a hotel where the far Right is demonstrating outside is enough to add significantly to the trauma which is first experienced.
Our post-traumatic services for victims are very limited in dealing with these often complex and life changing reactions to trauma.
If there is a ray of light it is that through the experience of Ukrainian refugees in the UK and elsewhere, we are beginning to understand these experiences in people closer to home which provide us with some insights.
Albania
Recently it has been dispiriting to see Albanian asylum seekers demonised. The rhetoric has been deeply misleading and unfathomably cruel. One of the most toxic narratives has been the idea that Albanian boys and men, as opposed to girls and women, aren’t 'real' victims and aren’t in need of protection. In fact, many young men have been trafficked, either within Albania or from Albania to the UK or other European countries into forced labour or forced criminality, and severely abused.
Another common cause of Albanian boys and men fleeing their country is blood feud. A young man can be targeted because of something his father, grandfather, uncle or even a distant cousin did. Some feuds last for decades and may erupt suddenly even after a years-long lull. Many have no option but to self-confine, remaining inside their homes for years at a time, with devastating consequences for their mental health.
The story of a remarkable woman ...
You may have heard of the Catholic Worker House which is situated in one of the back streets of Calais. Ever since the house was established some years ago it has performed much-needed work in catering for some of the most vulnerable asylum seekers, particularly women and children, who would otherwise be sleeping outside in appalling conditions. Its name is 'Maria Skobtsova House'.
But who was Maria Skobtsova? She was an Orthodox nun who lost her life in the concentration camp of Ravensbruck in April 1945.Known as Mother Maria of Paris, her life journey was quite remarkable.
Spending her formative years in St Petersburg, she was a socialist revolutionary and an intellectual of a leftist bent. She nearly died during the 1917 revolution which she lived through. Twice married and divorced, she raised three children, one of whom survived, only to be murdered by the Nazis. As well as describing herself as an anarchist, she showed great sympathy and solidarity with the Jews. In later years, arriving in Paris with her mother as refugees she experienced what can be described as a 'surge of love'. She opened shelters and houses of hospitality for rootless Russian emigrés, often living in poverty, as well as welcoming Jews during the Nazi occupation from 1940.
As an Orthodox nun she was part of a tradition which placed love of neighbour as a priority of life. Like her contemporary, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, she was driven by the message of the Sermon on the Mount. She was an active member of Orthodox Action, which was founded in the 1930's to promote social justice.
Deported in 1943, she soon acquired a reputation in Ravensbruck of making selfless sacrifices which led to her replacing a fellow prisoner due for execution just before the end of the war. She was also a very profound spiritual writer in the Orthodox tradition, described in this article by Rowan Williams, taken from his 2021 book Looking East in Winter: Contemporary thought and the Eastern Christian tradition.
And as the weather gets colder...
Temperatures have been particularly low in Northern France over the last few weeks. Faced with the choice of sleeping in a flimsy tent in freezing temperatures or taking a chance on a small boat, we think we know what we would do ...
A successful immigrant
British Iranian Johnny Nash provides this video. He is host of the newly formed podcast, Successful Iranians, a career and accountability coach to small and medium-sized enterprises, a Forbes Top 1% global headhunter and author of The Secrets of the Sauce: Ending Career Misery.
21 January 2023
Update for January 2023
Modern Slavery
As we sent out our previous Update, the Home Secretary again claimed that 'modern slavery laws are being abused by people gaming the system' – a follow-up to her previous claims that protections are being manipulated by small boat arrivals. The Office for Statistics Regulation said that it had requested 'specific evidence' for her claims but none had been provided. It is true that the proportion of referrals deemed to be genuine cases of modern slavery in Home Office ‘conclusive grounds decisions’ has risen year by year from 58 per cent in 2016 to 91 per cent in 2021. However, this surely reflects the results of a government strategy encouraging Border Force officers, police and other officials to get better at identifying potential victims. Ministers and officials have still not produced evidence to support the rhetoric, and there is concern is that this style of rant severely undermines the protections of the Modern Slavery Act.
In and Around Calais
Arctic weather can settle in the area when gale force winds come down the North Sea or up the Channel. The usual harsh living conditions and struggle to survive become even harder. Associations working on the ground have reported that there are more young people in the camps, in particular Afghans in one of them. There is particular pressure with increases from new communities from the Near East (North Africa, Iran, Syria and Egypt with young people under 15), including a very large majority of young boys.
A project in Calais provides legal, social and psychological support to unaccompanied minors to strengthen their access to rights. Its review of 2022 reports that it helped 320 minors on the streets, 27% of them aged 15 or less. 47% came from Sudan, 13% from Afghanistan and 10 % from Syria. Only 21 had been recognised as unaccompanied minors by child protection services and received long term care. The average time spent on the streets was 77 days. Instances of psychological suffering were observed: post-traumatic stress with hypervigilance; depressive symptoms with insomnia and nightmares; destructive behaviours, such as eating disorders.
The political strategy of avoiding 'fixation points' has led to daily evictions in the area, mainly in daylight. This involves displaced people being forced to move their tents and belongings, anywhere from 2 to 500 meters. Personal belongings and basic necessities (such as tents, blankets, bags, identity papers, mobile phones, medicines, clothes, etc.) are often taken and/or destroyed on the spot and/or thrown into the skip, without giving their owners any opportunity retrieve them.
A place for people to recover their belongings has been set up without folk being systematically informed of its existence by staff of the Prefecture or the police. Equally, information about alternative options for shelter is not always provided. These acts are unlawful and yet take place in front of the bailiffs in charge of evictions. These operations of harassment are also often accompanied by abusive identity checks, followed by arbitrary arrests and illegal periods in administrative detention.
Deaths
Four more people drowned in the Channel in mid-December, as they risked everything to reach the UK. Over 30 others survived after clambering out of a twisted black dinghy in freezing temperatures. Witnesses said that the survivors came from Afghanistan and Iraq – two countries from which millions of people continue to flee because of war and persecution.
Our deepest sympathies are with their loved ones and all those directly affected by this tragedy. No one risks their own, or their family's life, unless they are running from dangers more acute than those they face on these dangerous journeys.
UK government data show that two-thirds of the men, women and children arriving this way are from countries where war and persecution have forced them from their homes. Yet almost no safe routes for refugees to get to the UK exist, even from these places, even from countries like Afghanistan, Syria and Iran. The only option to make an application for asylum is take a dangerous journey.
The evidence is clear – using ever more Draconian policies to try to ‘deter’ people who have had to flee for their lives doesn't work. We continue to call for compassionate and well-thought through plans that will save lives and give protection to those who need it.
2023 has started with more horrific news of death. Calais is crossed by a number of railway lines placed at ground level among the streets and business areas. On 3 January, Fouad Dango aged 29, from Sudan, walked in front of a train travelling on one of the tracks close to the Rue de Judée, where food and water are distributed to the exiles. He has been buried in the town's cemetery.
A huge thank you from Napier Friends
Napier Friends - the group which supports people held in Napier Barracks in Folkestone, would like to pass on their thanks for your generous festive donations of £850 which have enabled hats and scarves to be purchased for residents as well as for 85 people who were moved to local hotels in Folkestone. These were very much needed and appreciated during the recent cold weather.
Age Assessment - new controversies
How can one tell with precision whether someone is seventeen and a half or eighteen and a half? The answer from a committee of experts is 'You can't. The government is keen to extend the use of 'scientific' methods, including X-rays and MRI scans as well as the development of teeth and bones. The Committee rightly questions whether the use of these methods is reliable or ethical. The Committee stresses that 'no method, biological or social worker led, can predict age with precision.The Committee also point out the potential harm of using ionising radiation as well the distress caused by such tests, particularly on lone children. And what about the duty to obtain informed consent ? We await the response of the government with interest.
Modern Slavery
As we sent out our previous Update, the Home Secretary again claimed that 'modern slavery laws are being abused by people gaming the system' – a follow-up to her previous claims that protections are being manipulated by small boat arrivals. The Office for Statistics Regulation said that it had requested 'specific evidence' for her claims but none had been provided. It is true that the proportion of referrals deemed to be genuine cases of modern slavery in Home Office ‘conclusive grounds decisions’ has risen year by year from 58 per cent in 2016 to 91 per cent in 2021. However, this surely reflects the results of a government strategy encouraging Border Force officers, police and other officials to get better at identifying potential victims. Ministers and officials have still not produced evidence to support the rhetoric, and there is concern is that this style of rant severely undermines the protections of the Modern Slavery Act.
Detention
The often very visible arrival of more people in small boats, and a large and growing backlog in the asylum system, suggest that the UK’s immigration system is in crisis. The government therefore says that it intends to reassert control over the borders through measures that include the expanded use of immigration detention.
Some recourse to detention may be justified if it ensures that those with no right to remain do not avoid immigration control. However, as 2022 drew to a close it became evident that thousands of people were held in unhealthy conditions for long periods in the processing facility at Manston in Kent. At one point around 4,000 people were being held at a site designed for 1,600 and outbreaks of diphtheria and scabies were reported, not to mention Covid. Not only were there risks to the individuals concerned, some of who resorted to self harm and attempts at suicide, but our international reputation for fair treatment and taking responsibility for the welfare of people in government care has surely been damaged.
Safeguarding is particularly important for immigration detainees, who generally lose the protections of citizenship, and may have a history of trauma or be prevented by linguistic or cultural barriers from explaining their circumstances or asserting their rights. For many years regular inspections and reviews have taken place to ensure that policies to protect vulnerable people do work as they should.
The Home Office has invested time and energy to improve policies and procedure, with teams to put the findings of inspections and reviews into practice. But those responsible have noted that although many recommendations are accepted, progress in implementing them has been painfully slow.
With politicians discussing the expansion of detention and taking steps to reopen former immigration removal centres, it is more important than ever that a focus on detainee welfare is maintained and that and ensure that safeguards are robust and effective. The story of Manston suggests that this focus can get lost.
Continued Persecution
The state policy of applying bullying and hindrance to aid workers is still active. On the morning of 19 January the team from the Calais Food Collective found that their tank used to distribute drinking water had disappeared and that rocks had been deposited to prevent its replacement. The two local police forces deny responsibility, despite having been spotted in very similar actions in the past.
In September the Calais municipality, under pressure from reporters, admitted that a tank had been seized and in the following month a court in Lille found that official notices banning the distribution of food and water were illegal. Nevertheless, the obstructive actions continue and the State is preparing to appeal the court decision.
A statement from the Collective called for a halt, saying that freezing conditions put more lives at risk and increase the need for food and water to be provided. They point out that all human life is sacred and promise that they will never stop protesting again these inhuman actions.
Intolerance and Pushback in Europe
News reaches us (via the Guardian) of disturbing developments as the Far Right takes power across several European countries. In Italy landings of rescued people have been been banned and NGO boats have been forced to take much longer journeys to French ports. NGO operations have also ceased in Lesbos following charges laid against rescuers relating to assistance given to people fleeing Syria in 2015/2016.
Sweden, for so long a bastion of liberalism, is now being influenced by far right politicians who exercise much influence in Swedish politics.The earlier policies of 'burden sharing' has not been implemented, resulting in increasing 'pushbacks' , particularly in Romania, Croatia and Hungary. And Austria, long a crossroads of different nationalities, has called has called for a Rwanda style deportation plan.
The reasons for all this are obvious - food and climate insecurity, inequality and rapid demographic changes as well as war and violence are just some of the causes. And humanitarian policies take a back seat in the face of the rise of the far right.
Tigray - reasons for hope?
We always try to include at least one good news story to balance our often pessimistic outlook. This month's story comes from Tigray, scene of of the world's deadliest conflict - tens of thousand have been killed. For years neither side was not talking to the other but after the recent truce it has been possible to bring international aid and telecommunications, including the internet, for people who were cut off from these necessities. And the power grid has now been restored to Tigray
But the peace is fragile as Eritrea, which has played an active part in the conflict, has not yet withdrawn its troops and there is a risk of return to hostilities. Let us hope and pray that this fragile peace will hold.
'Faith and Frontiers'
This is the title of a free online conference on Saturday 18 February from 10h00 to 16h00, looking at Christian responses to the migration crisis. It is promoted by 'Project Bonhoeffer', a charity established to promote the legacy of this well known peacemaker who lost his life in 1945. Ben has joined recently as a trustee of the charity.
The keynote address will be given by Bishop Rose Hudson-Wilkin, Bishop of Dover, and other speakers include Dr Ulrich Schmiedel of the University of Edinburgh, an authority on religion and migration, and Rev Dr Keith Clements, a noted Bonhoeffer scholar, who will be joined by people from groups currently working to meet the needs of asylum seekers in Calais, Kent and the North of England.
The Project, set up in 2011, aims to inform and remind today’s Christians – especially the young as well as the not-so-young – of the challenges of discipleship that Dietrich Bonhoeffer addressed in his radical theology and in the Christian witness that led to his execution by the Nazis at the end of the Second World War.
The project's events seek to enable people to put Christian faith into action in ways that make a positive difference in the world, engaging with the key social and political challenges we face. It encourages and resources theological reflection, conversation and community-building around Bonhoeffer's work and life and its implications for today.
The goal is not unlike that of the well-worn Pastoral Cycle, providing opportunities for people to think and to act – reflecting on faith … and then doing something about it in the context in which they live and feel called to serve.
Book at https://www.projectbonhoeffer.org.uk/events/
Rwanda
NGOs have been granted leave to appeal against aspects of the recent High Court decision suggesting that the proposed UK government policy of deportation may be legal.
14 December 2022
Media Release
Seeking Sanctuary says 'Let's avoid yet more deaths in the Channel'.
Reports are reaching us of some of the dire conditions of sub-zero temperatures in Northern France where many hundreds of migrants are huddling together in flimsy tents. It is little wonder that they seek to escape these conditions by risking their lives in small boats.
Seeking Sanctuary repeats its proposals for avoiding the tragic risk to lives for people attempting to reach the UK in small boats and the consequent impact upon those who are involved in the rescue services:
1. Provide a reception centre in Calais where asylum seekers can make their claims in safe and legal ways and cross to the UK once their claims have been registered. Operate the centre through a system of pre-bookable on-line appointments to avoid unnecessary journeys to Calais and prevent the system being overwhelmed. In this way asylum seekers could stay in other parts of France while waiting for appointments.
2. In these sub-zero temperatures with migrants crowded together in frail shelters and becoming obvious prey for people smugglers with the alternatives being too dire to think about, provide some basic shelter by using some of the millions of pounds already provided to France by the UK government and so avoid unnecessary risks being taken.
Ben Bano, from Seeking Sanctuary said: Those fleeing war and persecution should not be vilified by commentators and be able access a fair hearing and live in safety and dignity while their claims are considered.We cannot solve this problem simply through yet again adding more security systems, more technology, more police and more patrol boats. While our proposals are not ideal, they do indicate practical ways to solve the immediate problems which lead to the current misery and tragic loss of lives. They would also eliminate the need for the often complex and difficult maritime rescue operations currently being undertaken.
2 December 2022
Update for December 2022
Our Festive Season Appeal.
We are appealing this year on behalf of 'Napier Friends' to provide comforts such as woolly hats, scarves, and much else as well for the 300+ asylum seekers currently being put up in Napier Barracks in Folkestone. Life in the Barracks can be bleak and we want to support Napier Friends in offering just some comfort and hope while the residents go through the long process of waiting for their applications to be processed. Let us know if you can help, and we will let you have the relevant bank account details to donate.
'Send them back to Albania'...
This is another call from an MP which fans the flames of intolerance. The only problem – a large number of those classed as Albanians crossing to the UK don't in fact live in Albania any more but in other European countries -- they may not have seen Albania for years – so what might happen to them? As we commented last month, Albania is a major source of victims of trafficking, from which they require asylum.
And News from Rwanda and the DRC ...
There are disturbing reports of possible Rwandan support for the M23 rebels who started an offensive which has led to the capture of the Congolese border town of Bunagana. And in the town of Kishishe 50 civilians were massacred by the M23 rebels. And tens of thousands of people have been displaced.
Deaths
The first anniversary of the deaths of at least 27 migrants in the worst maritime disaster in the Channel for 30 years on 24 November 2021 was marked by vigils on the south coast and elsewhere. People called for safer routes for refugees to come to Britain. Around 100 people including residents from Napier Barracks gathered on the beach at Folkestone in an evening vigil where one participant said: “The horrible weather just made it even more moving and poignant.” Great sadness was expressed that the migrants died in the dinghy disaster while countries bickered over who was responsible for saving them. Another participant wrote on Twitter: “Whether in the Channel, in detention centres, camps, on the street etc, people seeking safety are dying because they are ignored.”
A simultaneous gathering of several hundred people took place near Dunkirk, where three wreaths of white flowers were thrown upon the sea, accompanied by three blasts on a port foghorn. Boats brought rescue workers lifeboat together with elected officials from France and the EU.
Ramsgate witnessed a similar event and flowers left on the Folkestone beach were later taken to Dover and laid at the memorial plaques for the dead near the ferry terminal.
Offering prayers for the dead and those who mourn, Bishop Paul McAleenan, lead bishop for migrants and refugees for the Catholic bishops of England and Wales, said: “This avoidable tragedy challenges us to reflect on our collective responsibility for protecting refugees and migrants from life-threatening danger. As more of our brothers and sisters attempt to make this crossing in search of a better life, unacceptable discourse and policies continue to rob them of their human dignity.”
The names of the dead were remembered at the start of the week in London, during the monthly lunch-time hour's vigil in support of asylum seekers at 12.30pm outside the Home Office in London. The address is 2 Marsham St, London SW1P 4DF and the next vigil will be on Monday 19 December
Manston
We led last month's update with an account of concerns about this – supposedly short-term – processing centre in Kent.
The site has been beset by series of scandals arising from severe overcrowding. These include a diphtheria outbreak, drug use by guards on the site and asylum seekers being removed from the site and dumped in central London.
Manston was initially intended to hold a maximum of 1,600 people, but at one point accommodated 4,000, with many staying considerably longer than the 24-hour legal time limit. Independent monitors condemned failures to provide information to people about the length of their stay at Manston, how their claim would be processed and when transfers would happen and described the conditions as 'squalid'.
Concerns include:
- Safeguarding issues around people sleeping close together who don’t know each other.
- Blankets being used to block wind and rain from coming into tents.
- Contents of portaloos overflowing during a rainy period and seeping into tents.
- Children wearing inadequate clothing.
- Blankets being stolen.
- People sleeping on flattened cardboard boxes.
- Overcrowding and sharing of blankets, raising serious concerns for the cross-contamination of diseases.
- Manston was emptied in the last week of November, with more diphtheria outbreaks since being reported among the former residents. It is being refilled and latest reports suggest that over 800 people have been taken there over the past few days.
- The rate of arrivals on the beaches in small boats has increased after a spell of better sea conditions, with 884 people arriving on 17 boats on one day. Manston is now thought to be operational again after a deep cleansing and provision of some mattresses.
A change in public opinion?
Ben writes: Am I being naïve or do I detect a subtle change in public opinion ? Is there a reaction to the constant anti-immigrant narrative which is being reinforced by our new Prime Minister and his government? In the face of the scandal of conditions at the Manston processing centre and the prospect of deportation to Rwanda, is the 'tolerant' side of British society finally showing its face? Are we seeing a shift of attitude from the groups in our community labelled as 'intolerant'? I have been heartened by the immediate response of people in our town of Deal to an appeal for winter clothing not just in France but here as well. Perhaps the presence of Ukrainian refugees has made us more aware of the issues of migration and being a refugee. Maybe this is an opportunity in this festive season to use our 'soft' power. For those of us who are reluctant to take part in marches or vigils we might do some 'myth busting' with our friends and families as we gather together for the festivities. Perhaps the dinner table can be a place of discernment. You may live near a newly requisitioned hotel - after all the 4000 people evacuated from Manston had to go somewhere... Life in a hotel, particularly for families subsisting on under £40 per week (or only £8 if food has been provided) will be bleak – why not find out if there is a local group to support hotel residents – if not, then why not start one?
Ending
We leave you with a quote from Etty Hillesum, the increasingly well known Dutch mystic and philosopher who lost her life in Auschwitz in 1943.
'We human beings cause monstrous conditions, but precisely because we cause them we soon learn to adapt ourselves to them. to them. Only if we become such that we can no longer adapt ourselves, only if, deep inside, we rebel against every kind of evil, will we be able to put a stop to it.
While everything within us does not yet scream out in protest, so long will we find ways of adapting ourselves, and the horrors will continue'.
8 November 2022
Update for November 2022
An Invasion of our Shores
On 31 October the Home Secretary spoke in Parliament about "stopping the invasion on our southern coast", following heightened concerns over the very visible arrival of asylum seekers in small boats.
And so the rhetoric gets taken to a new level. We wonder who the audience is this time, as we detect a growing public feeling that all these attacks on our fellow human beings risk becoming counter-productive. And we continue to question the more or less constant narrative of the 'illegals' invading the White Cliffs of Dover. They are just a small proportion of those who have been displaced from their homes and deserve to be treated with respect and dignity.
We have constantly stressed that it is not an illegal act to set out in a small boat with the intention of claiming asylum - but it soon will be under new Government legislation. This, yet again, aims to deter traumatised people coming to the UK. Talk solely of "pull factors" shows no recognition of the global scale of the migration phenomenon or of the possibility of working with others to create conditions that will eliminate the conflict, poverty and suffering that push families away from their homes.
The reception facility at Dover is unable to rapidly process the numbers now arriving on most days and a larger centre has been set up a few miles away in a former military airport at Manston, designed to deal with 1000 to 1500 people within 24 hours of their arrival. However, it seems that there is insufficient space receive them when they are ready to move on, with the result that over 4000 people have been sleeping on the ground in marquees for long periods.
As we write, the conditions at Manston continue to be dire, although the total number within the facility is said to be down to some 1500. Imagine having to sleep on the ground in a marquee or between benches. Imagine that there are no sources of contact as mobile phones are confiscated to prevent contact with the media, meaning that you are cut off from loved ones. And in these conditions disease can spread all too easily. The current conditions are as bad if not worse than the Greek holding camps which have been the subject of criticism. The experience of these conditions following the trauma of earlier wars and persecution is beyond our comprehension. Up to now we have been unable to establish whether there are any trauma counsellors or other mental health input on site, particularly as many people have been in Manston for more than a month.
Hundreds of supporters have protested outside the gates and after weeks of inaction the Home Office has suddenly found it possible to find hundreds of hotel rooms for the residents to move on to while their claims for asylum are investigated. This slight success has been marred when poor communication has resulted in dozens of people taken by coach to central London being abandoned at rail stations overnight with no idea where to go next.
Albanians - the latest scapegoats in demonisation of migrants and refugees
Interestingly the latest figures show that 53% of Albanian asylum seekers are granted leave to remain or asylum status. Although reported as being free from military conflict, Albania is a major source of victims of trafficking, from which they require asylum. Women are typically sold into the sex trade and men into agricultural slavery.
The situation is complex with many young people struggling to scratch a living in the context of worsening economic conditions as well as being victims of long-standing blood feuds. It is not surprising that they make easy targets by traffickers who falsely promise an El Dorado for a few thousand euros. And many of those labelled as 'Albanian' are in fact from other countries in the Balkans, for example Kosovo and North Macedonia.. Another surprising fact - last year Albania welcomed two thousand Afghan refugees who were unable to gain access to the United States. Some are still waiting to hear if they will be accepted in the United States.
A message from Harmondsworth ...
Immigration detention is the practice of holding people who are subject to immigration control in custody while they wait for permission to enter a country or before they are deported or removed. It is an administrative process, not a criminal procedure. This means that migrants and undocumented people are detained at the decision of an immigration official, not a court or a judge. Unlike most other European countries, there is no time limit on immigration detention in the UK.
Home Office policy says that detention must be used sparingly and for the shortest possible period. But in reality, many thousands are held each year, some for very lengthy periods, causing serious mental distress.
A power outage that began just after midnight on Friday morning plunged the Immigration Removal Centre at Harmondsworth, near Heathrow Airport, into darkness.
We print below the latest statement from a detainee at Harmondsworth, given at 16:45 on 04/11/2022. At the time the centre had been without running water or electricity since midnight. Some people have been moved to reduce pressure on space, but in some cases moved to inappropriate accommodation such as already crowded prisons.
At exactly midnight the lights went off, everything went off, and the emergency bells went off. It's coming up seventeen hours now.
We are still waiting. We're afraid to go indoors [return to cells at 9pm], because the [emergency] buzzer's not working, the electricity's not working, it's pitch dark. There's not even candlelight here. The only light we get is through the window, but the windows are all black because it's Heathrow. And you can't open the windows, they're all triple glazed and there's no air.
It's cold, and when we go out now it's dark. A lot of people are struggling. They didn't have breakfast or lunch - there's a lot of vegetarians and vegans here and they keep saying the vegetarian food is coming, coming, coming, but it didn't come all day.
We've been given two bottles of water to wash faces and have a drink, but there's no running water, nothing.
We still haven't got a place to go and use the toilet. People are struggling now. There are two people to a cell. It's unbearable - someone wanted to go to the toilet for two or three hours and the manager told them to use a bag. Shit in a bag. That's horrendous - how can you say that? This is the United Kingdom, the world looks up to us.
As I'm talking I'm sweating, my hair is standing up, I've got goose bumps.
It's coming up to five o'clock and I've got four people sitting around me listening to what I tell you.
I'm afraid to go indoors at nine o'clock. If the buzzer's not working they shouldn't be keeping people in their rooms for twelve hours.
There's no water, nobody can go to the toilet - people are basically going to the toilet in the bin.
In another wing there's a gentleman that's had three strokes, he's in his 60s and he's been here for the last 25 months. He phoned me last night because he was in a bad way. I had to call an officer and ask them to help him because the emergency buzzer wasn't working.
Normally [cell] opening time is 8am, but they didn't open until 10.30 today. Before that no officers came to check on people. The buzzer wasn't working - God forbid something happened to someone. There should have been people coming round to check everyone's all right.
I got my medication at 1 o'clock, I'm supposed to take it at 8 o'clock. I've got [chronic, painful medical condition]. I had to argue for it. It's pitch dark - when they gave it to me they had to record it on a laptop because no computers are working.
People came for a visit and they had to turn them away, they said there was no power.
16 hours it's been. I'm dying for a tea or a coffee, my head's hurting, I'm really stressed out. Most people's phones are dead because they didn't know the electric was going to go out. We don't know what's going to happen at 9pm.
Concern
Despite these horrendous situations, only partly described above, we are heartened by the witness of many people who have willingly travelled for miles to show their support for their fellow human beings and their growing concern for the tone of public debate, all too often inflamed by political rhetoric.
6 October 2022
Update for October 2022
On the death of Queen Elizabeth and the accession of King Charles
Alongside so many other organisations we offer our profound condolences at this difficult time. We cannot of course know the views of our late Queen on asylum and refugee related issues, but we can be sure that through her many journeys and commitments to the Commonwealth as well as her public utterances she was committed to multiculturalism and racial equality, as is our new King who has a long record in promoting many inititiatives to promote equality, and efforts to establish justice and peace.
Might our late Queen with her fondness of the story of the Good Samaritan even have cautioned against forced deportations to Rwanda? We would like to think so ...
'I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full' ...
Ben writes: We are very conscious of the need not to 'proselytise' in our updates and the need to respect the views and beliefs of you, the recipients of our updates.
And yet this passage from the Gospel of John is striking and relevant to the crises in the world in which we find ourselves. It describes a belief which transcends faith and belief systems which is based on respect for the dignity of human persons.
That is the message that we take from the World Day for Migrants and Refugees on 25th September. For so many of our friends life is about survival – and the granting of asylum might be the first step in enabling someone fleeing persecution to 'live life to the full.'
The theme of the World Day was 'Building the future with migrants and refugees'. Note the wording – the future needs to be built 'with' rather than 'for' migrants and refugees. A future that, in the words of Pope Francis, leaves no-one behind.
The Political Scene – surrounded by myths
From Ugandan Asians fleeing Idi Amin to Ukrainians seeking refuge from war, Britain has a strong heritage of welcoming those less fortunate than us. Yet asylum remains one of the political policy areas led by rhetoric rather than facts and most fraught with division and polarisation.
Many worry that the asylum system is not sustainable and the government’s perceived lack of control of borders contributes to this. There is no coherent national refugee strategy and a long-term vision is needed to move away from crisis management. Anyone fleeing war and persecution should be able access a fair hearing and live in safety and dignity.
Major barriers to rational discussion result from the repetition of several myths.
First, a belief that refugees deserve to be treated with compassion and given a fair hearing does not mean that you are in favour of uncontrolled migration. Refugee applications make up only a small percentage of the total immigration figures, but concerns about economic migration create scapegoats out of refugees without reducing migration figures.
A second myth is that the number making treacherous and very visible Channel crossings can only be reduced through deterrence policies such as the Rwanda plan. However, such policies are ineffective, costly and risk weakening the global system for managing asylum claims. Quite apart from questions of morality, the cost of creating a sufficient deterrent is too great to have any meaningful impact on the number undertaking Channel crossings. Many of those reaching Calais have faced incredible hardships at home and on their journeys: they are not deterred by the probability of a flight to Rwanda.
Viable ways forward must start with diplomacy. We must strengthen collaboration to stop smuggling and secure agreement from our European partners for creating mechanisms to review cases elsehwere in Europe (with safeguards so that asylum claims are looked at before people arrive here). Additionally, we should create safe routes so that we take a fair share of displaced people and create incentives for European partners to uphold their side of the bargain.
Another important myth is that we do not have the capacity to manage the current caseload safely. This is based on publicity over the use of poor quality asylum hotels costing an astonishing £1 billion annually. The asylum backlog creates a major challenge to orderly management as well as pushing up the exorbitant costs. Clearance of the backlog is essential, and meantime while there are labour shortages, people seeing asylum should be allowed to work and contribute to the common good of UK society.
Asylum and refugee policy should not be divisive.
Our four point plan for avoiding dangerous Channel crossings
We need to find a way of countering the narrative of 'illegals' crossing in small boats which has been repeated again by the new Home Secretary. Here are our proposals which would do away with small boat crossings as well as cutting the risk of asylum seekers falling into the hands of people smugglers.
- Open a UK asylum processing centre in Calais using Border Force personnel who are already deployed there, together with interpreters. (The Centre could equally well be in another accessible location such as Lille or Paris.)
- Develop a system of timed appointments so as not to overwhelm the Centre. These can be made online to avoid unnecessary journeys to Calais. Support and help.would be needed to enable applicants to access the system, for example through a dedicated multi-lingual website.
- Provide safe Channel crossings for those who have been interviewed and whose applications are being processed. Provide UK accommodation as at present.
- Provide finance for the French authorities to provide safe and dignified accommodation for those who are waiting to have their claims heard
Under these proposals there would be no need for people to make dangerous Channel crossings. The resources now deployed in border patrols, etc., could be diverted, and most important of all, nobody would put their lives at risk. Your views on these proposals are welcome ....
And the cost of living crisis with its implications for asylum seekers
Those waiting for decisions on their applications in the UK are often housed in poor quality, temporary accommodation. It is more than likely that many will have to use key meters for electric power, which can cost up to 25% more than ordinary meters.
And yet the question remains – how to manage dramatically increased costs on a budget of £37 per week which has to cover food and all other expenses. The simple answer is that it can't be done – do let us know about the impact of the cost of living crisis on asylum seekers in your area so that we can lobby on this issue, as required.
Focus on conflict and civil war – the tragic situation in Burkina Faso ...
This month we turn our attention to the tragic events emerging in the West African state of Burkina Faso. This country has been grappling with a jihadist insurgency that swept in from Mali in 2015. During 2021 there were a number of attacks by armed Islamist Groups which marked a deterioration in human rights and security.
The country was further destabilised by a military coup in January this year. And it is experiencing its worst food crisis in a decade. Currently 600,000 people are existing at emergency hunger levels.
The attacks have continued and on 5th September 35 people died on a bus as they were nearing the capital, Ouagadugou. The town of Djibo has been blockaded since May and is hosting nearly 300,000 displaced people. It is estimated that nearly 5 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance – about a quarter of the total population of the country. And 1.9 million people have been forced to leave their homes. Yet another example of news from a human catastrophe which has barely reached our consciousness.
Disturbing reports also reach us from Eritrea, where in the past few months the military have been targeting boys and young men during Church services. Recently members of an entire choir in their robes were abducted to a military camp to fight as soldiers in current conflicts. It's no wonder that so many young Eritreans are forced to seek sanctuary away from their country ...
A good time was had by all
Meanwhile we would like to thank those of you who contributed so generously to our appeal for a meal for residents of Napier Barracks to mark the World Day for Migrants and Refugees on 25th September. A total of £220 was raised. Because of logistical problems it was not possible to stick to our original plan for a meal in a local restaurant – instead we used the funds to book an excellent local caterer to deliver quality food to the barracks – this benefited many more of the 300+ residents than could be taken out to a restaurant. It was a pleasant surprise from the bleakness of the barracks.
With our thanks for your concern for our neighbours who suffer,
2 August 2022
Update for July & August 2022
'We cannot remain silent' ...
Ben writes: We had intended to take a summer break and resume our activities in September. But how can we not speak out? As we write the Conservative leadership race is in full swing and what we feared most is happening – a race to the bottom. Not content with deportation to Rwanda, new proposals focus on the extension of the scheme to countries such as Turkey, and is all this simply to please the 120,000 or so members of the Conservative Party who will be casting their votes?
Make no mistake – the rhetoric will get even worse – our brothers and sisters will become unwilling pawns in the struggle to win political credibility. And still there are racial overtones in the debate over seeking sanctuary.
Have our politicians become competitors in xenophobia?
In blunt terms Ukrainians seeking sanctuary deserve our sympathy and support (rightly) but what about someone from Mali or the Yemen? And what about Afghans seeking sanctuary? Perhaps the positive news is that the numerous welcome initiatives for Ukrainians have made us reflect on the sheer trauma and experience of seeking sanctuary. Meanwhile there remains a pressing need to 'level up' in the need to ensure that every person seeking sanctuary is treated with dignity and respect.
Many of us had thought the rise of xenophobia might be slowed by the decline of UKIP. Not so – the current political narrative seems to be based on a race to hate any group in society that is 'marginal'. Are we on a slippery slope to the great replacement theory propounded by Victor Orban and other right wing extremists – that the purity' of Europe will only survive without migrants? Perhaps our refugee sisters and brothers are merely the proxy for a wider agenda.
The 71st anniversary of the adoption of the Refugee Convention passed by on 28 July with no public celebration. One wonders if a new Conservative leader will end UK membership before another year has passed.
The Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration issued a report about conditions at Dover on 21 July. He found that the key stumbling block to addressing challenges has been the continued consideration that this situation is an ‘emergency’, rather than an ongoing new reality. Facilities had expanded piecemeal and did not consistently meet operational needs. Work had been undermined by poor staff communications, inconsistent processes, poor record-keeping and potentially missed opportunities to identify persons of interest. Records were often inaccurate and the searching of new arrivals has been marked by staff confusion about how to handle mobile phones, travel documents and cash, resulting in inconsistent practice across the operation. Several other independent reports have identified similar problems and progress with remedial work has been slow or non-existent.
The courage to speak out against injustice
Ben is currently writing a dissertation for a Master's degree in Theology on the theme: 'Barth and Bonhoeffer – an answer to the theology of the New Right?' It took someone with Bonhoeffer's courage to continually speak out and say that Church and State cannot be separated – the Church has a moral imperative to speak out against injustice at the risk of upsetting politicians who believe that the Church should 'mind its own business'.
Keeping our concerns alive in Dover
We organised an Assembly at Dover for the Commission for Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation of the Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark on 25 June, just 22 years and a week after 58 young Chinese were found dead from suffocation in a sealed container vehicle at the port. We were delighted with the attendance and lively participation, not withstanding the national rail strike on the same day.
We heard about a number of ground breaking initiatives, including the work done by the Jesuit Refugee Service, the Ukrainian Chaplaincy and a first-hand account of life in Calais by Brother Johannes Maertens from the London Catholic Worker House.
Download accounts of what was said here or contact Marie at the diocesan office if you encounter problems.
An account
Several of the sisters from Minster Abbey, some 20 miles from Dover, felt honoured to have attended and appreciated not only the excellent speakers but the beautifully prepared and very generous lunch provided by the ladies of Dover Parish.
Sister Benedict commented. The terrible War in Ukraine was in our minds that day and this was, in many ways, a focus. We learned about local projects to support Migrants and the many acts of practical kindness extended to those in need, both locally and far off. We were shared prayer on the Dover Seafront, joining in 'A litany for the Victims'
We stood alongside a place where so many Migrants had lost their lives, and will of course, continue to do so. The Litany began with the prayer:
'O Lord, Our hearts are heavy with the sufferings of the innocent victims who have paid the price of seeking sanctuary with their lives. The cries of the victims still haunt us. Each day lives are risked in desperate attempts to escape death and persecution.'
We heard of the experience of a Catholic Worker who lived with the people of Calais before the 'jungle' was destroyed. This brought home to us the reality of what has happened just over the sea. Where now is the cry of the poor and who will hear their voices?
We were invited for an Ice cream and tea at the local Premier Inn at the end of the day, from which one image stays in my mind and heart.
One of the speakers, Andriy Marchenko from the Ukrainian church in London, left his seat to watch the news on the TV screen. It was a scene we are so 'used to', of a housing block being bombed by the Russians somewhere in Ukraine. I noticed him standing bolt upright. Life carried on around him. People were chatting and laughing, and I was finishing my ice cream.
I went over to him and stood beside him. What to do, what to say? Nothing. I just put my hand on his shoulder. I promised prayer. That is all I could murmur. He responded with quiet gratitude.
A few mornings ago at about 1.00 am we welcomed our Ukrainian family who will stay in our property. They range from Svitlana a Granny of 83 to little Yaroslaw aged 4. This may be only a drop in the ocean, but they have become our family for as long as it takes. They are overwhelmingly grateful, but we are the true recipients of the unbearable injustice.
Our motto is Peace, PAX. This lovely family has been through Hell to find it, and we pray that it will be seasoned with Justice as they strive to rebuild their lives. They certainly have the will and courage to do just that!
'The soldiers knocked on my door'
'The soldiers knocked on my door. But I had no way of knowing if they were government forces or fighting for a local warlord. Either way we decided we had to flee there and then.'
Each month we focus on a different area of conflict in the world. Few can be as long lasting as the civil war in South Sudan where warlords often hold sway. And safety lies in Uganda, but to get there involves a hazardous trip, requiring walking for long distances, taking a canoe on the Nile and finally standing on the back of a truck. The camps are usually full and so refugees have to camp outside. Even worse, the World Food programme has had to cut its distribution drastically. Plus recent (unreported) floods have left many needing to leave their homes. It is tragic because South Sudan is rich in mineral resources ...
Question: If my family and I are faced with starvation, is it OK to become an economic migrant?
A gesture of 'levelling up'
How to mark the World Day of Prayer for Migrants and Refugees on 25th September. We are all used to enjoying a meal, perhaps in social time with our friends and family in pubs and restaurants – it is a normal part of everyday life. But what about our refugee sisters and brothers who might never get this opportunity? We would like to mark the day by inviting 10 or more residents of Napier Barracks to be our guests at a local Inn for lunch. A slight problem – we have no money to fund the meals for our guests! If you would like to contribute a small amount to help this event, please feel free. It's all part of helping to assert the equality and dignity of those who find themselves in the surroundings of the Barracks through no fault of their own.
A final thought
Is there something special about our memorial to deceased migrants being situated just next to the worst of the current traffic queues trying to get into the Port of Dover? The situations both symbolise frustration at not being able to reach a destination. A reminder that humanity is never static and that those facing a challenging journey deserve our sympathy and support, whatever the circumstances.
With thanks for your continued support.
Phil + Ben.
21 June 2022
Update for June 2022
Ben writes:
I enjoyed the Queen's Jubilee service at St Paul's Cathedral with all its pomp and ceremony. The service itself was full of of hymns and prayers which represent the Christian values upheld by our country and the monarchy. Prayers were appropriately offered for those who are suffering and the service represented all that is best in reminding us of our traditional national values.
It wasn't long before my thoughts turned to the young men detained in Brook House. just 25 miles from St Paul's Cathedral, trembling with fear in their cells as they await deportation to Rwanda. Have they not suffered enough? From their initial trauma in Syria and then elsewhere, reaching the dangerous Channel crossings, with the thought of an uncertain future it is unsurprising that they are resorting to hunger strikes: they have already endured trauma at least three times.
There is an increasing dissonance between in our nation's values and its government's actions this has led to a situation never before recorded in this country's history, in which refugees who are welcome are deported to a destination whose credentials seem questionable at the very least.
Perhaps the real lesson of the jubilee is a reaffirmation of what it means to hold a value system based on freedom from oppression and the restatement of humanitarian values and then putting it into action.
THE POPE'S BLESSING FOR NAPIER BARRACKS
We are delighted to let you know that immediately upon receiving the Nuncio's report on his earlier visit, Pope Francis has sent a special certificate of blessing for the young people resident at the Barracks. A lovely and powerful gesture of compassion. You will find full details and pictures here
https://www.cbcew.org.uk/nuncio-brings-popes-blessing-to-asylum-seekers-housed-at-napier-barracks
RWANDA - A LAND OF SAFETY ?
As we started to write this Update we were unsure if the first flight to Rwanda would actually take place. But can refugees really build a better life there? The helpful BBC report linked below describes the reality of being at the bottom of the pile in often unsatisfactory conditions, and in fear of being seen to be 'out of line' in what is an authoritarian society. Read the full report here:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-61111915
CONTINUING OUR ACCOUNTS OF CONFLICT...
An under-reported but topical conflict is the fierce fighting between Congolese forces and M23 rebels. Just a few hours away from Kigali, tensions have continued to mount. There are dozens of armed groups in the Eastern Congo, many looking to exploit the mineral wealth which among other things is essential for the world's electric cars and mobile phones. Thousands have fled from Bumagana into Uganda and the Congolese have a ccused Rwanda of backing the M23. Millions have.died in the Congo in decades of conflict. Could we be seeing a potential repeat of these major tragedies?
HAVE YOU HEARD OF ROBERT GOLOB ?
He is the newly elected Prime Minister of Slovenia who stood on a green and progressive ticket, in contrast to his authoritarian predecessor who looked to Hungary as his model. In his first weeks in office he is dismantling the border fence to keep out migrants and has described conditions in Slovenian reception centres as 'scandalous.' Yes - there are exceptions to our government and the hostile environment ....
REFUGEE WEEK AT DOVER
The Samphire Project started life as the Dover Detainee Visitor Group back in 2002, responding to concerns about the plight of the people detained at the newly established Dover Immigration Removal Centre which could detain up to 400 migrants in a disused Young Offenders' Institution on Dover’s Western Heights. After the closure of the Centre in 2015, several aspects of the work ended, but the Ex-Detainee Project continued and work on Awareness-Raising became important, with a Community Engagement Project starting in 2016. This focuses on working with migrant and British communities to improve social cohesion and better inclusion of migrants in Dover and surrounding areas of Kent. Free legal advice has been provided since 2021.
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The project will be holding a vigil on Friday 24th June from 6.00pm at the seafront plaques near the port entrance that remember deaths in the Channel. Seeking Sanctuary is pleased to support this initiative, and our logo will appear on documentation.
Phil has been working to prepare another event on the following day. This is the June Assembly organised by the Southwark Archdiocesan Commission for Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation. (The diocese covers Kent as well as South London.) The title is 'Caught in the Act' , the Act in question being the UK Nationality and Borders Act 2022. Dover, on the fringe of the diocese, is nationally regarded as an iconic venue for the arrival of asylum seekers who are starting to become entangled in the provisions of this legislation.
The event will go ahead despite all trains to Dover being cancelled due to a national strike, as the Assembly addresses a timely topic and some knowledgeable speakers are lined up. A Livestream facility is being organised for those who are unable to join in person, although rail travel has been used by only a minority of past London participants in Dover events. The roads remain open; if the M20 is congested the M2 is an excellent alternative, in fact preferred by many. So, do still come down to the coast, if you can, and enjoy the hospitality and hot lunch provided by the Dover parishioners; please contact the JPIC Office ( jpiccontact@rcaos.org.uk ) if possible, to let them know that you are coming, so that there are enough chairs and food! Or if you are not driving, contact the JPIC Office to find out the livestream link.
Proceedings will start at 11.00am, with the doors open from 10.40am, and we will conclude with a visit to the seafront memorial plaques at 4.00pm. The day's aim is to help people to discern the correct actions to take when faced with evident injustice. We will hear accounts of life in and around Calais, of life in UK detention centres and ex-military premises (with residents from the nearby Napier Barracks expected to join us), of the welcome being given to Ukrainian citizens, and a concluding outline of relevant Church Teaching and the continuing pleas for support from Pope Francis.
ADDENDUM -
Little Amal’s New Steps, New Friends tour of England will mark World Refugee Week (19-27 June).
One year on from leaving Syria and 5 weeks after her visit to Ukraine, Little Amal arrived in Manchester on 19 June. She will mark World Refugee Week by visiting 10 other towns and cities across England, meeting old friends and making new ones. Amal will be sharing a message of resilience and hope with anyone who has been forced to leave their homes.
#NewStepsNewFriends
Little Amal will also visit Bradford (20 June), Leeds (20 June), Liverpool (21 June), Birmingham (23 June), Cheltenham (23 June), Bristol, (24 June), Stonehenge (25 June), London Southbank Centre (25 June), and Canterbury University (27 June).
Her journey will end on Sunny Sands Beach at Folkestone in Kent on 27 June, where she previously arrived in the UK, standing on the shore remembering the life she left behind and her first days in her new home.
10 May 2022
May 2022 Update
From the latest newsletter of the Passionist Order of clergy
We start this month's update with an extract from the latest newsletter of the Passionists. They are a religious order and deeply committed to the causes of Justice and Peace. We quote here from their latest newsletter...
Meeting today in the shadow of the horrors of the war in Ukraine brings home all too starkly the burden of sin and evil under which our world labours, and has laboured, for millennia.
Our Judaeo-Christian story almost from its opening chapters, shows human beings, made in God's loving and creative image, all too quickly falling into deceit, selfishness, resentment, murder, and disobedience to God's Moral laws - seduced by the wiles of the "enemy" who is intent on destroying God's beautiful new creation out of jealousy, bitter rage, and spite. From this follows all war and hatred, and the desire to exercise tyrannical power, that we see demonstrated so tragically today in Syria, in Ukraine, in Myanmar, in Yemen, in Eritrea, in Afghanistan, and even in the UK's latest asylum legislation.
And still today this Exodus is enacted again and again as our persecuted, oppressed and traumatised sisters and brothers flee in fear of their lives from war-torn countries across the world in search of safety. 28,000 of them last year crossed, not the Red Sea, but the English Channel, pursued by their nightmares of torture, death, rape, and imprisonment.
And it is these very people, when they arrive exhausted, alone, destitute, and distraught on the streets of London, with no means of support or shelter, that 100's of "front line" refugee projects across London are there to help.
'Liberal lawyers' - or defenders of human rights?
And so it goes on...the sad news is that the new Immigration bill finally passed into law as an Act of Parliament without even the most minimal changes that had been demanded by NGOs and peers. It was heartening to hear from the Archbishop of Canterbury in his Easter message that this policy is not the will of God. Will the government dare to implement its new policy of deportations to Rwanda? The hostel intended to house the deportees in Kigali is already occupied by other asylum seekers - who apparently will be displaced. There are disturbing accounts of the infringement of human rights in Rwanda.
There is a community of Ukrainian refugees in Northern France - if any of them should arrive here in a small boat will they be sent to Rwanda? And which airline - if any - will take part in these deportations? The new (or revived) narrative of 'lefty lawyers' is reminiscent of Trumpism and the narrative of rulers such as Victor Orban and is an attempt to denigrate those who believe in human rights and the rule of law. Where next? It's an insult to their professionalism to label people who are doing their job as 'lefty'. Taken with the latest attempts to block the power of the courts over judicial review we must continue to speak up for the voiceless. Monthly vigils to remember those who have died trying to reach the UK take place outside the Home Office in London's Marsham Street on the third Monday of every month at 12.30pm. All are invited to join in, and to take all other opportunities to hold prayers for this disastrous situation.
A critique
Professor Ian Linden looks at the Home Secretary's Rwandan proposals in a recent article, which we summarise at length.
Priti Patel's defence of her money-for-migrants scheme contains at least three claims. Firstly proposing that Britain receives an unacceptable number of migrants and asylum seekers crossing the Channel in small boats. Secondly, that criminal gangs make a great deal of money from these crossings and that deportation to Rwanda of young male 'illegal migrants' who adopt this route to Britain is the only means of destroying the business model and prevent drownings. Thirdly. that the passengers on these unsafe dinghies are mostly economic migrants not genuine refugees.
Each of these claims sounds plausible, but all of them are based on false assumptions, misinformation or simply ignore what is known from research on migration.
Compared with other European countries we do not have a severe migrant problem. Some two-thirds of those crossing the Channel crossing turn out to be genuine asylum seekers when their claims are processed - not economic migrants, though war does cause poverty. Looking at the number of asylum claims per 100,000 of population, Britain ranks 14th in Europe with Germany, Spain, France, Belgium and Switzerland all receiving applications at double our rate. Between 2015 and 2016, Angela Merkel's Germany admitted 1.25 million Syrian, Afghan and Iraqi refugees. By 2018, 72% had gained permission to work, 44% had learnt German and by 2021 some 50% had jobs, were in training or had internships. Britain with a similarly ageing population and labour shortage should study how a country can successfully turn migrants into an asset. The real problem is dog-whistling by the political Right and its supportive Press creating fear of 'swamping'.
The Channel crossing lies at the end of a very long and dangerous journey involving negotiations with ruthless gangs and their collaborators, often working on commission within transnational networks from hubs such as Agadez in Niger. In such poor countries the gangs provide employment for a penumbra of independent guides, drivers, recruiters and middle-men, forgers of travel documents, providers of boats and accommodation. The smugglers' 'business model' is simple: lowest risk with highest profits. The young men who arrive also have a business model. They are often 'crowdfunded' by their village or by relatives, becoming a cross between a human lottery ticket and a living investment made in the expectation of returns through regular remittances home. Many are burdened by the sense of a responsibility to reach the UK and pay back their investors. They are the product of the corruption and incompetence of their own governments, inadequate debt relief and cuts in development aid. Deportation to Rwanda will address none of this.
Limiting demand for the services of smugglers could be achieved by measures directly under our control such as increasing and broadening the channels for regular migration, simpler checking procedures, making it easier to obtain legitimate travel documents. Such opportunities need to increase and be made more accessible in countries of origin as well as in UNHCR refugee camps. The Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme for Syrian refugees ended in March 2021, but should resume with increased annual targets. Better staffed migration and asylum bureaux in Europe are also necessary. The shambles of the Ukrainian visa application system is an example of how to create an incentive to pay smugglers and risk the Channel crossing. With increased government investment in authorised routes fewer people would want to pay smugglers!
The £120 million initially going to Rwanda (plus attendant transportation and accommodation costs) would be better spent on increasing the staffing of the UK's National Crime Agency IN8VIGOR programme which deals with criminally organized immigration. What would also help is better liaison and cooperation with France's 'Office Central Pour la Répression de l'Immigration Irrégulière' et de l'Emploi d'Étrangers Sans Titre', with French immigration and border police, and with Interpol's Integrated Border Management Task Force.
In reality, the money-for-migrants partnership seems unlikely to be implemented and judges and 'left-wing lawyers' will be blamed, while Government headline-grabbing will continue. Irresponsible, deceptive and shameless.
The 'Twilight of Democracy'
Ben writes: I have been reading the excellent recent book 'Twilight of Democracy' by Anne Applebaum. She describes the relentless drift to the Right over the past twenty years and the growing authoritarian narrative - from which our government is not immune - in becoming the new normal. How else do we explain the violent dismantling of camps in Calais, the truly terrible conditions for refugees on the Polish border, the pushbacks in Greece, and so much else. The proposed deportations to Rwanda are an extension of this narrative alongside other repressive measures.
And yet - has the Ukrainian crisis forced us to think again? In the face of suffering of our European neighbours a new response has been found - one of humanity and understanding for people seeking sanctuary. In Poland the welcoming response to people displaced sits alongside the game of ping pong being played out on the Polish/Belarusian border, Are there seeds of hope that we might yet be able to build on the welcome to Ukrainians to build a more tolerant narrative in the face of the rightward trends in our political trends? All of us, dear friends, will need to be the standard bearers in taking this forward.
Tragedy and upheaval in Darfur repeated
in this month's update as we focus on the world's trouble spots which provoke upheaval and seeking sanctuary we turn our attention to Darfur. For so many years the centre of countless human tragedy, for those of you who are Guardian readers you will be aware of the upheavals in West Darfur where many towns and villages have become no-go areas. The many armed militias have been accused of recent atrocities, for example in the town of Kreinik which has suffered severe damage.
Residents can no longer leave their towns to go shopping or seek medical help without an armed escort. Some may have to wait up to 21 days to find a seat in the convoy. The roads are patrolled by armed men and the conflict is driven in part over competition for scarce resources over water supply as well as land. Although local self defence forces have developed, the Arab militias are usually better equipped and thousands have fled their villages. And the legacy of Bashir's rule is still there, with the UN estimating that in the earlier fighting 300000 people were killed and 2.5 million people were displaced.
As we are made aware of the numerous Sudanese in Northern France who are seeking sanctuary, it helps to understand just how tragic and barbaric the recent history of Sudan has become.
14 April 2022
Update for April
Seeking Sanctuary - a new dimension
Seeking sanctuary has now found a new dimension. Who could have imagined that millions seeking sanctuary are now on our doorstep ? We are used to images from war torn countries far away from our consciousness with packed refugee camps in conditions hard to imagine. We have come to associate the act of sanctuary with dangerous journeys in small boats, with squalid conditions in camps in Calais. But this narrative has been displaced by another - that these new arrivals are our white skinned, European neighbours.
Ukrainians are no better, or worse, than Syrians, Yemenis, Eritreans or Iraqis at telling people stories and making them laugh. And yet the West has fallen in love with them as refugees in a way it has proved incapable of doing with those from Africa and the Arab world. The inhumanity and hypocrisy are self-evident. In Calais, Ukrainians are put up in hotels for free while Sudanese and Eritrean teenagers are evicted from campsites by armed police.
What are the lessons which we can draw from this experience ? The background of the 'hostile environment' is still evident in the thousands of Ukrainians waiting to come to the UK, unlike countries in the EU which have provided an immediate welcome.
First, we need to resist the temptation to divide those seeking sanctuary into the 'worthy' and 'less worthy' - otherwise we risk falling into a conscious or unconscious form of racism which devalues and demonises many of our brothers and sisters in humanity.
Secondly, as our friends and supporters are active in defending human rights we need to bring home to our friends and families the serious nature of the existential and humanitarian crisis facing us. In the face of the growing evidence of potential mass murder I am saddened by the extent to which we can shut our minds to one of ther greatest humanitarian disasters in all times.
What about our own consciousness in facing the greatest existential threat in modern times. At our local pub yesterday the conversation seemed indifferent to the suffering so close at hand. Are we at risk of developing a collective amnesia ?
Ben writes:
I recently received an invitation to a wine and cheese party, but I wondered how I could attend this in the knowledge that so many people have lost their lives vin tragic circumstances. A recent U3a meeting of which I am a member here in Deal drew over 100 people to a talk but my request to have a collection for the Disasters Emergency Committee was turned down on the grounds that 'we are not political'.
At a recent lunch organised by a group of Town Mayors (I am a past Mayor of our Town), the taking of a collection was deemed 'inappropriate'. And so an important part of our role is to continue to raise consciousness of the major existential and humanitarian crisis facing us. Indifference to the plight of our brothers and sisters in humanity will become the main challenge. What do you think ?
Ukrainians will be able to apply for asylum during their initial three-year time in the UK, during which they will be allowed to take employment and will be eligible to various benefits. Also, unlike most other exiles, Ukrainian nationals can access further education in the UK immediately without any requirement for three-year residency in the UK before accessing government-funded courses.
Having a name and an address in Calais
The people exiled in Calais and the solidarity associations are implementing a new legal strategy to fight against violent evictions with forced transfers to shelters and without social diagnosis.
After the prefect of Pas-de-Calais was sentenced last week for exceeding his powers in a “flagrant” expulsion from an informal camp on September 29, 2020, mailboxes were set up this week in similar informal living spaces.
In Calais, thousands of people in exile are forced to survive on the streets in extremely precarious conditions and are subjected almost daily to illegal evictions.
In order to protect certain informal living spaces from these evictions and to oblige the authorities to set up a dignified reception policy, mailboxes with the names of the inhabitants have been set up at the entrance to the premises as well as explanatory messages reminding the police and bailiffs that the rules of law must be respected.
Letters have also been sent to the President of the Judicial Court of Boulogne-sur-Mer, to the Mayor of Calais as well as to the offices of the bailiffs, by which the people living in these places make known their desire to defend themselves in the event of an eviction demand by landowners.
From now on, evictions can no longer take place without these people being heard within a reasonable time beforehand by a judge.
Indeed, since the people are established on these areas, these constitute their residence.
A home is protected by law. Any eviction measure must therefore be subject to a fair and equitable procedure before a court: the inhabitants of the land must be summoned to court and be able to defend themselves with the assistance of a lawyer.
In fact, in Calais, the inhabitants of these places are sadly considered by the authorities as “unnamed persons”.
This allows a single judge to order certain expulsions through an arbitrary and expeditious procedure. But the exiled people are identifiable: it would suffice for the bailiffs to address them with interpreters in the languages that they speak.
However, the message from the bailiffs is tirelessly as follows: “I am trying to get in touch but no one speaks French. They discuss among themselves in a language that I do not master... It is impossible to establish anyone's identity.”
Through this action, we hope for an end to arbitrary evictions, the return to the rule of law in Calais and in particular the effective application of the rights to defense in all circumstances.
Welcoming the Papal Nuncio
We were delighted to welcome the Papal Nuncio, Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti, to Folkestone and Dover on 31st March who came at the request of Pope Francis. Accompanied by Bishop Paul McAleenan, the Nuncio visited Napier Barracks and impressed everyone in striking up a warm relationship with th e residents there. He later met with a number of refugee support groups who had come with residents of Napier Barracks - this was followed by a visit and prayers at the memorial on Dover seafront. You will find the full reports here and here, as well as pictures from his visit here.
Continuing our looks at worldwide conflict ....
This month we focus on the long running civil war displacing innocent people in the south of Senegal and Gambia. This little known conflict has displaced thousands of innocent civilians. For some time a rebel group known as the 'Movement of Democratic forces of Casamance who call for separation from the rest of Senegal, have been suspected of trafficking drugs and and rosewood which is exported to China.Thousands of people are fleeing the conflict in Senegal seeking sanctuary in Gambia often with nothing but their children. The Casamance area, is divided from the rest of Senegal by Gambia, and many Gambians on the border are also fleeing their homes because of the insecurity. The war has lasted more than 40 years and it is estimated that up to 6000 people have been displaced and the conflict has flared up considerably in recent months. Yet another example of instability in an unstable and uncertain world.
And so dear friends let us to continue to work for a more just and humane world and not give in to indifference and powerlessness. Our suffering humanity deserves nothing less.
10 March 2022
Update for March
If only we could be like this ...The scene is the Central Station in Berlin at the end of February. Hundreds of people are gathered to greet a train bringing Ukrainian refugees from Poland. Most people carry a placard such as 'room for a mother and two children', or 'families welcome'. There are heart rending scenes on the platform as exhausted people fall into the arms of their prospective hostesses and gratefully accept their offers. After a short period most people have found not just shelter but a temporary home. If only we in the UK could have found and shown this kind of spontaneity more rapidly, instead of requiring in-person visits to one of the few appropriate and ill-staffed offices to try to apply for visas, fingerprinting and much else ...
How to help refugees in the current crisis. Our hearts go out to the people experiencing trauma and suffering and it is natural that we will want to do whatever we can. Our advice is to donate to one of the many deserving charities rather than just give material goods. Some years ago in response to the crisis in Calais we were overwhelmed by offers of clothing and much else. Much effort had to be put into sorting clothes and goods that were not suitable and the volunteers doing the sorting soon became exhausted themselves. We learned that donations could fund bulk buys of items such as trainers and toiletries - after all, people seeking sanctuary deserve and value clothing and goods which are new.
Seeking Sanctuary - the 'worthy' and the 'less worthy'. As we look to the heroic efforts to welcome Ukrainian refugees, particularly in Poland, we have become increasingly aware of the difference in welcome of European and refugees from further afield. As tragic as the suffering under Russian bombardment is, it is not different from the experiences of so many thousands of people in Aleppo in Syria, or that of the Yazidi in the Middle East. And let's remember the many Roma families caught up in the fighting. In Calais the authorities are at least giving homeless Ukrainians shelter in the Youth Hostel but others have to endure life in tents and the like.There should be no differentiation in our treatment of refugees - all must be treated equally.
A call from the Calais NGOs. "We ask the authorities to put into practice the same reception conditions as those for Ukrainian refugees. Whether they come from Ukraine, Syria, Afghanistan, Eritrea, Ethiopia or Sudan, all refugees deserve and must be the object of protection, compassion and security. Europe has just proven that it is possible to establish safe pathways and decent reception conditions for those fleeing their country because of persecution or war. All should benefit from it."
Continuing violations of Human Rights. As we reported in February, the political strategy of avoiding "fixation points" has led to daily evictions in Calais, forcing displaced people to move their tents and personal property, anywhere between 2 to 500 metres. Personal belongings and basic necessities are often seized and/or destroyed. These operations are often accompanied by harassment also by abusive identity checks. Arbitrary arrests and illegal stays in administrative detention may follow. There were at least 153 evictions of informal settlements at Calais during February, when at least 306 tents and tarps, 23 sleeping-bags and blankets, 41 backpacks and at least 12 mattresses were seized. At least 12 arrests were recorded during these evictions.
Observers are regularly intimidated and obstructed. In January, disproportionate police convoys were present, almost always heavily armed, contributing to increasing the hostility and pressure against displaced people blocked at the border. In addition, no shelter is offered to the evicted inhabitants despite the freezing temperatures, nor are they given any kind of information about the possibility of recovering their belongings On occasion there are large-scale dismantling operations, during which inhabitants are forced on to buses and transported out of the area.These repeated evictions are a source of increased fragility and even disappearance of youngsters, and therefore increase the risk of trafficking and exploitation.
Another senseless loss of life. The damaged asylum system, not fit for purpose, continues to see funds going towards further security measures instead of providing safety and dignity for exiles in Northern France. Abubaker Alsaken, a 26-year old Sudanese man died on February 28, hit by a train near Old Lidl.
He is described as upright, caring and generous and had been in Calais for about 6 months. He quietly organised himself to best welcome new arrivals and soften a terrifying daily life. He died a violent death while carrying the belongings of a newcomer and helping him to settle into the makeshift camp He was hit by a train at a location where the track borders the informal camp. A place where no sign or alarm warns of the danger of a train arriving at high speed, where no barrier defines the footpath. A place, like others in Calais, where it seems that the authorities do not think that the lives of exiled people are worth protecting.
25 February 2022
Seeking Sanctuary - a new dimension
As the Ukrainian crisis unfolds we are seeing a new phenomenon – the spectre of millions of people from Ukraine seeking sanctuary within Europe's borders in the face of dangers to themselves and their loved ones.
Seeking sanctuary in the face of danger is no longer the preserve of people from Africa and Asia – instead it has become an all too present reality as people seek safety in the countries bordering Ukraine. The plight of inhabitants of Ukranian descent living in the disputed territories of Eastern Ukraine is of particular concern as many elderly and vulnerable people are caught in the crossfire, alongside families who had been living peacefully with their Russian speaking fellow citizens.
We have received details from CSAN of the relief efforts being made by Caritas Ukraine if you would like to help as the humanitarian disaster unfolds. Caritas points out that even before the start of this week's violence, most of the 25 000 inhabitants of the eastern industrial town of Avdiivka had already lost water and power supplies due to fighting between government forces and Russian-backed separatists, while temperatures had fallen as low as -17C. (Links to more recent Caritas news can be found below.)
This is the donation link: https://www.caritas.org/where-caritas-pawork/europe/ukraine-spes/
At the moment the fastest and most efficient way to get help to where it is urgently needed is to donate to organisations working directly on the ground in Ukraine, or neighbouring countries, as they are able to assess exactly what aid is needed and the aid will not be held up by transport delays, paperwork and duties.
We encourage support through channels that allow the most appropriate and efficient aid getting to where it is urgently needed. Local relief organisations truly risk being swamped with material donations.
The Ukranian foreign Affairs Ministry offers the following advice.
- We invite everyone willing to support Ukraine and Ukrainians fleeing from Russia's attack on their homeland. In particular, we encourage local government units, foundations, associations and other social organizations, enterprises and private persons to cooperate.
- The aid will be directed to people staying in the territory of Ukraine, as well as to Ukrainian citizens who are already in the territory of Poland.
Do you want to help? There are several ways!
You decide to what extent you can help. You can donate the necessary things, provide a flat or shelter for those in need, but also support organizational activities and become a volunteer.
There are several options for help:
- material support: people who have left their homes often have only the most necessary things and supplies for a few days. Direct support for them is primarily: water, food, medical supplies and dressings, blankets, sleeping bags, camp beds, clothing;
- a flat or shelter: some refugees need a flat - for a few - several days;
- means of transport: to transport aid to the territory of Ukraine, as well as people in need;
- personal support: delivering support to a large group of people is a logistical challenge. You can get involved as a volunteer who will help those in need on the spot.
An application form for anyone interested in helping Ukraine was launched on 27 February and is available on the website: pomocamukrainie.gov.pl
Information on Caritas efforts in other locations and more recent news can be found via the following links:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K7VWJBLTCg
- https://www.caritas.org/ukraine-appeal-22/
- https://suspilne-media.translate.goog/210592-do-zaporizza-pribuli-vimuseno-peremiseni-osobi-z-mariupola/?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en
- https://www.crs.org/media-center/current-issues/ukraine-conflict-facts-and-how-help?ms=somtwi0522ukr00gen01&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=2022-ukraine
- https://caritas-ua.translate.goog/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/230222-statement-caritas-ukraine-1.docx?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en
Many members of Caritas Internationalis have united in appeals for Ukraine (https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/44174), headed in the UK by SCIAF and CAFOD, whose March 1 appeals are linked from this article. Afew days later, CAFOD joined with the UK Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) to bring help in a rapidly worsening humanitarian crisis. Every £ donated to the DEC appeal will be match-funded pound-for-pound by the UK Government up to £20 million. CAFOD had already committed £100,000 in funds to its partners in Caritas Internationalis, one of the world's largest aid networks: Caritas Ukraine, Caritas Spes Ukraine and partdners in neighbouring countries are on the ground, supporting families caught up in the conflict. On 1 March Caritas Spes shelter in Kharkiv was hit by shelling while families sheltered on a lower floor of the building.
Tetiana Stawnychy, President of Caritas Ukraine, said: "People are moving. We have 25 welcome centres throughout Ukraine that have been providing hot food, shelter, psychosocial support, and a warm place to sleep, and then help people on their way. We've also been helping along the borders - providing tents, heaters, hot food and drinks, and support to women and children who are scared."
Father Vyacheslav Grynevych, Director of Caritas Spes Ukraine, said: "War makes both adults and children cry. We learn this when hiding in basements during air strikes. War-wounded hearts will never be healed. Aside from material losses that can be rebuilt over time, the pain and fear that people experience will take a long time to recover. In Kyiv, most grocery shops are empty and at this time when the city is closed, we cannot leave our houses. We have to remain inside in a safe place. In my house we have 37 people, children usually, with their mothers, and they have this space in our Church, in our house. Usually these people come from our neighbourhood. They also have dogs, they have birds, they have cats, so we have a little zoo."
On 1 March, a Caritas Spes (Ukraine) shelter in Kharkiv was hit by shelling while families sheltered on a lower floor of the building.
7 February 2022
Update for February 2022
A rationale for our work with migrants and refugees ?
For all of us involved in advocating for the rights of migrants and refugees, what is it that sustains us and takes us for forward, particularly in the midst of the hostile environment ? These questions are often important for us particularly where our active concerns can lead to potential burnout.
As you will be aware we continue to be inspired by the supportive words and action of Pope Francis, who helpfully provides a rationale for our work.
Action for those who are oppressed, as Francis expressed it continually throughout the Jubilee, is a four-stage dynamic:
- coming close (“welcoming”);
- sensing need (“discerning”);
- responding concretely and individually (“accompanying”);
- a final stage that involves change, conversion, and belonging (“integrating”)
In the next few months we hope to find partner agencies to work with in organising an event where we can reflect on our own experiences of this dynamic and provide mutual support and encouragement.
From terror to boredom - the transition to life in a hotel room
From the accounts we receive, there is a clear sense of relief for many who are seeking sanctuary from terror and oppression to find themselves and their families in the safety of the UK. But however comfortable a hotel room might appear, prolonged stays in such an environment are a constant challenge.
Many people rightly queried the compulsory quarantine period of 10 days during the worst of the covid pandemic - imagine the feeling when 10 days stretch to months for asylum seekers as well as for those displaced from Afghanistan. For many, takeaway meals are the only source of sustenance. For children wanting to play - or do their homework or see their friends - the confined space of a hotel room is enough to drive stress levels to a point which in some cases becomes unbearable. Laundry is a constant challenge in this confined space.Add to this the constant uncertainty about another move - to anywhere in the UK - it is not surprising that people experience severe mental health issues on top of the stress of their journeys to safety and the sufferings that forced them to leave their homes. We learn that from the end of March the costs of various items such as toiletries will no longer be covered by the Home Office.
Simple measures such as allowing those involved to work - even part time - would do much to relieve the stress. It would also contribute to addressing the skills shortage in the care sector - and even have a financial benefit where people pay tax and national insurance.
The Home Office intends to use Napier Barracks near Folkestone as temporary accommodation for asylum seekers for a further four years.beyond the initial 12 months for which permission was granted. To comply with the law it has had to issue a Planning Statement for public comment. Phil has posted a blog based upon his reading of this statement: you can read it at https://www.csan.org.uk/napier-barracks/
And do also read this excellent account from the Guardian of the experiences of asylum seekers and volunteers in Folkestone: https://tinyurl.com/45r8dzku
2021 In Calais and Grande-Synthe
The political strategy of avoiding "fixation points" at the Franco-British border has led to increasingly frequent evictions. Often, no options for alternative shelter are communicated to the inhabitants, who may be forced into buses that take them to unknown destinations.
During evictions, the personal belongings of the inhabitants (shelters, tents, documents, essential supplies, mobile phones, medicine, clothes, etc.) are destroyed and/or thrown into a skip, without allowing the owners to keep them: illegal actions, committed under the eyes of the bailiff in charge of the evictions.
These harassment operations are also often accompanied by abusive identity checks, followed by arbitrary arrests and illegal administrative detention. Additional ID checks and arrests happen daily, independently of the evictions.
The Human RIghts Observers project, supported by the Auberge des Migrants, has been observing, documenting and denouncing daily State violence against displaced people at the Franco-British border since 2017. It has just reported annual figures collected during daily evictions, which took place at least 1226 times in Calais and 61 in Grande-Synthe - and on many more occasions when the Observers were not present.
5794 tents and tarps, 2833 sleeping bags and blankets were seized in Calais, the corresponding figures for Grande-Synthe being 4327 and 918 (plus 57 shelters destroyed). At least 205 arrests were made at the two sites, with at least 127 episodes of violence against displaced people and at least 596 intimidation attempts against observers
And some people wonder why asylum claims are not lodged in France!
Remembering Gadissa, whose body was found in Saltburn at the end of December
'Gadissa, like those who flee for their lives, you were hurt. But you moved us with your intelligence and determination.
The European and Belgian practice towards displaced people who are looking for a better life made you feel worse.
The Belgian detention centres repeatedly applied non-assistance to a person in danger, and subjected you to underhand treatment and attempted deportation. You had arrived at your destination and seemed so relaxed.
Gadissa, for the Belgian families who accompanied you, you will remain the upright, sensitive, respectful man, attached to your convictions.
The world will miss you, your family and friends too. We love you, Gadissa"
( A tribute from his friends)
'Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace. Amen'.
Ezzadine and Abdullah, RIP
'May God care for them more than we did' (inscription on the memorial)
A reminder that Ezzadine and Abdullah who died tragically in Calais last month, were laid to rest in Calais on 21st January. At the same time we remembered them at the memorial on the sea front in Dover. A 'groupe décès' in Calais seeks to provide dignified funerals, each costing €2000. alongside urgent financial support that may be needed. If you or your organisation can help do let us know and we will provide payment details.
A focus on Cameroon
Migration and seeking sanctuary is so often the result of war and conflict. Each month we will feature a war torn area which is often under-reported in the media but which forces innocent people and their families to seek sanctuary. for their own safety.
This month we focus on the longstanding conflict in Cameroon in West Africa, a troubled country which has been hosting the Africa Cup of Nations. Cinflict has uprooted lives and caused instability since 2017.
The country has two English speaking provinces, the remainder being Francophone.This is the result of treaty which resulted in the German colony being split into two protectorates after the First World War. In 1960-61 a few provinces voted to join neighbouring countries and the rest became a federal republic with both languages recognised and protected. Today's problems really started in 1972 when the federal system was abandoned leaving the French-speaking provinces with the vast majority of votes and the English region with the greater share of mineral resources.
English-speaking politicians have advocated for greater decentralisation and even complete separation or independence. The veteran President Paul Biya (89 this month), who spends much of his time outside the country, has reacted harshly and violently, stubbornly refusing to consider change. In recent years people have become caught between separatist groups and government forces and it is estimated that over a million people have been displaced.
In some parts of the Anglophone region people are too scared to send their children to school and normal economic activity is often impossible. A prominent senator was assassinated during the tournament and the more militant separatists who have labelled the region 'Ambazonia' continue to go about their deadly business. facing up against the military. Hospitals and schools run by religious orders have often suffered aggressive armed intrusion for continuing to use the English language
"Canadians for Peace in Cameroon" produce an excellent free weekly update on the situation: you can subscribe by emailing Canadiansforpeaceincameroon@gmail.com. They promote nonviolent paths to peaceful resolution of the conflict, hoping that Canada, as an English-French bilingual country with a large Cameroonian diaspora, can be a champion for human rights and peacebuilding.
29 December 2021
Update for Christmas and the New Year, 2021-2022.
In the wake of 27 deaths …
It is still difficult to grasp the magnitude of the recent 27 deaths in the English Channel. A very moving vigil was held at the site of the memorial last month but more needs to be done to ensure that the sacrifices made by the 27 who lost their lives and those of so many others are not forgotten. We have to combat the UK/French blame game which only feeds the popular press and other prejudices. We were particularly concerned about the claims and counter claims as to which country's emergency services were responsible for the rescue operation. And so we have to continue to press for safe and legal routes to claim asylum in the midst of so much confusion. The French authorities continue to insist that posting police on the beaches will never be sufficient and that safe and legal routes are required for those wishing to claim asylum in the UK.
What makes the recent tragedy so poignant is the evidence emerging of how families in Kurdistan were able to learn of the fate of their loved ones. Over the past few years we have taken it for granted that families were often the last to know of the fate of their loved ones.
However, given the technology available on mobile phones there is now evidence that anxious families were able to track the GPS coordinates of the small boat involved in the middle of the Channel and became increasingly alarmed when these did not change over many hours – suggesting that their loved ones were in trouble – an assumption which of course turned out to be correct. What anguish must have been felt by families during those anxious hours. And a word of appreciation to those brave lifeboat volunteers who never expected to have to deal with the challenges of their new role. We learn also that before boats set off there is one telephone ready to call 112 and another to call 999.
Channel officials are facing legal action after being accused of failing to provide help to the 27 people who drowned on November 24.On December 27 the NGO Utopia 56 initiated legal proceedings against the maritime prefect of the Channel, the director of the Regional operational observation and rescue centre Gris-Nez and the director of Her Majesty’s Coastguard. The case seeks “transparency and truth for the victims and their families,” calling for an investigation into “involuntary homicide” and “failure to help people in need.”
The victims have been identified and are made up of sixteen Iraqi Kurds, four Afghans, three Ethiopians, one Iranian Kurd, one Somali, one Vietnamese and one Egyptian; they include seven women and two minors (aged 16 and 7). The two survivors were an Iraqi Kurd and a Somalian.
Deaths Continue. A body was found on 11 December on the beach at Marck (near Calais), apparently difficult to identify after a long period in the sea. On 20 December a sixteen-year-old Sudanese youth, Moussab, died after attempting to clamber on to an HGV near Calais. He managed to get between the cab and the trailer, but fell when the truck moved off.
And so back to the current proposed legislation. If I am stranded in a leaking boat and there is no one to take control it is a natural assumption that I would do what I can to lead those on board to safety. We note with interest a recent court judgement that under UK and International Law (and contrary to the opinion of the UK Home Office) those responsible for steering a boat in difficulty should not be seen as traffickers but as rescuers – otherwise it is all too easy in the current febrile atmosphere to label them as criminals.
Indeed, the scope of currently proposed legislation is to make everyone on board a boat the subject of a criminal prosecution – even Afghans who take the dangerous overland route via Pakistan to secure their safety and that of their families. It is a sad reflection that Afghans who risk their lives taking overland routes can be criminalised, especially as the main UK Afghan resettlement scheme is not yet up and running, so that about 4000 Afghans have had to wait for the results of their asylum claims.
It was not until 23 December that it was confirmed the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme (ACRS) will open some time in January, providing up to 20,000 Afghan women, children, and others most at risk with a safe and legal route to resettle in the UK. Ten days earlier changes were announced to the Afghan relocations and assistance policy (ARAP), narrowing the eligibility criteria from those used during the Operation Pitting evacuation in August 2021. The rule changes mean those directly employed in Afghanistan by a UK government department on or after 1 October 2001 must now have a “high and imminent risk” of threat to their life to be able to come to the UK, rather than an “imminent” risk.
When survival may soon become impossible ...
The list grows ever longer – Madagascar, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Yemen and so many other places where survival will soon become impossible for many people due to drought and the other effects of climate change. Can we restore the missing amount in the overseas aid budget and give at least some people a chance which lessens the attraction of making dangerous and risky journeys to seek safety and security?
And conditions at 'Tug Haven' in Dover
Disturbing reports reach us about the conditions for the reception of those who make it across in small boats. It appears that some people have to sleep on the floor or have to spend the night on a bus, according to reports. The Independent Monitoring Board have issued a report expressing their concerns about the premises at 'Tug Haven' where people are initially received and processed.
There is another potential solution – Dover has two currently underused cruise terminals which would provide a much more suitable and dignified reception for people who have already experienced a traumatic crossing.
Near the French coast
Traffickers now tend to use somewhat larger boats – still overcrowded – and to launch them from a much longer stretch of coastline. The larger camps are still near Calais and Dunkirk and people remain subject to frequent evictions, transfer to shelter at a distance from the coast, and confiscation of property. Aid groups are prohibited from distributing meals and drinking water in many parts of the town; as of 28 December there was considerable demand for both tents and shoes in Calais, but we are unable to transport goods ourselves, faced with the costs of compliance with current Covid regulations at border crossings.
Church Comment
In a statement issued just before Christmas, the Catholic Church in France comments that its members have long been involved in welcoming migrants and refugees. In recent years, especially since Pope Francis' appeal in 2015, hospitality and support projects have multiplied in most dioceses and many Catholics are committed, in collaboration with others, to work for the reception, protection, promotion and integration of people. The Church again repeats its desire to contribute to the reception process and reiterates its availability for dialogue with the government.
In England, the Archbishop of Canterbury used his Christmas sermon to celebrate the work of volunteers helping refugees, saying: “The Christmas story shows us how we must treat those who are unlike us.” He said the Christmas story of Joseph and Mary searching for shelter demonstrates the need to treat with compassion those people “who have far less than us, who have lived with the devastating limits of war and national tragedy – those who risk everything to arrive on the beaches”. He went on to say, “there is no doubting” the human capacity to show “great kindness”, and volunteers working to welcome refugees arriving on beaches close to Canterbury Cathedral are “extraordinary people”.
Archbishop Welby praised rescuers such as the crews of the Royal National Lifeboat Institute, saying: “I saw them the other day, a couple of days back, just getting on with it: five times as many "shouts" – call-outs – as they’ve ever had in the history of the Dover lifeboat, and they do one thing – save life at sea. It’s not politics, it’s simply humanity."
Concession in the UK.
Pre-Christmas media reports indicate that "Care Assistant" is to be added to the otherwise obscure list of paid jobs that asylum seekers may be allowed to take up if the UK processing of their claims is prolonged. The Covid pandemic has shown that there is a severe shortage of staff available to work in care homes for the elderly and chronically ill or to visit them at home, and the authorities have previously failed to take up many proposals that this concession should be opened.
9 November 2021
Update for November 2021
So why claim asylum in the UK?
It's an oft-repeated mantra that migrants should claim asylum in the first safe country which they reach. (Ben writes). Some years ago I asked young people attending a drop-in for young Afghan refugees what had drawn them to the UK. Apart from the presence of family their answer was nearly unanimous – Manchester United! We have invested many millions, mainly through the British Council, in making sure that appreciation of British culture is embedded in education systems in Afghanistan as well as many other countries. As a nation with this 'pull' factor we have only ourselves to blame!
Refugees or Economic Migrants?
'And they are not refugees – they are economic migrants'. This is the latest false narrative being spread in answer to the continuing numbers of desperate people attempting to cross the Channel. Whether in Afghanistan, Sudan or elsewhere, when a hostile force – be it rebel or government forces – comes into your village, or if your employment meets with the anger of the Taliban, the first effect is often on the loss of precarious jobs. When economic activity can no longer function one becomes a refugee.
As you know, arrivals that are deemed to be 'illegal' will shortly be criminalised under pending new legislation – the Nationality and Borders Bill. So what about those Afghans who are forced to flee because their lives are in peril because of their work in jobs disapproved by the Taliban: will they also be 'illegal'? A a very helpful resource on the Bill has been developed by the SVP and JRS-UK: it comes in a long and a short version, each providing the sort of information that will help individuals and groups engage in detail with what needs to be changed to make the legislation more humane and evidence based as it moves on from the House of Commons to consideration by the the Lords.
Lest we forget … . May they rest in peace ...
We learnt recently of the tragic deaths of Mohammed and Yasser, both dying in their attempts to reach the UK. After each death we lay flowers at the memorial in Dover which we did again some ten days ago. Our friends in Calais have formed a group to organise funeral rites in the Muslim tradition – 'le groupe décès'. They have made an appeal for help to pay for the most recent funerals – you will find details here ....
And on 4 November we learned of the death through hypothermia of a young man on the Wissant beach, near Calais, as well as that of an Sudanese man, Ali Ismail (initially reported to have been an Eritrean), killed by a passing train as he was walking along the tracks. This followed the loss of a Somali refugee overboard off the East coast a week earlier. Also, on 28 September a 15 year old Sudanese boy was run over by a truck near a petrol station in the Calais commercial zone containing many of the wine and beer outlets.
And in the Church of St Pierre in Calais ...
Three brave people, including a 72 year old Jesuit priest, started a hunger strike on 11 October. Their demands include an end to summary expulsions and their demands have led to a very small change – see above. The response of Calaisiens to their action is the subject of a statement from the two priests in charge of the Church – it is well worth reading– you will find a link here.
Latest – Père Philippe finished his hunger strike in early November, leaving his younger fellow strikers to continue. He will still be very involved with the refugees in Calais and plans to celebrate Christmas Midnight Mass in the wasteland where many tents are pitched.
A financial blow for NGOs
We learn that seven NGOs in Calais and Dunkirk who do vital work with refugees will shortly see their funding withdrawn due to a change of policy by the 'Choose love' charity. This will leave a considerable gap with a major impact on the vital work which is being carried out, and an appeal which you will find here has been made to plug the gap.
Expulsions in Nord Pas de Calais region
Frequent reports are reaching us of evictions taking place on a daily basis, where tents are dismantled at dawn and possessions confiscated without warning. This is all leading to continued numbers of attempts to cross the Channel further South – we hear of the rather incongruous situation in which visitors on the beach in Wissant are mixing with migrants taking their boats to the water.
One cruel effect of these evictions is that, on a day when weather conditions are poor, people will be tempted to make the crossing because they have nowhere else to turn. And of course safety is the least concern of unscrupulous traffickers.
There has been a slight positive change following the appointment of a mediator by President Macron, whose ignorance about Calais and the hunger strikers was exposed when he was caught unawares when visiting a town in the Loire on 25 October and responding to questions from a passer-by which were recorded and widely distributed. Those affected are now supposed to be given 45 minutes notice to safeguard their possessions and be taken to a new 'facility' housing up to 300 people in Calais for one night and then be taken further afield. But of course most will find their way back to Calais or Grande Synthe within days.
With our appreciation of your continued concern for those on the margins of society.
8 October 2021
Update for October 2021
A Welcoming Country
What is the most welcoming country in Europe for asylum seekers at the moment ? (Ben writes) Certainly not Germany or France or the UK - instead we should turn to Albania which has received 4000 Afghan refugees in its seaside resorts while their ongoing visa applications are processed. And it was heartening to hear their prime minister speak of Albania's moral duty to help. (He is, by the way, a well known artist turned politician who has just had an exhibition in New York.) And interestingly, Albania and its neighbouring Balkan countries still seem a long way from joining the EU.
Degrading Treatment of Migrants Around Calais - A Depressing Tale
French officials regularly subject adults and children living in migrant encampments around Calais to degrading treatment, Human Rights Watch said in a report released on 8 October. Five years after French authorities demolished the sprawling Calais “Jungle,” more than 1,000 people are staying in encampments in and around the town.
The 79-page report, “Enforced Misery: The Degrading Treatment of Migrant Children and Adults in Northern France,” documents repeated mass eviction operations, near-daily police harassment, and restrictions on provision of and access to humanitarian assistance. The authorities carry out these abusive practices with the primary purposes of forcing people to move elsewhere, without resolving their migration status or lack of housing, or of deterring new arrivals.
“Subjecting people to daily harassment and humiliation is never justifiable,” said Bénédicte Jeannerod, France director at Human Rights Watch. “If the aim is to discourage migrants from gathering in northern France, these policies are a manifest failure and result in serious harm.”
Human Rights Watch interviewed more than 60 migrants, including 40 who identified themselves as unaccompanied children, in and around Calais and the nearby commune of Grande-Synthe from October through December 2020 and June to July 2021. Human Rights Watch also met with officials from the prefecture and child protection office for the Pas-de-Calais department, and the Grande-Synthe mayor’s office.
An estimated 2,000 people, including at least 300 unaccompanied children, were staying in and around encampments in Calais in mid-2021, according to humanitarian groups. Several hundred more, including many families with children, were in a forest in Grande-Synthe, adjacent to the Dunkirk.
Police efforts to push migrant adults and children out of Calais and Grande-Synthe have not discouraged new arrivals and do not appear to have reduced irregular Channel crossings, which hit record highs in July and August. But policing practices have inflicted increasing misery on migrants.
“When the police arrive, we have five minutes to get out of the tent before they destroy everything. It is not possible for five people, including young children, to get dressed in five minutes in a tent,” a Kurdish woman from Iraq told Human Rights Watch in December 2020.
Police routinely require migrants to move temporarily off the land they are occupying while police confiscate – and often destroy – the tents, tarps, and sleeping bags the people have not managed to take with them. Police subjected most Calais encampments to these routine eviction operations every other day in 2020 and the first half of 2021. In Grande-Synthe, these evictions took place once or twice a week.
Police conducted more than 950 routine eviction operations in Calais and at least 90 routine evictions in Grande-Synthe in 2020, seizing nearly 5,000 tents and tarps and hundreds of sleeping bags and blankets, according to Human Rights Observers (HRO), a group that regularly monitors police evictions of these encampments.
Police also periodically evict everyone from an encampment, claiming that these are “shelter” operations. But shelter is only provided for a few days. The authorities carrying out mass evictions also do not effectively identify and take specific steps to protect unaccompanied children.
These tactics leave children and adults constantly on alert and focused on their day-to-day survival. Many are haggard, sleep-deprived, and, as the national ombudsperson’s office, the French Defender of Rights, observed in September 2020, “in a state of physical and mental exhaustion.”
Officials have also placed legal and practical restrictions on provision of and access to humanitarian assistance. Local ordinances prohibit food and water distributions by aid groups in the Calais town centre Government aid sites are often moved, or aid is distributed at the same time as evictions.
Government services do not meet the needs of women and girls. The Calais encampments have no separate toilets for women, and Grande-Synthe has no toilets. Toilets lack adequate lighting, with particular risks for women and girls. Barriers to water access mean scarcity for everybody and problems for women and girls during menstruation.
Police have also harassed volunteers with HRO, Utopia 56, and other NGOs that observe police conduct. “Exiles aren’t travelling to northern France because they’ve heard they can camp in the woods or stay under a bridge. They aren’t coming because groups are giving them a little food and water. They come because that’s where the border is,” said Charlotte Kwantes, Utopia 56’s national coordinator.
French child protection authorities should do more to inform unaccompanied children about their options, including entry into the child protection system, which offers the possibility of receiving legal status at age 18.
The European Union should create a system for sharing responsibility among EU member states that avoids unfair stress on countries of first arrival and the most popular destination countries, and takes into due consideration the family and social ties as well as individual preferences of asylum seekers.
The UK government should develop safe and legal means for migrants to travel to the United Kingdom to seek safe haven, reunify with family members, or work or study.
“French authorities should abandon their failed playbook toward migrants of the past five years,” Jeannerod said. “They need a new approach to help people, not repeatedly harass and abuse them.”
The crime of navigating a boat ... justice for Nabil
Did you know that it is a criminal offence to navigate a boat towards the English coast, even though the intention is to save lives in desperate conditions? We set out below an appeal for help from Justice for Nabil. Please read it carefully and help if you can ....
Justice for Nabil - Drop the charges now - Free ALL refugees convicted of 'assisting unlawful immigration' for boat steering - STOP THE BORDERS BILL!
Demonstrate at Nabil's court hearing in Canterbury Crown Court at 10 am (time may change) on 22 October 2021 (date will not change)
Nabil is a refugee from Sudan who crossed the Channel in a small boat to find asylum in Britain, a member of Movement for Justice (MFJ). He is being targeted by the Home Office as though seeking asylum is a crime.
Nabil’s journey was similar to those of thousands of other cross-Channel refugees. He was a victim of persecution in Sudan because of his ethnicity. He escaped by travelling through Libya, and like many other refugees from African countries, he was enslaved and tortured there. He eventually escaped and crossed the Mediterranean, reaching France through Italy, but he was deported back to Italy under the EU’s Dublin Agreement. He was destitute in Italy and crossed more borders to reach Germany, where he claimed asylum, but his claim was refused. The German authorities planned to send him back to persecution in Sudan.
Faced with that threat, Nabil made the choice to save his life and join the people crossing the Channel to Britain. He contributed to buying a boat and put to sea with other Sudanese refugees. He steered the boat, doing his best to keep them all safe until they could be rescued.
Later Nabil was arrested and charged with "assisting unlawful immigration", something that scores of cross channel refugees have been convicted of because they steered boats so they and others could survive the crossing. That is the Home Office policy; it even uses drones to get pictures of the refugees doing the steering. Then they are prosecuted as though they are criminals.
A Court of Appeal decision in April forced the Home Office to drop some of these cases. That was a setback for the Home Office, but we still know of around 12 refugees in prison convicted of this offence, and still they continue to prosecute Nabil.
The prosecution of Nabil is entirely political. The government is planning the biggest attack on refugees and immigrants this country has ever seen – the new Borders Bill. This Bill will make it a crime for any refugees to come across the Channel to Britain in small boats or in the back of lorries, or by any route the Home Office decides is ‘irregular.’ It will deny the right to claim asylum to any refugee who has come through a country that the Home Office says is ‘safe.’
Nabil's prosecution is an attack on the growing number of cross-Channel refugees, who are now on the frontline of the fight against racism and immigrant-bashing. It is part of the drive by Boris Johnson’s government to fire up every racist in Britain in order to preserve the wealth and power of his class - Britain’s rich and powerful ruling class. That is why the attack on Nabil is an attack on all cross-Channel refugees and a threat to every asylum seeker and every immigrant without papers.
*We Are All Nabil*
We demand that the Home Office drops the charges or the Court throws them out. That will be the issue at the next stage in Nabil’s case – Join us at Canterbury Crown Court on Friday 22nd October.
I hope you can join us there. If you respond to let us know if you are able to support this, we will keep you informed of any change of time.
Best regards,
Kent Refugee Help
And what about the children ?
We rightly place importance on the welfare of children - indeed this is required of us under the Children Act of 1989 and much subsequent legislation. And so it came as something of a shock to learn that unaccompanied children have been housed in a hotel in Brighton without appropriate support. It is a sad fact that many children make the dangerous and often traumatic journey to seek sanctuary on their own - if you know of any similar situations in your area please highlight any concerns with the responsible local authority
A Reception in Dover ...
Conditions are bad enough for refugees on small and flimsy boats, but the Chair of Dover's Independent Monitoring Board has just published a report describing conditions at the initial reception point in the harbour as unacceptable. Those arriving are sleeping on the floor and on benches. Sanitary conditions are basic and catering facilities haphazard - at one point staff had to order take-away pizzas as there was no other provision. Children are being misidentified as adults and treated accordingly. Let's hope that this report is a wake-up call.
Afghans are getting patchy support around the country, probably due to poor communication from Whitehall. Most local authorities are working well but different volunteer skills are needed in different places.
World Day for Migrants and Refugees
Some 25 of us gathered on Dover seafront at the memorial on 20th September to mark this important day. Led by Bishop Paul McAleenan we reflected on some of the key messages of this day - as the Bishop pointed out, the seafront in Dover was a more poignant setting than any Church or Cathedral. You can see a video of the event here.
9 September 2021
A COMING EVENT
1 September 2021
Update for September 2021
AFGHANISTAN - WHERE NOW ?
You know that our concern has not been for the situations that displace people from their homes, but for those of the exiles who travel and gather on the Channel coast. However, over the years, many of these have come from Afghanistan and, like so many of you. we have been increasingly concerned about the worsening there.
Deb Barry from Canterbury-based Care4Humanity worked on the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan nearly 20 years ago, the hope of those refugees who fled during the Taliban rule and fighting to return to Afghanistan. She has written the following.
“I clearly remember the hope of those thousands of people that I met that with the Taliban no longer in power, they could return home and rebuild their lives. 18 months later I would witness rural villages allowing their girls to go to school for the first time and the hope of so many people. I lived there for 3 ½ years and made many friends there and beautiful memories. I also had quite a few challenges while living there and for every step forward we made with communities, we certainly faced our challenges, but we all continued. There were still though people that did need to leave the country because of their association with different groups, or having to leave abusive relationships etc. I could write a book on the amazing people of Afghanistan and what they taught me.
“Fast forward a few years and our Care4Humanity team had one of its first projects in Calais to provide temporary shelter for Afghan refugees and we have continued to help those who are seeking refuge both in Calais and in the UK. Throughout the pandemic we’ve continued to work in the UK and Calais to help refugees. A refugee is person seeking refugee status demonstrating that they were persecuted or fear persecution due to race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.
“Our team has been in daily contact with people that we know in Afghanistan to find out how we can help and what is currently happening, the real human stories of those that have given so much already to the humanitarian work in the country. We are also working with groups in the UK as well to help support those who can leave Afghanistan and are seeking refuge.
“Here are just a few ways that we can all help at this time, and we are grateful for those who’ve all reached out to find out ways that you can help.
• If you are concerned about specific people in Afghanistan who can meet the definition of a refugee, they are able to apply for P2 Visa application – lots of the NGOs around the world are providing letters of support to those applying for this. If they were associated with an organisation, they will need a letter stating the dates that they worked with the organization or international company.
• Cities of Sanctuary – Click on this link to see your nearest community that is part of the cities of sanctuary for those arriving from Afghanistan and other countries. We are working with Canterbury and Cardiff councils now to find out when they will be putting out their lists and will also share that information as we receive it.
• Speak up. – There are a large number of organisations that have signed up to ask parliament in the UK to take more action to help address the issues facing Afghan people. See www.jcwi.org.uk/dont-criminalise-refugees-our...
• Donate to organisations working in Afghanistan. We are still finding out who on the ground is able to continue to deliver humanitarian assistance and what it will look like. We are grateful that PARSA are continuing to work with the Afghans seeking shelter in Kabul. Their majority female workforce continues to try to find ways to reach the people every day and is demonstrating amazing courage. We are currently trying to find out the best way to donate to them for them to get the resources that they need and will keep you updated.
“Care4Humanity will continue to be in regular contact with partners in Afghanistan, here in the UK and in Calais. We know that there is still a lot of change to come in Afghanistan as the international forces end those flights and new laws come into place in the country. We remain committed as a team to help the Afghan people in the choices that they make for themselves and their families. We are grateful for all our Afghan friends and colleagues who with their families continue to show amazing courage and resilience in the face of so much current opposition.
“As opportunities arise for people to do more collectively, we will keep you posted. If you have a specific question or query/idea about something you want to do to help the people of Afghanistan, we would be more than happy to help explore that idea as well. This is a global effort, and every action really is helping to make a difference: email contactus[at]care4humanityuk.org .“
Like others, 'Seeking Sanctuary' is concerned for the 'worthy' and 'less worthy'. While we are delighted that people arriving under the 'official' schemes are provided with decent initial hotel accommodation and a welcome, we worry about those who are equally at risk and who put their lives in the hands of people smugglers out of desperation. Will they be victims of the 'hostile environment'? Even criminalised for crossing the Channel? We hear that all claims for asylum are 'on hold' currently and so claimants – like those in the already appalling backlog of cases – could have years of uncertainty ahead of them, while they are housed in places such as Napier barracks.
For those living near Canterbury, an Afghan resident has started a new Facebook Group "Help For The Afghan Asylum Seekers-Canterbury" which will be working alongside the local council and "Canterbury Welcomes Refugees", accepting sorting, labelling and storing donations that are relevant to those supported by those organisations. You can find out more by posting on the Facebook page www.facebook.com/groups/194342835946828
A page on the UK Government website lists Councils that will welcome volunteer help, and you can click through to find out what sort of assistance each of them requires..
CHANNEL RESCUE
It seems that traffickers are now sourcing larger boats direct from manufacturers, perhaps in China, and coordinating launch times in batches along some 60 miles of the Channel coast to make life difficult for French officials hoping to prevent more departures. Arrivals in the UK, when not escorted by Border Force vessels, seem to occur more at more locations tens of miles East and West of Dover.
Annette, also from Care4Humanity, writes about this team. They are a grassroots organisation founded last year by humanitarians who had previously been active on rescue vessels in the Mediterranean.
Their boat is currently undergoing upgrading but will be relaunched soon under a new name: Artin. After Artin Irannezhad, the little boy from Iran who drowned, together with his family, while crossing the Channel. Experienced sea-faring folk who are able to commit regularly or longer term will be considered to join the boat team.
Determined to do what they can to avoid another such tragedy happening again, Channel Rescue actively monitors the Channel from various locations along the Kent Coast. They need many more volunteers to form a regular rota of ‘spotters’ in different locations. If you enjoy being out and about early morning in beautiful locations on the Kent cliffs and beaches while helping out with an important cause, please sign up by completing this form: docs.google.com/.../1FAIpQLSekGrEfdqSkUt.../viewform. Or for more information, email: channel.rescue2020@gmail.com
More often than not, the dinghies carrying refugees are intercepted by Border Force who bring them into harbour. However, they fail to spot some dinghies, such as one that made a landing one morning on Kingsdown beach. Having spotted the dinghy approaching, Channel Rescue quickly made their way to the beach and ensured a safe landing and debarkation.
Channel Rescue also act as human rights monitors, observing treatment of the arrivals by Border Force, police, extreme right activists and annoyed locals. The group also offers spotting training (using binoculars, telescope and marine traffic and weather apps) and landing training (how to help debark safely and offer first aid specific to water rescue and exposure).
MEANWHILE, ON THE FRENCH COAST
The official estimate of the number of migrants in the city of Calais is around 900. They generally distrust the state authorities and prefer to get food and water from volunteers. Officials do their best to frustrate such assistance. A 2000 litre (440 gallon) plastic tank 'cube' set up for distribution of drinking water one Saturday was slashed by police during its first night in place!
On 23 August the Pas-de-Calais prefecture, on the pretext of avoiding Covid transmission, again extended the Order originally imposed 11 months earlier to prohibit free distribution of food and drinks in parts of central Calais. The measure is decried by the associations supporting the migrants. The state mandates only the Vie Active association to provide meals to migrants and it claims that an average of 2,500 meals have been distributed every day since the beginning of August.
There are three small cabins made up from odds and ends in the heart of the Grande-Synthe 'camp'. They house restaurants run mostly by Iraqi Kurds from Kirkuk or Erbil, and sell sandwiches, soda and cigarettes. Nearly 300 people, including families and children, wait in the woods hoping to cross the Channel. The Afghans have taken up residence at the end of a road, under large pylons of high-voltage lines which soar above their heads.
There are scores of exiles near most of the French Channel ports, not only near Calais and Dunkirk. As yet more arrive, reports of violent quarrels between different ethnic groups increase. According to the BBC nearly 8,000 people have arrived near the coast since the start of the year. Faced with the multiplication of boat crossings, volunteers make risk prevention one of their priorities, trying to warn the exiles about the dangers of the sea. They make the travellers remember 112, the only emergency number – even without a network signal – and show them how to find out their GPS location and use it in the event of distress at sea.
COMING EVENT
Sunday 21 September is a World Day of Prayer for Migrants and Refugees. Bishop Paul McAleenan, the lead Catholic bishop on migration issues in England and Wales is visiting Dover on Saturday 25 September – the eve of that Day – to lead prayers at noon by the memorial plaques on the Dover seafront near the entrance to the Ferry Terminal. Anyone who shares our concerns is welcome to attend.
Incidentally, the Nationality and Borders Bill starts its Committee Stage in Parliament on the Monday, a few days earlier. There will doubtless be much ill-conceived media and political comment to accompany this process.
TO CONCLUDE
Please maintain your efforts to share the correct facts about displaced people. Our response must be a welcome, and a welcome is not something a government alone can create, it's up to everybody.
6 August 2021
Update for August 2021
Afghan Refugees – a never ending story: Ben writes: It was some 15 years ago when my wife and I found ourselves running a drop-in Club in Dover for young Afghan men who were seeking asylum, staffed by volunteers from the Salvation Army and religious sisters.
In between the many games of tennis and football they were always keen to talk in spite of of the traumas they had suffered. They were always warm-hearted and optimistic. There is something in the personality of Afghan people that I have found particularly warm and positive even when faced with the restrictions of detention and the 'no access to public funds' regime.
Some years later we found that the Calais 'Jungle' had a large Afghan community and it is no surprise that Afghans are still well represented in the desperate struggles to find safety in the UK. The Afghan crisis has been with us for at least 20 years and as we look forward we can can only envisage millions more Afghans seeking sanctuary from the Taliban in the desperate situation in which they find themselves. The tragedy is that so many educated and motivated people are likely to be labelled in a disparaging way rather than being able to fulfil their potential.
These are the same people who, as the year progresses, will be vilified as 'illegal' under the pending new UK legislation. As their lives are obviously in danger they cannot be sent back and so many will at best experience a long period of limbo in refugee camps if they are lucky.
The crisis in Ethiopia: Elsewhere there are numerous other hotspots generating large flows of refugees, and in particular in Ethiopia where the under-reported humanitarian crisis has led to famine and destitution. As thousands attempt to make their way way to safety the response of European countries is less and less welcoming and pushback is becoming the norm in several places. Politicians are hardening their attitudes often in attempts to respond to the clamour of far-right and populist groups.
Denmark – a new approach: Denmark is now proposing to process all asylum seekers in a third country and threatening to send back Syrian asylum seekers who have been in Denmark for many years with expulsion and return to Syria. We hear disturbing accounts of other areas of pushback including the construction of a wall in Greece and the continuance of of large and under-resourced refugee camps where are so many thousands linger with little hope.
Even efforts to save lives are blighted by the gradual withdrawal of rescue vessels and other initiatives to save lives. And if we add the effects of drought, flooding and climate change, together with Covid-19, we see our world carry forward a toxic mix which simply must not be ignored by the global community. The narrative of the government which seeks to to demonise those who arrive on our shores by describing them as criminals just exacerbates the problems.
Remembering Alpha: Alpha from Mauritania was one of the first residents of the Calais 'Jungle' in 2014. Not content to live in a shack, he organised a compound for himself in which he kept chickens. He organised another tent to which he invited others to come and develop their painting and creative skills. Over time, materials donated from the UK helped to bring about much satisfaction and self esteem. He organised various signs at the entrance, such as 'Love, not Hate'. We don't know what became of Alpha but we hope that he was able to put his generous and warm hearted character to good use. In our frequent visits to the 'Jungle' at this time we were always struck by the gestures of hospitality we received - when we brought much needed supplies such as milk and sugar we were always invited to share them around makeshift tables
Can't we do better?The recent report of the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee makes depressing reading. Their visit to the Dover Intake Unit found 54 people crammed for days into a small space with mattresses on the floor between benches. And several young people were being held in an office space for more than 24 hours while awaiting placement because Kent County Council are no longer able to accept unaccompanied minors.
On the bright side: Invisible migrant workers have become visible during this COVID time, because many work in essential economic sectors that kept going during lockdown. So the pandemic has made the need to promote the human dignity and rights of all migrant workers yet more clear.
Seeking Sanctuary has always affirmed the dignity of work and urged not only that all workers be respected and valued, but also that migrants should not be prevented from finding secure jobs that enable them to lead decent lives and contribute to the lives of the communities that welcome them.
More of the same in France: Human Rights Observers yet again report that during a morning eviction operation at Grande Synthe – this time on 3 August – members of the cleaning team seized, slashed and destroyed tents and shelters of exiles, with utter disregard for the victims of this operation. https://twitter.com/i/status/1422838156483874818
And again on 5 August, Utopia 56 reported a further morning expulsion aimed at the 400+ people - including dozens of children - sleeping on the ground near Grande Synthe. More tents were destroyed and just six people got access to an official respite centre. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E8BDw6tWYAEn2gq?format=jpg&name=large
Some relevant thoughts:'Our encounter is rooted in the ultimate alterity ["otherness"] of the other, with acceptance even to suffer in response to the suffering of the other and an awakening of one’s feeling of one’s responsibility for and to the other.'
(From the French philosopher Emmanuel Levinas.)
And finally:
'Let us learn to live together in diversity'. (A plea from Pope Francis in preparation for his World Day of Prayer for Migrants and Refugees on 26 September.) In our next update we will cover plans to mark this day.
5 July 2021
Update for July 2021
Two special days – Fathers' Day and World Refugee Day. [Ben writes.] By a curious coincidence the 20th June marked both World Refugee Day and Fathers' Day. I thought of these two occasions not just in terms of our traditional celebrations marked by gifts and goodwill, but in terms of the realities facing so many fathers in war torn and conflict ridden areas of the world where there is not time or opportunity to celebrate. I thought of the fathers in war torn Tigray and so many other parts of the world, where the UN estimates that 400,000 people are facing famine as a result of conflict. With livelihoods lost and families in grave danger, the natural instinct of a father is to save his family and ensure their survival. When war hits a population the first thing to go is often economic activity and sources of employment. Desperate choices have to be made – if disloyalty towards a ruling regime or a rebel army is suspected, the consequences can be fatal.
No time to to celebrate the joys of fatherhood – instead just a despairing struggle to provide safety, let alone economic security. Contrary to popular myths, no one uproots lightly from a community in which they have their roots – their family, friends and much else. And the reality for many young fathers is of years of military service, as in Eritrea, forced to fight in wars. And in their desperate search for safety for themselves and their families, they face the prospect of being cast as 'illegal' in their journeys to seek safety in the UK. (You will find more on the implications of the proposed new UK legislation further down in this update.)
In memory of Artin – A few of you sent donations to pay for flowers which we laid at the memorial for deceased migrants on the seafront in Dover on 20th June. Many thanks for these – and as we laid them we remembered especially Artin, the little toddler whose body was found in Norway many months after his family had drowned in their attempt to cross the Channel. Photos taken at Calais before their attempt show Artin as a sweet, innocent little boy whose smiling face belies the dangers that he and his family faced in their perilous attempt to cross the Channel in a flimsy boat. May he and his family rest in peace.
Facts and figures – It's useful to check some facts as yet another Immigration Bill is laid before Parliament. If you flee persecution and want the protection of the UK government, you must must reach UK soil and apply to the Home Office for recognition as a refugee. Traditionally around two-thirds of these applications are refused, although in 2019 and 2020, around half of the applicants were granted refugee status or another form of legal protection at the first time of asking. Many of these decisions are wrong: thousands of appeals are allowed every year, amounting to 49% in 2020/21. Combining initial grants of asylum with the successful appeals, a clear majority of asylum seekers become recognised refugees or get a similar status. The Home Office’s own figure for 2019 is 64%. The right to seek asylum is universal and does not depend upon how people travel. Our government's proposals set out to undermine the refugee convention and categorise people as 'inadmissible' if they reach Britain by irregular means or have passed through third countries, despite the fact that more than half of them are likely to have valid reasons for claiming asylum.
In 2020, almost 30,000 people applied for asylum (not including dependent family members). This is well below the 2019 level despite the increased number arriving across the Channel by boat. In fact these do not form an extra new flow, but rather represent people who have diverted from crossings in vehicles. Getting on for half of these – 46% – were from five countries: Iran, Albania, Eritrea, Iraq and Sudan, whilst other significant contributors include Afghanistan, Vietnam, Pakistan and Syria. None noted as territories of peace and safety.
The UK’s share of the world’s refugees is light. The World Bank put the number of refugees in the UK in 2018 at around 127,000, or 0.5% of the world’s total. Even by UK standards, the number of asylum seekers today is not particularly high. Numbers peaked around the turn of the century, reaching over 100,000 during 2002, if dependants are included, and have been fairly steady recently, averaging 39,000 over the past five years. The cost of food and shelter for asylum seekers has not risen because more applications are being made, but because they are not dealt with efficiently. The number waiting for more than a year for an initial decision increased almost tenfold from 3,588 people in 2010 to 33,016 in 2020. Within this total, the number of children waiting longer than a year increased more than twelve-fold from 563 children in 2010 to 6,887 in 2020. What is needed is a system that works by making timely decisions and ensures that everybody in need of safety gets a fair hearing.
Some refugees are 'resettled', i.e., brought directly to the UK. Politicians like to stress that resettlement is good and coming to the UK under your own steam (“jumping the queue”) is bad. There are said to be 26 million refugees worldwide, while over the past five years, the UK has resettled around 26 thousand. No-one can apply directly for resettlement in the UK, but instead they must wait in camps near their places of origin and hope to one day be pulled out of the pile by UN agents and assigned to a resettlement programme (not in a country of their choice). There is, in fact, no queue to join! Despite the announcement of a new UK resettlement programme for about 5,000 people a year in 2019, hardly anyone has been resettled since the Covid pandemic began.
Six Bishops unite in calling for migrants rights to be respected – In 2015, at a time when the Calais 'jungle' was still very much in the news, we arranged for the Bishops of Dover, Arras and Southwark to jointly make a statement calling for migrants in Northern France and elsewhere to be treated with dignity and humanity. Six years later – on World Refugee Day, 21 June – we arranged for the joint declaration to be renewed. This time the declaration was signed by three more bishops, with responsibility for more of the Channel coast, from the dioceses of Lille and Bruges and the Anglican Bishop in Europe. It is hoped that this can be the start of continued ecumenical cooperation between British, Belgian and French bishops. The declaration was publicised widely on social media – the post on the Facebook page of the official Vatican News (linked to an article) has attracted over 600 likes.
And some positive stories – Over in Calais we learnt through 'La Voix du Nord' of the activities of 'Mammy Brigitte', who for 14 years has provided a bank of charging points for mobile phones in her garage, as well as providing friendship and support. She may not have made herself popular with her neighbours or the authorities, but she has provided a vital service for people to keep in touch with their relatives thousands of miles away.
Keep a lookout for little Amal – who will set out on 27 July from near the Syrian border in Turkey on an 8000km trek across eight countries. She is nine years old and is searching for her mother, who went off to find food and never returned. She is not so little, being a 12ft (3.5m) tall puppet operated by teams of three performers! She will carry a single message, on behalf of all the thousands of displaced children who will meet her along the way: 'Don’t forget about us.' The Walk is a single theatre show that takes place over four months and had its origins in a geodesic dome in the Calais 'jungle' in 2015, among the artists involved in the 'Good Chance Theatre' .
She arrives at Folkestone on 19 October and reaches Manchester on 3 November, having passed Dover, Canterbury, Lewisham, London, Oxford, Coventry, Birmingham, Sheffield and the Peak District. (There is a "prelude" in Manchester on 18 July, where a young girl struggles to sleep, troubled by the memories of her journey, eventually letting drop her puppet, which slips away into her past …)
June 19, 2021.
Statement for Refugee Week, 2021.
'Seeking Sanctuary is pleased to have facilitated a groundbreaking joint statement by a number of Bishops responsible for the coastline on both sides of the Channel. They express their concern that migrants should be treated with humanity and decency and be provided with a welcome rather than a hostile rejection.
The Bishops represent the Anglican Dioceses of Canterbury and Europe, and the Catholic supporters are the Archbishops of Southwark and Lille, the Bishop of Arras, Boulogne & Saint-Omer, and the Bishop of Bruges.
The statement responds to the ongoing human misery in and around Calais, surrounding ports and coastline towns running from Northern France to Belgium, where many displaced people seek shelter. Download the joint statement here.
Ben Bano and Phil Kerton of Seeking Sanctuary said, 'Countless numbers of people fleeing persecution and violence are still subject to rejection and a hostile environment. In their joint statement the Bishops from the UK, France and Belgium have joined together to speak out against this injustice as well as calling on people of faith to show solidarity for the plight of the victims of persecution, war, and climate change.'
5 June 2021
Update for June 2021
1. The impact upon mental health of war and becoming a refugee.
(Having concluded last month's bulletin with a note about people in Glasgow supporting asylum seekers who were being detained by immigration enforcement officials, we are pleased to start this month with a long extract from a Blog posted by Justice and Peace Scotland on 21 May. In it, Richard Kayumba reflects on the experience of being a refugee and having to flee your home in search of safety, and the impacts that this has upon mental health.)
Wars and becoming a refugee have many consequences on the physical and mental health of civilians and soldiers. Death, injury, sexual violence, malnutrition, illness, and disability are some of the common physical consequences of war, while post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety are the emotional effects.
Many asylum seekers and refugees are survivors or escapees from these traumatic experiences. People escaping from such environments are convinced that when they reach their destinations, they will have a chance to live or to re-build new life and be able to heal these terrible wounds.
However, nothing torments asylum seekers more than being informed that after their miraculous escape from near death situations, they’re unwanted by the country in which they have sought freedom. These torments are intensified by the anxiety of not knowing the outcome of their asylum application. This goes from anxiety to depression once they are disappointed with a declined application following countless years of waiting for the Home Office’s decision.
From this stage onwards, a nightmare begins for asylum seekers, due to the inhumane treatment received during the time prior to their deportation. At this stage, asylum seekers are living in extreme fear of what would happen to them once they are deported. At the same time, they are forced to live on the street by not having a place to stay. Also, this is a period when asylum seekers are made to frequent detention centres without committing any crime. To me, asylum-seeking is the worst thing one would wish his enemy and an asylum seeker’s deportation is equal to being sentenced to the death penalty.
2. Grande-Synthe.
We occasionally report news from this town near Dunkirk, but it figures less in mainstream media than does Calais. We have delved into recent news, Tweets and blogs from NGOs and volunteers to gain a flavour of what goes on.
2.1 The role of the town.
The former mayor Damien Carême, now an MEP, was noted as a champion of exiles, ensuring that a camp meeting UNHCR standards was established and refusing government demands for harsher treatment. Socialist Martial Beyaert succeeded him in July 2019. At the end of April he proudly announced the re-opening of the Puythouck country park whose undesirable occupants had left for a different site a couple of weeks earlier.
In reality, some 500 migrants who had been sleeping rough in the woods this had been forcibly removed in an early morning raid by municipal police. The first time that the local authority had taken such a step. Earlier, most support groups had been refused entry to the area, including the car park where food was distributed. This left mentally and physically fragile people further isolated and vulnerable as conditions deteriorated
The move was for about a kilometre into the woodland, to a site totally out of sight from the road, delimited by barbed wire into separate spaces for each nationality, It is far from normal human life, and occasionally swept by fumes from industrial units. The single water point installed by the State looks like a cattle trough and offers not the slightest modicum of dignity.
Observers comment that the main objective was to make hundreds of lives invisible, abandoning people in a secret location. Adolescents are not seen by social workers and are open to unrecorded contact by traffickers and sexual abuse networks.
2.2 The Role of the state.
On 26 May about 15 van-loads of CRS, (riot) police came to evict people from the new site in line with the government policy of sending them to 'welcome and orientation centres'. There were the usual displays of violence and harassment with batons, flash balls and tear gas against the exiled people. Police tore down the tents and plastic sheeting that had provided some protection from storms. Their next target was the stands where food and tea were served, but unexpectedly a Kurdish man raised his voice in protest, putting forward good arguments and saying, 'We are human beings, we can talk but we cannot fight with you.'
The CRS force withdrew but then returned making a lot of noise. Eventually they did leave and took no passengers on their buses. Former mayor Damien Carême Tweeted, 'This morning at a “shelter” in Grande-Synthe: What a horror! What inhumanity! There are 400 exiles left to survive unworthily on this spot because the State and the city do not have a policy of welcome. These people were fleeing from war, and an army welcomes them. Shame on these leaders!'
The mayor made an unexpected visit on the next morning, along with his team and leaders of opposition parties. They promised a visit from a cleaning team for the next day, but nothing about showers or toilets, nor about cutting back on destruction and displays of power or offering structural solutions, while the mayor agreed that forced evictions may take place twice a week.
And a day later a clean-up operation did take place …. but also a different massive forced eviction of some derelict buildings in the town. It is said that the aim is to fill the orientation centres, creating more profit for hospitality contractors. And few days later on 3 June it was time for more evictions. Repeated dismantling – at least three times per month – remains the norm.
3. More of the same in Calais.
Regular destruction of informal settlements continues, accompanied by an ever stronger police presence. This worsens the already precarious living conditions of the 1500 or more exiles, whose number continues to increase. Difficulty in getting fresh water and food, destruction of tents, confiscation of belongings, tree clearances and installation of fencing on areas occupied by migrants amount to a policy of physical and mental harassment, provoking heightened tensions and increased violence.
This “unlivable” environment pushes people to take more and more risks in attempts to cross the Channel. Secours Catholique suggests that state-sponsored violence has consequences.
At 3.00am in the morning of 2 June some 50 migrants were prevented from getting into the port but later returned in far greater numbers, violently attacking police with iron bars, cobblestones and sticks until 8.00am. Seven police needed hospital treatment. This is said to be the worst violence since the elimination of the “Jungle” in 2016.
With clearance of open areas, many migrants have found shelter in sheds and rough and ready refuges in the southern part of the town. On 4 June 300 police dismantled a makeshift migrant shelter in disused industrial buildings. 500 or more people, including about 30 children, were removed in one of biggest operations of its kind in recent months, starting at around 6.00am, and the buildings were demolished in the afternoon.
4. Numbers.
The number of small boat arrivals in the UK from northern France reached record levels in May with 568 arriving in the last four days of the month. The total for the first four months of 2021 was 2,108, more than double the figure of 896 crossings in the same period in 2020. Officials at Dover are having to work for extended hours to cater for the increased demand at that location and extra transport capacity has been arranged to move people on to short-term holding facilities inland. However, the increased number of asylum applications at the coast has not caused any increase in the overall number. There was a 20-year low in the number of applications in 2010 – 17,916 – before the figure rose, reaching 35,737 in 2019, well below the record of 84,132 in 2002. It is important to note that the number of applications fell to 29,456 in 2020, as far fewer arrived by routes other than crossing the Channel. More accommodation has been needed because applications are not dealt with efficiently, not because of Channel crossings!
Home Office staff say that Vietnamese people-smugglers are switching from lorries to small boats because they consider that these offer a better chance of success in reaching the UK. The increased numbers in Calais include a higher proportion of families, perhaps associated with small changes in the distribution of nationalities involved. Countries in southern Europe face greater challenges. For example, Italy had registered 14,412 coastal arrivals from North Africa by 1 June, almost three times greater than the number for the same period in 2020.
The arrivals are accompanied by a rising death toll. The UNHCR indicates that at least 500 died in the first four months of 2021 during the dangerous sea crossing, up from 150 during the same period in 2020.
5. A feast of flowers.
Sunday 20th June is World Refugee Day when we try if possible to have an event at the memorial on Dover seafront, dedicated to those who have died when seeking to reach the UK. This year we will remember not just those who have lost their lives crossing the Channel but the hundreds who have lost their lives crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa as well those who lose their lives in flimsy boats trying to reach the Canary Islands. If you would like us to lay some flowers on your behalf on that day we invite you to make a donation of £5.00 which we will use to buy flowers on your behalf. The account details are (Halifax): Ben Bano – Sort Code 11 02 32, No. 00490105. Remember to put your name in the payment reference. In this way we will help to raise public awareness of of the tragedy of so many lives lost in the search for sanctuary.
6. An end note.
We are aware of the risk of 'compassion fatigue' from the bleak news which we have given you in this update. We are increasingly aware that migrants and refugees are potential proxies for millions of other marginalised people in our world today in the context of a culture which excludes those of other brothers and sisters in humanity – both in the UK and further afield. That is why we are encouraged by the latest message from the Vatican on the theme of 'towards an ever wider 'we' – in order to combat the notion of shutting ourselves off in nationalistic narratives. Do take a few minutes to watch the latest encouraging video on this theme featuring a Bishop working with migrants on the border of Mexico and Texas: https://youtu.be/bVOJMl-0Aro
With thanks for your continued concern and support
24 May 2021
Phil Interviewed on BBC Radio Kent about New Plan for Immigration
[Click on "Interviewed" to listen.]
18 May 2021
Update for May 2021
We open this month's update with an apposite quote from Pope Francis:
'This is the time to dream together, This as a single human family, as fellow travellers sharing the same flesh, as children of the same earth which is our common home, each of us bringing the richness of his or her beliefs and convictions, each of us with his or her own voice, brothers and sisters all” (Fratelli Tutti, 8).
When is an asylum seeker a trafficker?
The Guardian reports that an Iranian man, Fouad Kakaei, who took over steering a boat 'because he didn't want to die' was jailed and spent 17 months in prison before his conviction was overturned. To date the Home Office has prosecuted asylum seekers forced to take a turn in piloting boats. This original verdict was overturned in March 2021 – a retrial took place and he was acquitted. The obvious argument in gaining the acquittal was that those on the boat did not plan to disembark and enter without respecting the law: like so many others they were hoping to be rescued at sea. It is hoped that others convicted of similar offences will have their cases reviewed.
Countering the narrative of the 'illegals'
Once again we make the point – and we ask you to make a similar point, that to board a boat to cross the Channel in the hope of being rescued is not an illegal act. We cannot imagine how it feels to put your lives at risk in small boats on the open sea. But we can be quite sure that for the majority of those struggling for hours, the sight of a rescue vessel where they can claim asylum is much more attractive than pressing on to attempt a landing and try to exercise their legal right to claim asylum. (An act recently declared illegal by the UK despite the fact that it cannot be claimed in another country.) Hence we prefer the term 'irregular' to 'illegal'.
Black Lives do matter ...
Ben has been reflecting on the relevance of our work to the controversial recent report on racial equality in the UK. Over many years we have done our best to highlight the lack of rights and the discrimination faced by those seeking sanctuary. But have we missed something in focusing our efforts on raising awareness? Ben was told about the abuse suffered by a group of young Eritrean refugees outside a supermarket in Kent, becoming even more telling when they tried to attend a local football match. It made him realise that some those seeking asylum not only have to contend with trauma and marginalisation, but with direct experience of racial abuse. Our sisters and brothers seeking sanctuary are all too readily targets of racial discrimination and abuse. Faith Communities and other organisations do sterling work already – but we all need to understand the impact on migrants – destitution, racism, marginalisation as well as trauma.
And still they keep coming ...
In spite of £34 million outlay, the appointment of a migrant crossing 'supremo' and £98 million spent on previous security measures, the boats keep coming across the Channel, particularly in the milder Spring weather. An interesting article in the Guardian points to the growing blurring of roles between migrants and traffickers as desperate people seeking sanctuary are forced to aid smugglers in preparing boats for the Channel crossing in return for cheaper crossings. And the smugglers get more sophisticated in response to UK tactics.
There is little doubt that the termination of the Dublin agreement has left people even more desperate to be reunited with their families by using irregular means. (Note our use of the term 'irregular; rather than 'illegal' which describes their situation more accurately as they have no safe or legal way of claiming asylum in the UK.) And the Home Office finds itself in further difficulty owing to the impossibility of returning migrants to Europe without the provisions of the Dublin agreement and no agreements from EU countries to accept returns.
Over the last week several boatloads have arrived in Kent. No doubt this puts strain on services, but compare this to the situation over the last week the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa where more than 2000 migrants have arrived – most from sub Saharan Africa as well as from Syria. The list of 'no hope' countries is growing – in addition to the Sahel, atrocities are being witnessed in the Tigray region where 3 million civilians are under attack, meaning that the flow of refugees will be even greater. And between January and April this year there have been 360 deaths. Will the UK offer solidarity by providing assistance in this unprecedented situation? Very unlikely.
Pushback – a Europe wide phenomenon
A recent critical report from the Council of Europe highlights the increasing and dangerous practice of pushback – forcing migrants back across the border when they try to enter a country. The authorities in Hungary, Greece, Slovenia and Italy are among those accused of pushing migrants back to avoid asylum claims. In particular, the Human Rights Commissioner of the Council of Europe has highlighted Greece as one of the main culprits in pushing back migrants trying to enter from Turkey. There are disturbing reports that the French authorities are doing the same at the Italian border. The UK narrative of pushing back migrants across the Channel is just part of a much wider European problem.
'We are not safe until everyone is vaccinated ...'
We entirely agree, but we are aware of the millions living in war torn areas across the world, for example in Syria, the Sahel or the Congo, who have no chance of being vaccinated. And nearer to home, those living rough in Calais and who are unregistered have difficulty getting vaccinated. And nearer to home, what about those in the UK who are worried that their personal details supplied to vaccination clinics could be passed on and lead to their deportation? And those who are afraid to report that they have tested positive for Covid in case their details are passed to the Home Office? This is an issue which needs to be addressed if those most at risk are to be protected.
Mental Health Awareness Week
Mental Health Awareness Week is marked this month. It's timely to note that research suggests that asylum seekers are five times more likely to have have mental health needs than the general population and more than 60% will experience serious mental distress. The incidence of PTSD is also significant, given the trauma experienced when they suffer the effects of war and persecution as well as the trauma in making difficult and dangerous journeys and having to to cross borders in the face of a hostile reception, not to mention finding the prospect of being destitute in the UK. As we work towards better mental health services for all, particularly in the Covid pandemic, let us remember to advocate for a comprehensive and culturally sensitive service for all the migrants who require it, particularly since many refused asylum seekers are not eligible for most secondary medical care (except in Scotland and Wales).
Academic studies in Sweden have found that psychological damage is approximately twice as common among immigrants than in the native population – and three times more prevalent among asylum seekers.
Joint response to government proposals by over 60 faith based organisations
We were pleased to be able to participate in this joint response from numerous people of Faith to the government consultation on new proposals for managing the asylum system. The response points out that we should treat asylum seekers with dignity, which means addressing their problems as individuals. We cannot neatly label all asylum seekers in the same manner; each person’s situation is different, and a streamlined plan for immigration cannot be flexible enough to assess and address the complexity of their issues.
If the Home Secretary's proposals become law, undocumented entry to the UK will be criminalised, with penalties for those falling foul of the new legislation. In practice, this will mean that it will be impossible for most people to claim asylum because “safe and legal” to reach the UK and make a claim are extremely limited because of our island geography and “acceptable” routes under the proposals could never feasibly be made available to all who need them.
Criminalising people for seeking sanctuary seems perverse. In a modern and enlightened society the dignity and humanity of each individual should be central, following any alternative theme ignores the many benefits of welcoming refugees and is likely to create a divisive culture in our communities.
Meanwhile, in France ...
Sad to say, conditions near the French coast show no signs of improvement. We will not yet again repeat the details of both petty and violent discrimination: the repeated evictions from rudimentary open air camps, lack of food and water, barring from certain streets, difficulty in accessing medical care, showers and sanitation, and shortages of clothes – all ameliorated by the dogged efforts of volunteers.
Instead we describe yet another tragic death, in some ways similar to that of two-year-old Mawda three years ago this week.
On 3 May, a number of organisations supporting exiles wrote a statement to express support for the complaint against the police filed by Rupak Hazhar in February, blaming them for the death of her newborn daughter a few months earlier.
On the night of 1-2 September 2020, the Kurdish-Iraqi couple Rupak and Hazhar Sharif, with their children aged 10 and 2, were detained by police along with a dozen others on the shore between Calais and Dunkirk. They were held outdoors for several hours, forbidden to leave, before being freed.
Rupak was in the eighth month of a normal pregnancy, monitored by the local hospital. Later, she told a passing police patrol that she had been in severe pain when detained and that her waters had broken. Five hours after her arrest, she was eventually taken to hospital by ambulance for an emergency Cæserean section. Her child, Aleksandra, was placed in intensive care, being unable breathe without assistance ,and was allowed to die three days later. She is buried in the Muslim section of the Calais cemetery; her family are in London waiting for their asylum claims to be processed. Rupak has said that she wants the truth to come out to save others from suffering the same trauma.
Officials maintain that "none of the migrants mentioned any particular difficulties" at the time. However, the General Inspectorate of the National Police has started investigations, considering a possible criminal offence of failing to provide help.
A Last Word, from Glasgow ...
Staff from Immigration Enforcement detained two men during a dawn raid in a mainly Muslim area on the first day of Eid – a festival devoted to peaceful celebration. By mid-morning, a crowd of about 200 residents had surrounded their vehicle, preventing it from driving away, and chanting “these are our neighbours, let them go”, one of them lying under the van. Police intervened to ensure their release. Nicola Sturgeon tweeted: “I am proud to represent a constituency and lead a country that welcomes and shows support to asylum seekers and refugees.”
Scotland relies on immigrants to offset the pressures of depopulation and on the same day new MSPs were sworn in to to a diverse parliament, taking their oaths in British Sign Language, Arabic, Urdu, Punjabi, Doric, Scots Gaelic, Welsh and Orcadian.
13 April 2021
Update for April
''HAVE FAITH, HEART, YOU WERE NOT BORN IN VAIN: YOU HAVE NOT LIVED IN VAIN OR SUFFERED IN VAIN..."
'I (Ben) often think of these words from Mahler's fifth symphony. They inspire me and many others in these times of darkness as we seek to come to terms with the psychological as well as physical effects of the Covid pandemic. But these words also challenge us to reflect on what they mean for the millions of people seeking sanctuary and who are displaced. Can we hold out this hope to those who we meet who eke out a fragile existence in the context of the hostile environment and so many other barriers? That is the question which challenges those involved in fighting against injustice – these words are no less than a raison d'être for all that we seek to achieve.'
CAN WE STOP CALLING PEOPLE 'ILLEGAL'?
Yet again politicians use this term to describe people who seek asylum through crossing the Channel in small boats. It is not illegal to take to a boat with the intention of claiming asylum with the first UK point of contact – usually the Border Force. – this is the case with most if not all those involved. It is only illegal to cross in this irregular manner if an attempt is made to evade the relevant authorities. Is there this degree of misinformation because the Dublin mechanism of repatriation to EU countries is no longer available to UK authorities? To describe people as 'illegal' immediately stigmatises them and plays to the populist narrative. The government proposes in its 'New Plan for Immigration' that those who arrive 'illegally' should not be given permanent refugee status. This suggestion is just another example of the hostile environment in action, as well being contrary to international treaties, notably the UN convention on refugees.
Sarah Teather, UK head of the Jesuit Refugee Service, has said: 'The Government knows full well that those seeking safety are forced to cross borders irregularly. An asylum system designed to penalise this is lying about its purpose.' A government consultation using an online questionnaire is open here and closes on 6 May: it is important that sensible comments and proposals are submitted.
FRENCH COURT DECIDES THAT SOME CALAIS EXPULSIONS ARE NOT LEGAL
A new and clearly more sympathetic judge in France has decided that the expulsions from the area of Calais known as BMX are unjustified and illegal – this is welcome news for the various supporters and organisations who have been campaigning to put an end to the often brutal expulsions carried out by the Police, usually in the early hours of the morning. It will ease pressure on those who feel sufficiently desperate to put their lives and those of their families in the hands of smugglers to make the dangerous crossing of the Channel.
However, frequent expulsions still occur at other sites in and around Calais and Dunkirk, not to mention Paris.
MAY THEY REST IN PEACE – FOUR YOUNG ERITREANS WHO DID NOT FIND SANCTUARY
We learn of the tragic death by suicide of four young Eritreans who suffered the trauma of leaving their country and arriving in the UK through dangerous means only each to take their own life within a 16 month period. We have always felt a special connection with the Eritrean community ever since our association with the Church in the jungle.
The Coroner at the inquest of the most recent to die, Mulubrhane Medhane Kfleyosu, ruled that more should have been done to recognise and treat his serious mental illness – he was the latest of a group of four feeling so hopeless that it led to their suicide. He had recently been moved from London to Milton Keynes following his 18th birthday despite the fact that those involved with his care considered that he was vulnerable. Sadly this community are often targets of racial abuse: a group of Eritreans left Ben's home town of Deal after being racially abused outside the local supermarket.
NAPIER BARRACKS
As April began, dozens of asylum seekers were again moved into the disused Napier Barracks near Folkestone despite concerns about its suitability and the legality of such a measure. There was a major Covid outbreak there in January and residents were gradually moved elsewhere until it was fully emptied on 2 April. But a week later a new residents started to be brought in without any measures being taken to improve the scope for social distancing. Officials anticipate that they will remain for between 60 and 90 days
Yet again, the Home Office procedures seem to be in chaos. One man was due to be transferred on 9 April before his move was cancelled after charities and lawyers contacted Clearsprings (the contractor that manages the camp), raising concerns over his ability to cope there. Despite being identified as a potential modern slavery victim,he had spent two months in the barracks last year, before being moved out in December because of his deteriorating mental health problems.
'THEY ARE TREATED WORSE THAN DOGS'
These are the words of the recently appointed Bishop of Arras who is responsible for Calais, following a visit he made there at the end of last year, witnessing the consequences of the forced early morning evictions. In his message he expressed his solidarity with all those seeking to alleviate the plight of those on the margins. Let us hope that this might lead to fresh UK/French inter-Church messages to highlight the concerns on both sides of the Channel.
A SENSE OF PROPORTION...
If those in positions of power and influence are alarmed at the pitiful number of migrants crossing the Channel, then spare a thought for those seeking sanctuary from Central America, where the numbers trying to enter the US are rising, not least because of the perception of a more humane attitude by the Biden administration.
This migration is often climate driven, alongside other factors. Two deadly hurricanes – Eta and Iota – struck within two weeks of each other last November, leaving the land flooded for two months devastating the harvest and leaving farmers unable to prepare for the next season. Guatemala and Honduras are among the hardest hit countries. And the number of children seeking to cross the border has hit an all time record.
In the circumstances it is no wonder that, alongside the Covid pandemic and gang violence and lawlessness, climate disasters leave those affected with no choice other than to migrate if they and their families are to survive … and so often worse, to place their lives in the hands of criminal gangs and organised crime groups. Thank goodness for the charities, many of them involving the Church, who are doing their best to alleviate the suffering involved.
OPINION FROM ROME
A new booklet published by the Vatican's Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, 'Pastoral Orientations on Climate Displaced People', calls upon us to 'broaden the way we look at this drama of our time – the drama of those driven from their homes by the climate crisis.' The booklet invites us to become aware of the indifference of societies and governments to this tragedy, asking us to see, and to care.
A COMING EVENT
The regular annual Mass for London migrant workers will take place on Saturday 1 May, livestreamed from the parish church in Forest Hill in South London. Attendance of Londoners in pre-Covid years exceeded 2000, but the livestream will be accessible nationwide. (The livestream will come from either the parish or from London Citizens - ahead of the event, the correct address will appear on the parish website, www.swoy.org.uk). The organisers have picked up our reports of the death of the two-year-old Eritrean girl, Mawda, killed by a police bullet fired into a moving van on a Belgian motorway. She will get a mention during the Mass and her story will be outlined in material that supports the event.
The principal celebrant will be Bishop Paul McAleenan, who is the Catholic bishops' main spokesman on migration issues. In a statement issued at the end of March, he called for a just approach to asylum that has 'people and families at its centre'.He points out that the assistance that we provide to our sisters and brothers fleeing war, poverty, or persecution is a fundamental test of our society. … Tackling the evils of human trafficking, opening more safe routes to resettlement, and treating those who have arrived by other means with fairness and humanity, are not mutually exclusive endeavours. We must recognise the diverse and complex factors that shape the journeys of refugees and welcome all who need our protection.'
AND NEARLY 80 YEARS AGO....
A quote from Lord Baldwin, previously Sir Stanley Baldwin pleading for Jewish child victims of genocide during World War 2.
'I have to ask you to come to the aid of the victims, not of any catastrophe in the natural world, not of an earthquake, but of an explosion of man’s inhumanity to man.”
How relevant today!
AND FINALLY ....
We note with interest the recent publication of the Government-commissioned report on race and equality. It is not our place to provide a detailed commentary, but we do ask one question – to what extent should the way forward be influenced by the lived experiences of those of our migrant and asylum seeker friends who experience marginalisation at first hand?
With, as ever, our appreciation for your concern for these frequently dehumanised exiles and for you actions in their support.
Ben + Phil.
'Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute' (Proverbs 31:8)
22 February 2021
UPDATE FOR FEBRUARY & MARCH 2021
WHICH COUNTRY IS THE KINDEST IN THE WORLD TO REFUGEES AND ASYLUM SEEKERS?
We were taken by a recent press report which sought to measure welcome to refugees in terms of humanitarian welcome, access to education and health care, and rights of residence after a period of time in the country. We have noted the 'answer' at the end of this update and we are sure that there are examples of good practice in many other countries as well.
THE SAGA OF NAPIER BARRACKS CONTINUES ...
You will have read over the last month of the saga of the various upsets at the disused barracks in Folkestone. The situation is currently very confused and the NGOs such as Care4Calais and others are still not allowed in to the barracks. Some very generous donations to 'Seeking Sanctuary' have now been collected by Care4Calais and await distribution to those in need in the barracks, a good number of whom are in a very fragile state due to the traumas that thy have suffered. While the numbers were reduced in the barracks following the recent fire, a significant proportion of those who remained were still supposed to self isolate in totally unsuitable conditions. While we do not condone acts of arson, we are equally concerned by the developing narrative that the residents there have 'abused our hospitality'. Several aspects of the history of the Barracks have come to light. In response to the narrative that that Barracks housed 'our brave service men and women' for many years, a report compiled some years ago in connection with the redevelopment of the site for housing made clear that the Barracks would always be unsuitable for housing Armed Forces personnel due to its ageing infrastructure and poor state of repair. Time to look again at earlier plans to develop the site of for a mix of private and social housing and provide more suitable initial accommodation for asylum seekers?
MORE ON THE POLICE SHOOTING OF TWO-YEAR-OLD MAWDA
It's been quite a while since there was fresh news about this sad case, but now a verdict has been announced. During the night of May 16 to 17, 2018, Mawda was the victim of a police shooting on the motorway near Mons. Born on the road to exile, this little Kurdish girl never had a fixed abode during her short life. Not a single day. An existence spent on the roads, in parking lots and inhospitable camps. A life suddenly interrupted by a 9mm bullet. Right in the face.
Her parents were looking for a better future, wandering from country to country for several years, caught between greedy smugglers and police services seeking to prevent them from passing as part of the fight against trafficking. In today's Europe, policies of excluding migrants result in daily control operations on highways, in ports and in stations.
Mawda and her parents were loaded into a van with twenty others hoping to get to Britain. Avoiding police checks in France, they drove along Belgian motorways in the hope of finding a parked truck bound for England .
However, traffic police patrols were engaged the “Medusa” operations aimed at 'dissuading transmigration on Belgian territory,' started by the former Interior Minister, Jan Jambon, member of a minority nationalist party, on the basis that 'people staying illegally constitute a threat to national security'.
The van was spotted in Namur by highway police, who gave chase. Eventually an officer fired a shot. He has been given a 1-year suspended sentence for manslaughter for lack of caution or foresight. The driver of the van got a 4-year prison sentence for "malicious obstruction of traffic and armed rebellion".
The traffic police were apparently unaware that the van, carrying false Belgian plates, had been seen loading passengers in Dunkirk. French police suspected that it was being used by smugglers and were watching for its return.
Mawda's parents received inhumane treatment. After her death they were treated as criminals rather than victims. The father got out with his bleeding little girl and was himself shot at, then handcuffed next to his 4-year-old son. Her mother was prevented from joining the ambulance to accompany her fatally injured baby.
A number of Belgian parliamentarians are calling for a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the secrecy of police and legal authorities and the degree to which various anti-migrant statements and regulations may have influenced them to see exiled people as dangerous criminals.
THINK OF CLIMATE CHANGE – THINK OF REFUGEES
With COP21 on the horizon and the UK government's clear commitment to address the climate change agenda, spare a thought for another growing crisis – that of climate driven migration. A specific project – Climate Refugees – focuses attention on this growing problem (www.climate-refugees.org). There is now a significant degree of evidence that climate change is contributing to human displacement. For example, an estimated 38 million people from various ethnicities live in the Lake Chad basin. The economy covers a mixture of pastoral livelihoods and farming. There is now a desperate daily search for sources of water and arable land. 17 million of this population live in the conflict affected areas of the Basin.
But as Lake Chad is shrinking, so the diminution of natural resources feeds the insurgency of Boko Haram with pressure on those caught up in the conflict to escape the lawlessness which resulted. If you would like to know more about climate change and refugees, the UNHCR (www.unhcr.org) has some helpful information on climate change and disaster displacement. extreme weather episodes such as flooding in the Philippines and drought in Afghanistan are only set to continue with increasing frequency. The Global Compact on Refugees, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2018, directly addresses the concern that 'climate, environmental degradation and natural disasters increasingly interact with the drivers of refugee movements.' Let's hope that this issue remains an important agenda item as COP21 happens later this year.
OFFERS OF HELP
Sincere thanks to those who have offered to help us. Sadly, with various cross-Channel lorry jams, travel restrictions and anti-Covid regulations both here and in France, we have found ourselves helpless to know what can safely be planned. We hope (again) that we can start to make plans again in just a few months' time and start to decide just how we can be helped.
Answer: Colombia has one of the best records in receiving and settling up to 1.7 million refugees from neighbouring Venezuela. It provides basic health care as well as education and allows refugees to apply for residence rights after a period of time in the country. An example to so many 'rich' countries which turn their backs on asylum seekers.
11 January 2021
UPDATE FOR JANUARY 2021
'FINDING THE HIDDEN TREASURE'
In so many of our updates over the past year we have talked a lot about being a victim – the need to escape violence and oppression simply to find safety and sanctuary for oneself and one's family. Indeed the terms 'migrant' or 'asylum seeker' do little to enhance human dignity – instead they place the recipients of these terms in a subordinate, victim-like context. The prevailing narrative which condemns people seeking asylum as quasi criminals or 'scroungers' simply reinforces this impression.
And yet our need to respect the dignity and humanity of those concerned must lead us in a another direction – to see the 'other' as a person in the way that Martin Buber describes so well in his writing on the 'I-thou' relationship – a person of value, and holding the dreams and aspirations which we hold in common as we grow up.
The young people who come ashore from their flimsy boats in Dover want to contribute to society rather than be seen as victims, even though they are not allowed to work. Many would be ideal volunteers in our NHS in the fight against Covid. There are estimated to be 800 experienced doctors from Syria and elsewhere who could be assisting with vaccinations or working in hospitals during the crisis. A career such as being a doctor or engineer is often in the minds of many of the young people who arrive here. For the 400 or so young men currently in Napier Barracks near Folkestone, there is a huge, as yet unmet need to develop a full programme of educational and vocational activities.
Many of the youngsters who are in the care of local authorities often show outstanding educational achievements – it is tragic that at a time when they can gain qualifications while in care they must live with the spectre of deportation once they are classified as adults
We are often reminded, not least by leaders such as Pope Francis, about about the innate dignity of our sisters and brothers in humanity. Over the next challenging year let us remind ourselves of the need to work with those who seek asylum in a way that enables them to have hope and to dream their individual dreams. Each person has a 'hidden treasure' – let us help those involved to discover and nurture it in order to find their complete humanity.
IF ONLY THIS WERE TRUE...
Minister for immigration compliance Chris Philp said: "France is a safe country with a well-functioning asylum system".
LOOKING BACK
A review is attached, looking back at key events of the past year and how they affected us and those we support.
LOOKING FORWARD
Our partner organisation 'People not Walls' has posted a few short videos from people expressing hope for better news for exiles during the coming year. To find out how you can contribute, please email peoplenotwalls2019@gmail.com – and here's a link to one example of a video cutt.ly/hjxcWGg
TO CONCLUDE
With our thanks for all your support and our best wishes for 2021.
Ben and Phil.
15 DECEMBER 2020
UPDATE FOR DECEMBER 2020
THE WORLD IN TURMOIL AGAIN
As we mark the UN International Migrants Day on 18 December, we reflect on the sacrifices that refugees are making to find sanctuary – the barriers seem to multiply as each day passes. The Horn of Africa is once again in turmoil, and families who have been settled in the Tigray area are being forced to leave and reach desperately poor refugee camps in Sudan. And the route to safety is even more arduous – a 'direct' journey to the Mediterranean through Libya is fraught with hazards and risks of being trafficked or sold into slavery. The refugee camps are equally fraught with danger. The journey out of Africa now often involves long and hazardous journeys with traffickers offering journeys from Dakar in Senegal on dangerous waters and in flimsy boats to the Canary Islands – many hundreds of lives are lost in this journey as well as those who attempt the equally dangerous journey from Libya to Lampedusa. Our world in turmoil has one main outcome – the flight to safety and sanctuary for millions of displaced people.
IN FRANCE
Reports from contacts in Calais are disturbing.
There are usually around 300 people at the Secours Catholique day centre in the afternoons, but at the start of December only 150 turned up on some days. It is very cold and people cannot warm up. They suffer from living in the open, with complaints about frostbite, cracked skin and muscular or bone pains. The usual problems with access to showers and laundry persist: many do their laundry at the centre, but there is no time to dry things. The centre will remain open during the Christmas holidays.
The Red Cross has treated people who have been clubbed. Police violence seems to have increased and phones are seized when people use them to record incidents.
Evictions from informal places of shelter continue to occur on a daily basis, though not always from all sites and not always following the same sequence. Observers are being fined.
In addition to the continuing harassment of refugees in Calais we learn of other initiatives to stigmatise refugees: there is a little known report that 100's of extra gendarmes have been posted to the Alpine border area between France and Italy – near Ventimiglia and Menton – to deter 'terrorists'. And so yet more hazards arise as migrants make the journey through the snowbound French Alps in conditions which are similar to the flights to safety in the second world war.
AND A WELCOME FOR SOME MIGRANTS?
We are well used to the 'hostile environment' – and to the narrative which seeks to stigmatise honest and law abiding people who only want to make their contribution to society. We read that some 600,000 people are expected to emigrate to the UK from Hong Kong.
A QUESTION OF DOUBLE STANDARDS?
It seems to be OK for people to arrive from Hong Kong as a result of anti-democratic policies but not for those who are fleeing worse repression elsewhere. And the 600,000 are just the tip of the iceberg. A question of double standards?
LIFE IN FORMER UK ARMY BARRACKS
Our main concern is with people who find themselves stuck near the French coast and the dangers that they face in trying to reach the UK and claim asylum. However recognition as an asylum seeker is not the end of the story. Claims take months to be processed and the system has operated even more slowly during the pandemic.
Initial Accommodation has been in hostel-type environments where people stay until longer-term – dispersed – accommodation is arranged. Stays should be around 4-5 weeks, but no-one has moved out of their current accommodation during the Covid lock-down. Consequently, asylum seekers have initially stayed for indeterminate periods in one of over 90 hotels – generally the cheapest.
As reported last month, space has been found in disused army barracks for around 600 young men who had arrived in small boats and subsequently spent time in precautionary quarantine. The premises are at Penally Training Camp in Pembrokeshire and in Napier Barracks, near Folkestone in Kent. There have been worrying reports of poor conditions and lack of support, with agencies such as the Red Cross demanding an end to their use.
WHAT WAS ASSURED
Folkestone and Hythe District Council organised a live-streamed community engagement meeting about the Napier accommodation, addressed by a number of people, including Deborah Chittenden, the Home Office Director of Borders, Immigration and Citizenship System.
She stated that residents would receive three daily meals, toiletries and a bed. The site has space for activities and exercise, so people need not leave. (But they are not detained and are free to leave, sticking to the Covid precautionary 'rule of six' and face-mask wearing when indoors.) Appropriate Covid precautions on site are those for community living, treating each dormitory as a 'household'. There is provision for social distancing e.g., spacing between beds, partitions etc. Health services will be provided by a nurse.
A number of others provided information and the Council has an FAQ page on its website, updated as necessary.
The Home Office has contracted Clearsprings Ready Homes Ltd to ensure that the facility is habitable. They will manage the site and provide security. There would be TVs, WiFi, sports facilities, entertainment and pastoral support, and local volunteers would provide English classes (in Covid-safe meeting rooms and training rooms). Telephone interpretation will be available, with briefing documents in the top 10 languages. Hand sanitiser and face coverings will be available for all. Those leaving the site should return by 10.00pm, and mobile phones will be issued as necessary, so that people can be contacted off site. (Daily management is subcontracted to Nationwide Accommodation Services, an East London property management firm.)
The charity, 'Migrant Help', is to provide help and support for topics such as education, health, form filling and discovering the local area. Residents are selected as being relatively fit and healthy with no mental health problems that might be aggravated by boredom; only those no indicators of vulnerability, modern slavery or exploitation will be accommodated. Migrant Help will liaise with Clearsprings to resolve issues brought up by the residents and collate offers of help from local groups. Considerations are being given to providing specific mental health care support to complement offers made by charitable organisations and faith leaders.
WHAT IS THE REPORTED REALITY?
Reports suggest that conditions are far more grim than suggested. Up to 14 share rooms, even with some cases of Covid-19 confirmed in some rooms. There are not generally partitions and sheets hang between beds to provide privacy and dignity. No clothing is supplied and many still wear the clothes in which they crossed the Channel. Numbers even share shoes. They apparently complain of queues for food with no social distancing and of frequent queues for the few leaky toilets.
The likely spread of Covid-19 is a concern. Residents complain of a lack of soap dispensers, crowded washing facilities and little social distancing. There is a nurse on site five days a week, yet there are allegedly complaints of not getting necessary treatment. Some say that the camp is like a prison with Far Right groups protesting outside. Many who fled conflict and danger, suffer from stress and depression, whilst reporters have been told of frequent cases of self harm and at least one suicide in surroundings that resemble a prison. It would appear that there is little mental health support available.
Some staff speak Arabic, but a third of residents speak neither English nor Arabic and communication is difficult. It appears that, despite assurances that the premises are for accommodation prior to dispersal, 14 people were removed to be deported on 23 November, while the only others to leave are those who have threatened legal action against the conditions.
One of the first requests for aid was for bedding, as the provision was inadequate for the the cold buildings dating from the 1890s. Next came requests for donations of toilet rolls, toiletries, books and equipment for indoor and outdoor games, whilst later the need was for socks and underwear.
It seems that a good number do not understand where they are or why, and do not get enough answers about how long they will be staying, aggravating their mental disturbance. Both residents and lawyers have complained about access and it is likely that some do not understand the process by which they can get legal advice.
As we write, it is reported that eight of the residents have gone missing.
PROTEST
Public concern is growing, but rather than being seen to address the issues, Clearsprings has told local volunteers who wish to continue visiting to sign confidentiality agreements forbidding reports of what they see. These are based around the Official Secrets Act – relevant to contractors, but not to charity volunteers – and as a consequence most volunteers have refused to return until the matter is resolved. We have heard that, in the absence of volunteers, security staff refuse to take delivery of aid packages.
Similar concerns have been expressed about Immigration Detention Centres. Seeking Sanctuary joined 62 other organisations and individuals in signing a letter (attached) asking for improvements, sent on 8 December to the responsible Minister (Chris Philp, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State – Home Office), copied to his Opposition shadow (Nick Thomas-Symonds). Other signatories include Refugee Action, Detention Action, Care4Calais, Migrant Rights Network, Kent Refugee Action Network (KRAN), Doctors of the World UK, Choose Love/Help Refugees, Liberty, Jesuit Refugee Service UK and Samphire.
We say, that: "While we want to see the barracks closed, closing them won’t solve the problem, the residents will simply be moved to more unsuitable ad hoc accommodation. A first vital step is the immediate release of everyone from the barracks into safe, supported, community-based alternatives. The issue then has to be fixed at the source, and that is the often-glacial processing of asylum claims. … There is growing evidence that managing people’s cases while they remain in the community with access to support is both less expensive and more effective. Given the significant backlog in processing asylum applications, made worse during the current pandemic, it is time to consider alternatives. The government has talked about a reset moment for migration. Now is the time, but this can only be done by involving and engaging with civil society and people with experience of the system."
It is unfortunate that the reality of daily life has not lived up to that expected from early assurances. Perhaps too little preparatory work was done or budgets are proving inadequate – or reports are not reaching those who can make decisions?
END PIECE
And so dear friends and supporters we wish you a happy festive season in these challenging times. We thank all of you who have offered and continue to offer both practical and moral support. We salute those volunteers both in the UK and further afield who give up their time and sacrifice their careers at a time when obstacles never cease to be put in their way. And equally we salute those put their lives at risk end endure countless traumas just to survive. And as we find ourselves needing to make sacrifices we might find it easier to focus our minds on the stories and struggles of so many of our brothers and sisters in humanity as they seek sanctuary and in many cases just survival.
With renewed thanks for your concern and for your help.
Ben and Phil.
2 NOVEMBER 2020
UPDATE: ARE WE ALL SEEKING SANCTUARY?
Dear Friends
Just as new lock-downs are being announced, it feels as if many of us are having to find ways of living with the Covid pandemic. These often involve making difficult sacrifices and discovering ways of dealing with so many types of loss and bereavement. Just as our lives are turned upside down we might find a glimpse of what it feels like to suffer the losses and traumas faced by refugees seeking sanctuary. And for many refugees, particularly those awaiting decisions on their claim, life is particularly challenging. The recently-announced 3p per week increase in the asylum seeker subsistence allowance is nothing less than an insult. The weekly amount is now to be £39.63; 14 years ago it was £40.22.
MAY THEY REST IN PEACE
In this month of November, at a time when the thoughts of many turn to remembering loved ones who have died, our thoughts this month are dominated by the tragic deaths of refugees trying to cross the Channel in dangerous conditions. First we heard of a corpse found on the beach at Sangatte near Calais on Sunday 18 October. Initially known only as 'BB' the deceased was eventually identified as Behzad Bagheri-Parvin, an Iranian due to celebrate his 32nd birthday on 12 November.
And on Tuesday 27 October there was the tragic drowning of a family of five (pictured here) of Kurdish/Iranian origin from the city of Sardasht in western Iran, near the border with Iraq. Rasoul Iran-Nejad, 35, his wife Shiva Mohammad Panahi, 35 and their children Anita, nine, and Armin, six, were crossing from France to the UK in an overcrowded small boat that set off into rough seas and soon capsized in the Dunkirk Channel. The body of their younger son, 15-month-old Artin, is yet to be recovered, as are those of two additional adults thought to have been on the boat.
The Bishop of Dover, Rt Revd Rose Hudson-Wilkin, spoke for many when she said: 'My heart is full of sadness. We cannot stand by while those who seek refuge and safety are dying at the hands of those who exploit them and their hope. Children and their families are being washed away just miles from our shores. We must do more to help our fellow sisters, brothers, sons and daughters seek safe haven and be offered the same chances to live their lives as we do, with peace and love.'
HONOURING THE DEAD
At Seeking Sanctuary, our hearts go out to their families and loved ones. Like others, we have pledged to lay flowers at the memorial on the Dover seafront after every death of this nature. After the intolerant words of the Home Secretary we were grateful that our simple act of remembrance was filmed for the BBC and ITV news programmes, and our simple act of humanity was also covered by other media outlets. On the evening of 30 October, Kent Action Against Racism organised a candlelit vigil which drew over 50 people to the memorial on the seafront at Dover – a true action of solidarity. (See photo and video in press reports.) We cannot imagine the desperation which leads parents to make such agonising choices about their family's future.
In response to the so called 'words of sympathy' from official sources we have a simple message – forget walls and fences and security guards and instead devise ways for people to apply for asylum in the UK in safe and legal ways, and so prevent these tragedies at source. And, by the way, despite the sympathy of many individuals it's wrong to see France as a safe country – certainly not when the State ensures that riot police harass refugees every day and bar their access to the most basic amenities from the moment that they come across a spot in Calais where they might find shelter and rest.
You will be aware that the costs of a dignified and respectful funeral cannot usually be met by the family concerned. Our colleagues in Calais – Secours Catholique – have made an appeal to initially cover funeral costs for BB who was laid to rest in Calais on Tuesday 27 October. The sum that needs to be found is €2130. At the end of this update you will find details of the account in France to which money can be transferred: if this is too complicated, Ben will be happy to receive your donation for conversion to euros and transmission to France. His account details are also shown below.
ACCOMMODATION IN KENT
The British Army has used land at Shorncliffe near Folkestone since 1794. with the permanent barracks buildings dating from 1890. In 1803, Sir John Moore trained the first Light Infantry Division at Shorncliffe to fight in the Napoleonic Wars. His 'Shorncliffe System' yielded military methods from which the modern British Army developed. In the twentieth century it was a vital staging post for troops gathering for service on the continent in the two World Wars. Three recipients of the Victoria Cross are buried in the nearby cemetery.
Large parts of the site have been prepared for sale to civilian developers over the past twenty years and there are no longer any significant numbers of active military staff living there. Other units come for temporary stays when training. One set of buildings, Napier Barracks, is now housing asylum seekers while their claims are assessed. These are young men previously placed in some of the 90+ hotels used as contingency accommodation this year. The eventual capacity will be up to 400.
Within a couple of weeks of the first refugees arriving, ugly scenes started at a result of anti-migrant demonstrators visiting daily outside the gates. As a consequence various local groups decided to demonstrate a more friendly stance.
An hour's 'Welcome Event' held outside the barracks on Saturday 17 October attracted more than 300 supporters. There were heart-warming placards and banners on display, and many chants, songs and cheers sounded out to welcome the newcomers, who also showed up in the barracks courtyard with their own messages in response. Despite the wire fence surrounding the site, all were connected by their common humanity, and even with mask wearing and attempts at social distancing, the mood was one of pure celebration and solidarity. (See here and here.) A strong police presence kept a few dozen protestors some distance away until the welcome party broke up.
A message was received, saying: 'I am a resident of Napier Barracks, and I felt very satisfied with everyone who came to welcome us. You broke the barrier of fear and anxiety that we had. You made us feel welcome in your beautiful town. Thank you all from the bottom of the heart.'
In the outside communities a number of local initiatives are getting started at gathering supplies for the asylum seekers. As the season changes, bedding very much appreciated and there are repeated requests for toilet paper. The government logistics and procurement operations seem to be as haphazard here as they have been in some of the efforts to counter the Covid pandemic. Because meals are provided the unit has been classed as “full board” and no allowance is provided for the cost of essential sundries such toiletries, hand sanitiser, non-prescription medicines, phone calls and bus fares, despite demands to keep in touch with solicitors and travel to the checks and interviews that are part of the asylum system.
But there is good news! After a long legal battle, refugee charities were told at the end of October that payments of £3 per week for clothing will be made (backdated to March) and £4.70 per week for travel needs (backdated to July), in light of Covid restrictions that were in place before that.
CRITICAL REPORTS
The Red Cross points out that military premises are totally inappropriate for housing many asylum seekers, who have fled unimaginable horrors, including conflict, persecution, and imprisonment in their home countries. Poor communication during transfers to Shorncliffe led to many panic, believing that they were being readied for deportation. Others fear that the 200-year-old and run-down buildings, vacant for a number of years, are unsuited to Covid-proof life, with up to 14 beds per room separated into 'cubicles' by hanging sheets and only one leaky toilet per 100 residents. (Was refurbishment left incomplete due to pressure to reduce the use of hotels?)
A confirmed case of Covid has left many residents literally confined to barracks.
The Children's Commissioner recently reported upon visits to the intake unit for new arrivals in the port of Dover. She has expressed serious concern for the welfare of young people who get stuck there, sleeping on the floor alongside adults for as long as two or three days while homes are found for them across the country, places in Kent having been filled. Another critical report emerged from the Chief Inspector of Prisons, whose staff had also visited reception facilities in Dover and Folkestone. They, despite praise for the sympathetic attitude of staff, found the premises to be “very poorly equipped to meet their purpose”.
With our appreciation of your continued concern,
Phil & Ben.
_____________________________________________
BANK DETAILS FOR FUNERAL DONATIONS
Secours Catholique
Account name “Sécours Catholique, Délégation du Pas de Calais”
Bank: Société Générale
Account number: 30003 01678 00050014638 50
Swift Code: SOGEFRPP
IBAN: FR76 3000 3016 7800 0500 1463 850
Ben Bano
Account name: B W Bano
Bank: Halifax
Sort code:11 02 32
Account Number: 00490105
Reference: Calais Funeral
8 OCTOBER 2020
UPDATE FOR OCTOBER 2020
On the Coasts of the English Channel
We sometimes wish we could bring you better news - indeed as you will see in this update there are many inspiring stories of solidarity and support across the country. To mention just one – Doverstandup2racism is organising an event to promote tolerance and understanding in a park in Dover on 17th October. And Ben reports on an occasion not long ago when a jogger out running at 5.30 in the morning in the village of Kingsdown encountered a family which had just landed and was able to give words of welcome before the Police arrived.
But the anti-migrant narrative continues unabated – indeed migrants and refugees are increasingly becoming a proxy for those who are condemned as 'illegals' – the latest attack by the Home Secretary on immigration lawyers does not bode well. The suggestion that migrants can be 'pushed back' into French territorial waters (an illegal and dangerous act) is part of this narrative. At what cost the deportation flight that took just 14 migrants to Germany, the majority having been kept back in the UK due to failures to correctly process their asylum claims? As you will see from this update the popular myth that migrants are safe in France is an illusion – instead they are harassed by the Police and deprived of food and water. No wonder they put their lives and those of their family into the hand of traffickers.
Songs of Praise
The Catholic Church observed its annual Day for Migrants and Refugees on 27 September. This saw the issue of several statements from Rome, and also from Bishop Paul McAleenan, who is the spokesman on these issues for the bishops of England and Wales. He visited Dover in advance of the Day to meet volunteers working alongside the people who arrive from France in small boats and pass briefly through the port. 'Seeking Sanctuary' was delighted to find local people willing to meet him and also provide similar advice to a TV team who visited on the same day to record material which is expected to be included in the BBC1 broadcast of 'Songs of Praise' on the afternoon of Sunday 11 October.
Fortunately Bishop Paul was willing join in and be filmed on the Dover seafront: his contribution and those of local volunteers will hopefully conclude the Songs of Praise episode. The day of his visit was marked by extreme traffic jams on the major roads towards Dover, but all went well and an account of the visit can be found here.
But what has been happening in Calais?
Charity volunteers have been officially prohibited from making free distributions of food and water in many streets in central Calais. With repeated clearance of shelters and confiscation of property every few days, people have started to sleep at places remote from the officially sanctioned food distributions and to reach these many must walk for several hours each way (if they are strong enough), while others stay away due to the prominent police presence. The human rights ombudsman (Défenseur des droits) reports that preventing the charitable provision of essential supplies removes several human and constitutional rights.
However, that opinion failed to convince the courts that the ban should be overturned. Secours Catholique and others organised a solidarity gathering to protest about the situation and British members of the cross-Channel network of NGOs and charities, 'People not Walls' (with which Seeking Sanctuary is associated), organised an on-line petition in support. This was delivered by hand at the French Embassy in London but, despite having been given several days notice of the pending delivery, the Home Office refused to accept their copy unless a solicitor was in attendance – a hitherto unknown requirement. The small delivery group was hardly threatening, being made up of two ladies, a monk and two Catholic priests!
As a consequence the petition remains open for signature – please sign, as the total is just a handful of votes short of 500 as we write – and it will be delivered when a helpful lawyer can be recruited. Our friends are trying to find out just how this ban has come about, and whether it has any legal basis.
As September drew to a close, Calais saw the largest eviction since the elimination of the infamous 'Jungle' in 2016. According to the State 800 migrants were taken away in coaches in the early morning to 'places of shelter' elsewhere, 38% of them in the north of France and the majority further away. Aid workers expect a similar operation near Dunkirk at any moment. We expect that, as in the past, almost all will make their way back to Calais within week or two, with their fear and distrust of French officials further confirmed. The first returnees turned up within 48 hours and found that prohibition on distribution of aid had been extended to a larger area of the town and that access to more areas of shelter had been blocked.
The Défenseur des droits visited Calais for two days to assess the situation, meeting at length with many exiles and associations coming to their aid, as well as with State services, the Prefect, the heads of all the security forces present in the area, the services in charge of welcoming unaccompanied minors for the Department and the Mayor. At the end of this visit, she issued a report that reiterates the observations on violations of basic human rights previously made by her team and by her predecessor. Whilst aware of the difficulty of the situation, she asks that urgent solutions be found to “put an end to these unworthy and shameful living conditions”.
The apparent response by the authorities in the area has been to start daily disruptions of areas of shelter around dawn, confiscating tents and property and leaving the exiles to wander in search of alternative places to avoid extremes of weather (among the smaller number that remain accessible).
On the English Coast …
At least two relevant Parliamentary Inquiries are taking place. Firstly, the Home Affairs Committee is looking into “Channel crossings, migration and asylum-seeking routes through the EU”. It has held several Oral Hearings and links to accounts of these can be found on one of its pages on the Parliamentary website, also to the 32 written submissions that have been received. Secondly, the Public Accounts Committee has more recently begun investigation of “Asylum accommodation and support transformation programme”, and its publications appear here. It has unearthed the fact that logjams in the system have resulted in asylum seekers being housed in 90 hotels.
Alternatives to the hotels are being sought, and offers of two disused military barracks are being followed up as locations to house young men, leaving space in hotels for families and women, One of these is near Folkestone, where the District Council set up a useful Q&A session with Home Office officials and others. A video recording of this event is available, A gathering of local supporters is planned outside the barracks to convey the fact that some people do welcome the “inmates” despite the likely run-down state of the interior.
Conclusion
'Seeking Sanctuary' finds no joy in reporting such grim news, but we are buoyed support by repeated generous individual responses from members of churches and community groups whose examples continue to contradict the claim that a hostile environment prevails throughout the UK.
Thank you for all that you do to dispel myths and respond to our news.
1 SEPTEMBER 2020
UPDATE FOR SEPTEMBER 2020
Our most recent update (in August) dealt largely with 'myth busting', so this issue will deal more with news and views.
A LOST LIFE
The body of a 16-year-old boy washed up on a beach in Calais on 19 August. He had been trying to reach England in an inflatable dinghy using shovels for oars. He was identified as Abdulfatah Hamdallah, originally from West Kordofan, a Sudanese state bordering the war-torn areas of Darfur and the Nuba Mountains. His age was first listed as 20, then reduced to 16, subsequently moved to 28 (as found on fake identity papers that he carried), and finally 22 – based upon reports from family members.
He was buried in Calais. The Canterbury-based aid group, Care4Humanity, laid a wreath in the colours of the Sudanese national flag at the plaque on the Dover seafront that remembers all those who have died trying to reach the UK. More flowers were soon added by Ben and his family.
This tragic event led to many requests for media comment, sadly, often responding to reports of increasingly hostile treatment of new arrivals and other immigrants in the UK.
IN FRANCE
The number of exiles in and and around Calais remains high, and conditions have gone from bad to worse. Frequent forcible evictions and erection of fresh barriers continue and it is not easy for exiles to get access to showers, soap and drinking water. Food distributions can also be disrupted. Despite this, the number of exiles surviving along the French coast remains high and there are frequent reports of attempts to cross the Channel in small boats, many at the hands of traffickers.
PROTEST
A number of French associations have asked the Défenseur des Droits (an independent Human Rights ombudsman) to investigate human rights violations, and a protest about the lack of access to fresh water and showers is scheduled in Calais for 26 September. A gathering in solidarity is being called in London on 25 or 26 September to deliver a letter at the French Embassy (copied to the Home Office). Details will be provided nearer the date. An associated petition demanding greater respect for human rights is available to sign, and we commend it to you.
Another petition that is open for signature calls upon the Home Secretary to put an end to charter flights used to forcibly expel migrants to countries such as France and Spain where, rather than having asylum claims investigated, they face rapid onward removal to unsafe locations. Reports suggest that recent, often brutal, deportations have been carried out in a rush as a knee-jerk reaction to pressure from anti-immigrant voices and may often have involved significant legal irregularities.
UK PARLIAMENTARY INQUIRY
An inquiry into Channel crossings, migration and asylum-seeking routes through the EU was announced on 6 August by the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee, chaired by Yvette Cooper.
This will examine the reasons behind the growth in migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats. It will look at the role of criminal gangs in facilitating the growth of this form of illegal [sic] immigration and the response of UK and French authorities to combat illegal migration and support legal routes to asylum.
The Committee wants to hear views and welcomes submissions from anyone with answers to the questions listed in its terms of reference. Information about how to submit evidence is available here. Our associated 'People not Walls' consortium has informed its French members about this process and has obtained confirmation that their submissions will be welcomed. The deadline for written submissions is 12 noon on Monday 14 September 2020. Further background, including a link to the on-line process for submitting evidence can be found at this page.
ARRIVING IN THE UK
The increasing number of successful Channel crossings has put pressure on accommodation and some empty hotels are being used. Facilities for youngsters in Kent will soon also be full and there is an appeal for other local authorities to accept transfers.
There is no legal difference in claiming asylum after arriving by boat, on a plane, or any other way. However, these small boat crossers have been singled out by our government to be processed in a special way seemingly designed to obstruct their rights to claim asylum.
Once people are safely on shore the strategy to make this route unviable moves along. In practice, there is no way that the UK can deport everyone who makes it across, but the aim is to be seen to be tough both to deter other arrivals, but probably also to play to key media audiences.
Initially, after a health check and a meal, people spend a day or two either in the Kent Intake Unit (a small prefab holding facility at the tug haven in Dover's Western Docks) or in the police station at the port. The next destination for adults is usually Yarl’s Wood detention centre in Bedfordshire which was, until recently, a longer term facility, mainly for women. However, on 18 August it was repurposed as a 'Short Term Holding Facility' specifically to process people who have crossed the Channel. People stay usually just a few days, the legal maximum stay being a week.
The Home Office conducts initial asylum screening interviews whilst people are at Yarl’s Wood, sometimes in person, sometimes by phone. This crucial first interview decides many people’s chances of claiming asylum. Information from this interview is used to deport the Channel crossers to France and Germany under the EU's 'Dublin III' regulation, which allows governments to pass on responsibility for assessing asylum claims to another (willing) state without even starting to look at individual cases.
According to 'Corporate Watch', many of these assessments have been made in a rushed and irregular way, perhaps using only weak circumstantial evidence and with few having any chance to get legal advice, or even interpreters to explain the process.
From Yarl’s Wood, people may be given immigration bail and sent to asylum accommodation. At the moment, this means a cheap hotel because due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the usual initial asylum accommodation was closed and those held were moved into hotels. People usually stay in initial accommodation for several weeks before being moved into normal 'asylum dispersal' – shared houses in the cheapest parts of cities far from London.
People are picked up for deportation directly from these hotels, usually in dawn raids. All the people on recent flights had claimed asylum immediately upon arrival at Dover some weeks earlier. They were not known to be 'dangerous criminals' and had faced no charges. All had well-founded fears of persecution in their countries of origin, where there have been extensive and well-documented human rights abuses. At least some were survivors of torture – and had been documented as such in the Home Office’s own assessments.
Many, if not all, have friends and families in the UK, a factor which is supposed to be examined at the outset of each 'Dublin' process. France is accepting these requests to 'take charge' , i.e., to take legal responsibility for asylum claims. But reports show that it has denied people the chance to claim asylum by immediately issuing expulsion papers as soon as the charter flights arrive.
ALL IS NOT LOST ...
And yet in these challenging times all is not lost. We are constantly heartened by the messages of support and the unexpected offers of help and donations. A recent donation by a religious community will provide food for a few days in Calais. In spite of the various obstacles and high fares on the ferries, goods and supplies are still being taken to France and our garages in Kent have got space for donations – just contact us to find out more details about essential requirements and ways of getting goods to Calais. At this time there is a severe shortage of tents, party due to rapid police clearances and also to the lack of tents abandoned during this year's festival season in the UK.
And we need your involvement more than ever in the midst of the hostile narrative of intolerance and indifference to the plight of refugees – both in signing petitions and in your practical support.
Keep up the good work!
21 AUGUST 2020
UPDATE FOR AUGUST 2020
DEMONISATION OF THE INNOCENTS
We bring you this update a little earlier than usual this month, because the narrative surrounding those seeking sanctuary on our shores is little short of a demonisation of innocent people.
The sight of people risking their lives in small boats in the Channel gives rise to all sorts of extremist fantasies and is a golden opportunity for a post Brexit narrative. It allows fantasies to run riot, such as likening these hapless people in small boats to 'invaders with Napoleon and Hitler'.
No wonder jingoism can run riot in this febrile climate. Much ignorance, many lies, misunderstandings and untruths persist about these desperate human beings who have passed through France, mostly originating in Afghanistan, Sudan, Eritrea, Iraq, Iran and Syria – all listed among the 28 most dangerous countries in the world.
We are both doing our best to counter this narrative – ten media interviews over the past week – but it is not enough – we need you – our supporters to help counter this narrative with your friends, family, politicians, Faith Communities and beyond. The the rest of this update consists of a 'myth-buster' that may be helpful.
BECOMING DEMONISED
Innocent people have become demonised by the vocabulary used by politicians and commentators to describe them, and some apparently consider them as less than human.
LET'S STOP TREATING THEM AS 'INVADERS'
It seems obvious that these people are not 'invaders', but have probably fled from violence and terror and are therefore likely to be granted asylum. Nevertheless, we hear calls of 'They are illegal', 'They should apply in the first safe country', 'Send them back' and 'Sink the boats'. They can, in fact, only claim asylum on UK soil and the international refugee convention recognises the fact that they will often arrive without appropriate documents: their journeys may be irregular, but they are not illegal. Indeed, having applied for asylum they achieve the legal status of 'asylum-seeker'.
GOVERNMENT OBLIGATIONS
Our government is expected to allow people to reach our soil and obliged is to consider the merits of each person's case without making sweeping assumptions about the likely merits of asylum claims made by groups of people who happen to arrive together.
INTERNATIONAL LAW
Despite statements by government ministers and others, international law does not demand that asylum applications are lodged in the first safe country, but that travel should be 'direct'. France need not accept people back just because that was the last country visited – and did not do so a few decades ago when people from ex-Communist countries arrived on ferries. (There is an EU agreement that attempts to prevent multiple applications from being made, assuming that the first country where a claim was lodged will take charge of a case, but that will become irrelevant in 2021.)
And sinking the boats expecting most of those on board to drown is illegal, immoral and an act of murder.
THE LAW OF THE SEA
The law of the sea requires that people in distress are saved, and attempting to forcibly remove people from their fragile vessels actually adds to their distress.
There are no international waters in the Straits of Dover, which contains only either French or UK territorial waters. The Royal Navy may have more suitable vessels and experience in this field than the Border Force, but it needs consent to operate in French waters and further consent to have folk accepted back on French soil.
Seeking Sanctuary has long called for the setting up of safe and legal routes to claiming asylum. This could mean measure such as establishing facilities to make claims in France, negotiating with France to accept returns, bringing rescued people to the UK, re-invigorate sponsorship schemes for displaced people brought from Syria and nearby.
OTHER PRACTICAL STEPS
Other practical steps that would require less delicate diplomatic negotiations could be speeding up the family reunion process; allowing people to make claims for a new class of “humanitarian visas” at overseas embassies; hiring unused cruise liners to house people and setting up immigration facilities on board – or perhaps adapting shut-down oil platforms.
Walls and fences are a pointless investment. The many millions spent on fences and walls in Calais by the UK government have failed to deter the many hundreds reaching UK shores in dangerous and flimsy boats.
TREATING PEOPLE WITH HUMANITY AND DECENCY
Treating people with dignity and humanity will help to make people less desperate to make dangerous journeys and take their lives and those of their families into their hands.
Asylum claims often take a long time to be processed as part of the 'hostile environment'. They are not allowed to work unless there are extreme delays, and then only in a limited set of jobs. They get a weekly allowance of £37.75, plus accommodation. For a few, it's sometimes in hotels for short periods, but for most of the time it's in hostels and ‘hard to let’ properties, not wanted by other people. They are never placed in social – “council” – housing, so they are not "taking away" homes from British people. The private accommodation is really basic and often would not be deemed suitable to be put on the council list.
WE ARE NOT CROWDED
Urban areas cover just 10% of England and Wales: although cities are crowded, the rest of the land is not. Even though homelessness is still a problem, there are over 600,000 empty homes in England alone, with over 200,000 of these classed as long-term empty properties. The truth is that there is no need for anyone to be homeless and society has problems that need fixing for everyone.
Refused asylum seekers – perhaps after appeal – are expected to make arrangements for leaving the UK. The Home Office funds voluntary returns programmes and if a person does not leave the UK the Border Agency may arrange an enforced return. (Some who fail to meet the legal definition of refugee may be granted humanitarian protection, usually for 5 years, or discretionary leave to remain.)
DO THEY ALL COME HERE?
Far from it. Most of the world’s displaced people are currently hosted in the world’s poorest countries. In 2016, developing regions hosted 84% of the world’s refugees, according to the UN’s Refugee Agency.
Very few do want to get to the UK; the idea that everyone tries to reach the UK is a common, and false, misconception. For example, Sweden and Hungary, which both have much smaller populations than the UK, have taken several times more refugees per head of population than the UK has. About 5% of people crossing the Mediterranean end up trying to reach the UK.
There is no reason for the UK to take proportionately fewer refugees than any other country in Europe. People in the UK are no less compassionate and we know they want to help. We see this in the thousands of volunteers that come to Calais and those that work hard to help refugees all over the UK.
INTERLINKED FACTORS
There are a number of interlinked factors for those who are keen to get here. People fleeing from conflict and persecution want to settle with relatives and friends of their own ethnic background and there are large communities of people from various countries in the UK. For unaccompanied children, relatives in the UK are often the only chance of family – hence the cruelty of ending all the Dublin regulations at the end of this year.
FAMILY TIES
The top reason refugees for continuing journeys to the UK is that they have family ties here, and they have heard that it is possible to establish a decent life here. In fact, this covers at least 50% of cases. These ties run deep, especially when you have lost everything else. Other factors that people will take into account are more practical, such as speaking a language that gives you more chance of finding a job, and that you can better navigate everyday tasks like understanding public transport or going shopping – English is the accepted second language for billions of the world population.
A POST IMPERIAL LEGACY
Further, British culture is much admired, as are sporting sporting networks. Manchester United and other clubs are followed avidly across the world – this is after all big business!
Having been “sold” on the UK as a destination by gossip or by the alluring stories of smugglers, people make desperate attempts to finish their journeys because it seems that all other options have failed. Conditions in Northern France, with the frequent evictions and lack of access to basic amenities in all sorts of extreme weather are so dire that people put themselves and their families into the hands of unscrupulous traffickers.
French authorities have tried countless times to persuade people to stay elsewhere in France but people often very soon find a way back to the Northern French coast. They are perhaps offered accommodation that is unappealing and with few facilities and no choice but to accept food that is not to their taste. French is the dominant language with little effort made to accommodate others and there are often no established support groups.
WHY NOT CLAIM ASYLUM IN FRANCE?
A good number do claim asylum in France – more than attempt to do so in the UK – but it is a lengthy and complex process. Imagine trying to get to an office open one afternoon per week 100 kilometres away when you have no money and then waiting for a year or two with no income for a start to to be made to process your application.
WHY ARE THERE SO MANY MEN?
In the countries where they are from, such as Syria and Afghanistan, young men are often primary targets for recruitment by radical groups like ISIS and the Taliban. In Sudan, young men may be killed to stop them rebelling against the government and in Eritrea they can be conscripted for what is effectively a life sentence.
For all these reasons, men as young as 13 and 14 have to run away from their homes and their families.
YOUNG MEN ARE OFTEN OVERLOOKED IN PLACES OF ORIGIN
Moreover, young men understand that in the official refugee camps, host countries understandably prioritise selection of women, children and families first for their humanitarian quota intakes.
As young single men, therefore, their chances of selection are very slim and so they resort to their next best hope – which is to get to a makeshift camp by whatever route seems possible.
In Calais we see more women and children from certain countries such as Syria or Iran, but they are usually prioritised for social housing and not as often seen on the street.
The images that make their way into the news therefore tend more to be men, as often in Calais the women stay in the background and out of sight.
WHAT ABOUT MOBILE PHONES?
Refugees have mobile phones as they are the last lifeline back to the families they have left behind, who may still be in danger, and their primary hope of getting to a secure place of shelter. They use them to update their families on their perilous journeys, and to try to make sense of their route in an alien and often dangerous context. Making land-line calls to other continents is too expensive and in third world countries the lines are unstable, so even at home they need smartphones to use free WiFi networks and apps like WhatsApp and Viber.
If they have fashionable clothes, it's due to the generosity of donors in the UK and elsewhere.
AND THE EXAMPLE OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN
Life was more simple for the Good Samaritan when he went to the aid of a needy traveller from a hated race and saw to it that his wounds were treated and that he was given shelter. If only nation states could become inspired by the parable when establishing systems for dealing with the world's increasing supply of displaced people.
7 AUGUST 2020
Ben is interviewed on Premier Christian Radio
Every migrant has a name, a face, and a story!
Link
1 AUGUST 2020
UPDATE FOR JULY 2020 – So near and yet so far ...
Living in Deal just a few metres from the seafront ,Ben can easily see the French coast near Dunkirk on a clear day. And his thoughts turn to the human tragedy which unfolds on a daily basis, not least as more people take their lives into their hands crossing the Channel in flimsy boats headed for Dover, with a number of them arriving on the beaches of nearby coastal towns such as Deal.
We have been focusing recently on the plight of unaccompanied minors, not just the 100 estimated to be in Calais but the many thousands (estimates suggest 12000) who are languishing in dismal camps in Greece and elsewhere without hope of a future and at the mercy of traffickers as well as sexual exploitation. Britain rightly has strict rules in place for safeguarding children – but only those within its borders.
The Home Secretary has stated her aim to put an end these crossings. But all safe and legal routes are being closed off. The 'Dubs scheme' is at an end and the Dublin regulations which permit family reunion will finish as the UK finally leaves the European Union at the end of the year. The result – yet more desperate attempts. The excellent charity 'Safe Passage' is, with others, challenging the failure to plan for the end of the Dublin framework – please do sign their petition and support their important work with your donations. Here at Seeking Sanctuary we will continue to press for the rights of these vulnerable children to be respected.
'THEIR LIVES MATTER'
We are founder members of the cross-Channel organisation 'People Not Walls', which has recently issued a wake-up call 'Their Lives Matter'. This was inspired by the moving address provided in Dover by Bishop Rose Hudson-Wilkin on World Refugee Day last month. A copy of this wake-up call is attached: please share it as widely as possible.
CALAIS – HOSTILITY AND EVICTIONS
In mid-July we saw a large-scale eviction of over 1000 people from one of the biggest informal living sites in Calais, accompanied by continued hostility against refugees and displaced people and a worsening of the situation. The industrial wastelands where most makeshift camps have sprung up are now completely blocked off and people simply have nowhere left to go.
People who stop to rest are immediately removed by the authorities. State-funded basic food distribution at the biggest former informal campsite has been suspended and police installations prevent access to water points. NGOs are making all of their services mobile, working around the clock to get essential supplies to people in need. Hundreds of food packs, hot meals, blankets and plastic sheets for protection from the weather were distributed in the few days following the eviction.
The ramping up of these events started as Gérald Darmanin was appointed as Minister of the Interior, and he visited Calais within a week to meet the British Home Secretary, Priti Patel. They visited several security installations – but no NGOs – and agreed to set up a new joint anti-trafficking team and to meet again to discuss progress.
Secours Catholique reported that most of the removed exiles – who come principally from Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Syria and Iran – returned almost immediately, ending up spread through woodland with no access to water, toilets and food. The remaining state food distribution points were at least an hour's walk distant, as were departure points for the shuttle buses serving the shower blocks at the fringe of the town.
The regional Prefect stated that the government was intervening in this manner because it is determined to avoid the reappearance of shanty-towns and sees no alternative way doing this. Secours Catholique retorts that there is an obvious method: assure shelter; offer prospects of settling in France; suspend the operation of the parts of the Dublin agreement that require people to be returned to other countries in Europe; and regularise ways of reaching the UK.
UNSOLICITED ADVICE!
Ben commented about the continuing and increasing small boat Channel crossings on a regional TV news programme, which resulted in the following email communication.
When are you dumb do gooders going to get it in your thick heads that the only reason these immigrants come to Britain is to claim benefits what is wrong with you 90% of us British DONT want them here ? You disgust me I hope you get karma for trying to destroy our British culture
Negative press coverage of people arriving in the UK across the English Channel has ramped up and appears to have convinced some that we should turn away from the plight of people across one of the most dangerous shipping lanes in the world.
Relentless evictions and intimidation tactics in Northern France deter people from wanting to stay, and create the conditions that convince them to try and get to the UK at any cost. Apart from resettlement schemes for people of certain nationalities, the only route to making a claim for asylum is to get into the country, even taking increasingly dangerous risks to do this. Despite the UK border controls being in Calais, people cannot claim asylum there, and it is not easy to access the French asylum system in that area. The UK has failed for decades to provide a system of safe, legal means for people to seek asylum or to enable people to reunite with their families.
We are often told that people should claim asylum in the first safe country they reach, but this is not an obligation under international law, but a deliberate misreading of parts of the Dublin regulations. People have the right to seek asylum from persecution in any country and to have their claims properly considered. Nobody would put themselves or their children on to a small boat in the Channel unless they think it is safer than what they are leaving.
However, the daily media attack on these vulnerable people is working. Headlines create the idea of a crisis, building the assumption that our border controls are not good enough and Home Office policies are too lenient. Although this is not the case, people are being scapegoated and portrayed as less than human in order to justify even more hostility. Resentment and rage replace empathy.
Granting access to territory for people in need of international protection is an international obligation – an essential aspect of our long-term responsibility towards our fellows. Those drafting the International Refugee Convention hoped that governments would establish policies and programmes aimed at protecting the human rights and dignity of the needy and make their development as human beings possible. We should seriously work to ensure people's right to life, liberty and security of person, so that saving the lives of potential asylum seekers is always paramount.
Behind the headlines, the majority of these so-called 'illegal migrants' are individual people who have either experienced grinding poverty, discrimination or the adverse effects of climate change or who have fled war, persecution and terror, having experienced torture and human rights abuses. In the face of the worst this world has to offer, they have chosen hope and life.
A few days after her visit to Calais, our Home Secretary Priti Patel announced plans for a more 'compassionate' Home Office. With the major evictions just before her visit, she didn’t have to see any of the people at the sharp end of her policies, who see little compassion!
CALLS FOR CHANGE
The current framing of boat arrivals as a 'major threat' to the border needs to be challenged and put into perspective. In fact, the total number of arrivals by boat so far in 2020 is around 2000, compared to 1,890 in the full year 2019. This is a very small number in comparison to the 65,000 claims for international protection made in Europe in January 2020 alone. Stories about boat arrivals being a threat to public health via Covid-19 must also be scrutinised: the Minister for Immigration Compliance has stated that 'there is no evidence to show that there is an increased risk [of Covid-19 transmission] from migrants.'
The shift towards people resorting to increasingly risky boat crossings across the Channel (rather than using freight traffic) is a symptom of increased desperation amongst displaced people facing squalor in northern France. Increased security spending at the ferry port and Eurotunnel rather than investment in human security and long-term solutions, heightens desperation.
The heavy-handed French riot police presence with daily evictions of living spaces makes France an unappealing country in which to seek protection and acts as a push factor driving prospective asylum seekers away from police violence, lack of decent accommodation and anti-migrant sentiment. The increasing number of unaccompanied children making the crossing probably indicates inadequate resourcing of the overstretched French State Child Protection service that should provide support on French territory.
Priti Patel’s recent endeavours to introduce new powers to turn back individuals off the coast and return them to France (feeding into populist, demonising narratives) will do nothing to address this decades-long humanitarian disaster at our doorstep. Increased security and hostile treatment of vulnerable people only push people to take ever more dangerous routes. Provision of safe and legal routes is more likely to enable the UK to achieve its stated goal of dismantling trafficking and smuggling networks and reduce reliance on irregular pathways whilst whilst still upholding international and European law and its moral responsibility towards prospective asylum seekers. It is also likely to be a cheaper solution.
Local authorities across the UK have pledged more than 1,400 places for unaccompanied children if a safe and legal route to entry is devised.
FURTHER MEASURES IN CALAIS
As the month came to an end, another informal camp was dismantled in a pre-dawn raid, and its remaining occupants removed, after many had run into hiding. Observers comment that the policy has become even more repressive, based on the alleged pretext of 'protecting the frontier'. Another smaller site was also emptied and plans were announced for the closure of streets to prevent access to the pitiable territory where informal settlements have been most frequently located.
The migrant community has been dispersed and rendered invisible. It is now much more difficult to deliver humanitarian aid. Some have found hiding places in the town centre and more have relocated to Coquelles, which reports an increased population of exiles.
AID
One glimmer of good news is that several humanitarian groups have recommenced operations, though typically on a limited scale until more people can readily travel to join them. As well as food, water and other emergency supplies, there is now an urgent need for tents and sleeping bags to replace those destroyed – and with the regular summer festivals cancelled, the usual supply from abandoned goods has dried up.There are several drop-off points around the country where goods can be dropped off without the need to travel to Calais and take the risk ot getting quarantined.
With our thanks for your continued concern –
Phil + Ben.
PS Do not forget the fight against human trafficking. The relevant UN Day has just passed by. [Click to open link]
3 JULY 2020
UPDATE FOR JUNE 2020 – 'And will they find sanctuary?'
REFUGEE WEEK
We are late with issuing this Update! Refugee Week ran from 15 to 21 June and included UN World Refugee Day on 20 June. We were involved with planning and taking part in two new live-streamed events to mark the Day and afterwards, in thanking others and reporting upon their success, hence our delay
The first event was a cross-Channel “virtual rally” in which over 60 people took part 'live' and for which more have have since viewed the recording. A report has been posted, including a link to the recording.
The other took place on the Dover seafront, remembering all who have died trying to reach our shores – especially the 58 young Chinese found dead in a sealed container 20 years ago, as recounted in this article. Conforming to pandemic restrictions, this was attended “live” by just a handful of people, among them a deputy Lord Lieutenant of Kent, representing the Queen, and Rt Revd Rose Hudson-Wilkin, Bishop of Dover, who delivered a stirring and challenging address. This link leads to a report on the Dover event, including a further link to a video of the bishop's address. A video of the complete event is also available.
'We must always mourn them' - with these words Bishop Rose reminded us of our obligations to the 58 Chinese. From our socially distanced event next to the memorials on Dover seafront we were reminded of the many others who have lost their lives trying to reach the UK. These memorials are a place of tranquillity in an otherwise busy port town and we ended with determination that they and so many others will be remembered. As Bishop Rose reminded us, there are words from the Pope on the Chinese memorial plaque: 'Every migrant has a name, a face, and a story''. She also reminded us of the hypocrisy of calling for restrictions on migration when the history of the British Empire was all about emigration to seek a better life.
IMAGINE
The theme of Refugee Week was “Imagine”. Imagine a world after the Covid-19 era. Old ways of working are already imaginatively adapted and some old ways no longer function. Many see signs of hope for a future where we see new ways to care for our planet, and protect and value human lives. Ways looking less at how much things cost or how much a person earns, but rather at the benefits they bring.
Hopefully more people will begin to imagine how desperate people are to leave homes and families, and take perilous journeys in the hope of reaching places where they may get away from conflict and famine and find decent shelter, education and employment, so becoming able to contribute to society and retrieve some sense of dignity.
A statement issued by the Catholic Religious calls for 'eyes and hearts to open to action by recognising, contemplating and sharing the lives of refugees and migrants'.
CURRENT SITUATION IN FRANCE
Little has changed near the French coast since our last update: it's a story of “more of the same”. Accordingly we are not reporting upon details (which, in any case, you can hear in the recording of the Virtual Rally on World Refugee Day). This is a chance to be a little more reflective!
It's easy to write off those stuck near Calais as only seeking better lives and to somehow drag the rest of us down. In fact they deserve better lives than those from which they have fled and genuine chances to realise their potential. Many of those who reach Calais come from three of the world's top four sources of forcibly displaced people – Syria, Afghanistan and South Sudan.
Calais has become known for its very visible array of fences, walls, ditches and barbed wire. There are also hidden walls: walls of indifference, even hostility, born from living alongside the inhumane ways in which the official policies of harassment are played out every day.
Our partner organisations in Calais also organised events to mark World Refugee Day. Testimonies and demands for the respect of human rights and chances of more dignified lives were posted around the town, with stories of solidarity and proverbs, all celebrating the strength of solidarity and paying tribute to the courage of the exiles. People whose voices are rarely heard and who attempt to hide and become invisible.
Later in the afternoon a socially-distanced group of about 50 marched to the beach, carrying a giant paper boat that attracted some attention. More testimonies of solidarity were read, and the paper boat led the way back to the promenade, with followers chanting, shouting and singing, handing out small paper boats to curious bystanders.
LOOKING BACK
We can look back over some 30 years of the modern migratory phenomenon that affects Calais.
After the Berlin wall fell at the end of 1989, people from many former Communist countries came by bus and train in order reach the UK. Soon afterwards, in 1991, the Sangatte protocol was signed between France and the UK, notably outsourcing British border controls to French territory.
At first Yugoslav exiles joined the Germans, further attracted by the advent of more public transport services via the Channel tunnel after 1994. Then, from 1999 Kosovans came, followed by numerous Iraqis and Afghans. The Sangatte centre was opened to shelter them, but was closed in 2002. Successive waves of migrants came from conflict zones around the world: from the Balkans, Yemen, Vietnam, Iran, Eritrea, Sudan, Ethiopia, North Africa, Syria and yet more countries, all attempting to reach Britain.
Strategies to manage the influx were generally inadequate in vision and incompetent in execution, and 30 years after the Berlin Wall has fallen, it has been replaced by new fortifications around Calais.
Apparently, it makes better business sense to militarise and repress rather than regularise and welcome. And people suffering from border policies, are nevertheless determined to crumble them. If governments genuinely want to stop border crossings, in particular in small boats, securitisation has not worked and it is time to construct better and human-based solutions.
Our governments should take seriously their obligation under international law to ensure the right to life, liberty and the security of persons. Saving the lives of asylum seekers should always be a paramount duty. Limiting access to a nation's territory to those in need of international protection for the sake of national security, presupposes that it is valid to choose between human safety and national security. But the safety of people should always take priority over national security: the situation of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees requires that they are guaranteed personal safety and access to basic services.
Granting access to territory to persons in need of international protection is an international obligation and an essential element of our long-term responsibility towards our fellows. It should result in policies and programmes aimed at protecting their human rights and dignity and making their development as human beings possible.
LONE CHILD MIGRANTS
Just over 80 years ago there was a generosity of spirit in this country which led to a reluctant Neville Chamberlain being persuaded to accept thousands of child refugees fleeing from Nazi oppression on the kinder-transports from Prague and Vienna. Have we since become more mean spirited? Even a letter from 250 faith leaders failed to gain votes in the Commons to pass an amendment which would have protected channels for family reunion and relocation for unaccompanied children in Europe.
The letter organised through 'Safe Passage' pointed out the injustice following the announcement that the 480 places available under the Dubs scheme had been filled. A meagre token compared to the thousands who were brought to safety in earlier times. And the consequences? Young children make risky attempts to cross the Channel in flimsy boats, putting their lives and their futures at risk, not to mention all the children festering in dismal refugee camps in Greece and beyond. How can we call ourselves a 'civilised society' and allow these things to to happen? As time goes by there are enhanced safeguarding procedures in place to protect vulnerable children but these don't apply to all the children who are nearly, but not quite, in the UK.
Our partner's Virtual Rally on World Refugee Day was focused on the challenges affecting under-age exiles. If you are inclined to take action for these vulnerable people, you may be interested in a new on-line petition addressed to members of the EU Council. It asks them to task their Commission and negotiating team with finding a replacement for family reunion under the ‘Dublin III’ regulation as part of EU-UK post-Brexit negotiations .
30 May 2020
UPDATE FOR MAY 2020: Seeking Sanctuary in a Covid World
Our thoughts this month are influenced by the enormity of the pandemic crisis across the world and in particular its effect on all those seeking sanctuary. In our Update we note some of the direct effects on those concerned – a complete lack of access to centres and facilities which have been a lifeline in the past, the appalling sanitary conditions which spread infection and the growing stigmatising of migrants as potential Covid carriers, as seen in our report on Calais buses which refuse to take migrants, seeing them as potential sources of infection. Advice on hand hygiene is of no use when there is not even a water tap in the places where many of those seeking sanctuary are forced to exist.
WORLD REFUGEE DAY
This is marked on Saturday 20 June, at the end of Refugee Week, with the theme: 'Imagine'. We are keen to mark this in Dover because it is also the 20th anniversary of the discovery of the 58 dead Chinese migrants found in a sealed trailer at the port.
Ben remembers well the traumatic impact on all involved – the reports of the impact on families who sent their young people abroad with such high hopes, the traffickers who saw the young people as objects rather than people, and not least the impact on the emergency service workers and port staff who had the gruesome task of dealing with the aftermath.
In keeping with the current pandemic restrictions, instead of asking people to gather, we will mark the Day with a live-streamed time of remembrance from the Dover seafront starting at about 11.20 am. This considers all who have died trying to reach the UK, but especially the 58 Chinese,.
The Bishop of Dover, Rose Hudson-Wilkin, will follow her predecessor, Bishop Trevor Willmott by leading the event and providing food for thought. Additionally, 'People not Walls' will stream an interactive discussion beforehand, starting at 10.00 am.
Details of how to register for these combined live-streamed events via Eventbrite will be sent out beforehand.
THE CALAIS SITUATION
As reported last month, the outbreak of coronavirus and the consequent regulations have rendered an already bleak and desperate situation far bleaker. Prior to the virus outbreak, Northern France was home to between 1500 and 2000 migrants hoping to get to the UK and living on the outskirts of towns in abandoned warehouses, the edges of industrial estates and on barren wasteland. They continue to do so, the vast majority being male, aged 16 to 30.
The state’s hostile approach is based upon the assumption that migrants have chosen to come. But it is hardly a choice to leave destitution, poverty, climate breakdown, persecution, oppression and conflict. People would not take such enormous risks and live under such hostility if they were not desperate or had no other options.
Since the Covid-19 lock-down most support organisations have either suspended or drastically reduced their services. Meantime, we still read reports of police brutality where migrants are beaten, tear-gassed and in several instances hospitalised – sadly, a relatively normal practice. With a lack of volunteers on the ground, there are far less observations and nobody is held to account. The few remaining aid workers now rely more than ever before on monetary donations.
The state has provided some premises to house people safely, but this has been a slow process, and space is often still unsafe, unsanitary, ill-suited to proper social isolation, and unlikely to accommodate everyone. Forcible evictions from rough campsites continue every two days.
There is currently a dire lack of food for displaced communities, but a new group of volunteers have established an organisation alongside Care4Calais – the Calais Food Collective, which aims to provide dry food packs for communities to cook for themselves in a way that provides some safety from viral transmission. Over five weeks up to 18 May, they have provided food for over 40,000 meals. Migrants around Grande-Synthe are similarly supported by 'Solidarity Border' who bring hot meals prepared by Emmaus.
Of course, the 'camps' should not even be called camps, but ´survival areas´, and they are mostly in Calais (in five locations) and in Grande-Synthe, near Dunkirk. The Zone Industrielle des Dunes is the most populated area in Calais, containing about 900 people at the moment. In Grande-Synthe, there are currently about half that number – but sometimes the situation is reversed.
The total population of displaced people remains quite stable because more arrive every day, and others return from accommodation that has turned out to be unsuitable for practising social distancing.
At the moment in Calais, there are more Sudanese than a year ago, and still quite a few Iranians, Eritreans, Ethiopians, and some people from Mali and Mauritania who couldn´t get asylum in France; also Afghans, but less than before. In Grande-Synthe, there is a great majority of Kurdish people from Iraq and a small group of Pakistanis. The proportion of Iranians has fallen in both locations.
There are very few families in Calais, plus a few single women, sometimes with a young child. There are about 30 families among the Kurdish people in Grande-Synthe. As for lone minors, the count in early May was about 60 in Calais and up to 150 in Grande-Synthe.
Another difference between Calais and Grande-Synthe is the behaviour of local government officials. In Calais the Prefecture was ordered in 2017 to provide showers and toilets and grant access to drinking water, and that still holds. Food is also handed out, although no hot meals since the pandemic started, just breakfast and a sandwich for lunch. The local council at Grande-Synthe has provided a few toilets with some access to water and a couple of showers. Another difference is that proposals to move into isolation from Calais have generally been on a voluntary basis, whereas people in Grande-Synthe, have been ordered on to buses and then all their belongings have been destroyed.
Individuals and organisations generously gathering donations in the UK are now prevented from crossing the border to deliver them. French border control staff claim that humanitarian aid work is non-essential. In fact, European countries should be ready share their privileges of economic prosperity, safety and stability with those who have been fled their homes to find such ‘ideals’. In fact, not ideals but basic rights which our European passports have provided for all of us. The Canterbury-based 'Care4Humanity' group have loaded pallets of food on to a commercial truck for delivery as it passed through Calais.
The lock-down has meant that everyone was limited in their movements, unable to go to shops without certifying the necessity (via a Form found on-line and needing printing out). In any event, security personnel at nearby supermarkets no longer let migrants in, despite management claims that no discrimination takes place. Additionally, local buses rarely stop for migrants, allegedly because locals fear that they are carriers of the virus.
The Calais deputy prefect says that medical teams regularly check on migrants and that shelter is on offer for up to 715. On the other hand he also states that evacuations are necessary every two days 'to prevent them from settling'.
Most migrants simply don't trust the government to help them: they'd rather stay at the camps and try to cross the Channel, and Amnesty reports that aid workers are harassed and taken into custody by police on flimsy pretexts.
MAWDA: 2 YEARS ON
We continue to report upon the killing of Mawda: a two-year old girl hit by the bullet of a Belgian policeman during a car chase two years ago. Her family was brutally treated by the Belgian police and courts following her death. In January 2020 the policeman who fired the shot was convicted of 'involuntary homicide'. A committee seeking justice has now launched a legal procedure against the Mons public prosecutor, citing ill-treatment of Mawda's family following her death, and legitimisation of the police force's defence.
ROYA VALLEY – AT THE ITALIAN BORDER
We have previously commented on the case of Cédric Herrou, a farmer in the Alpine valley who became a symbol of aid to migrants and an embodiment of the revolutionary call to 'liberty, solidarity and fraternity'. He was given a suspended four-month prison sentence in August 2017 for taking some 200 migrants, mainly Eritreans and Sudanese, from the border to his home, and then organising a reception camp. He subsequently approached the Constitutional Council with two priority questions on the constitutionality of the 'Solidarity offence' of which he considered himself a victim.
At the end of 2018, the High Court retained the 'Principle of Fraternity' to set aside M. Herrou’s conviction and ordered a new trial before the Lyon Court of Appeal. On May 13, he was finally 'Dismissed from all proceedings '.
Then, a few days ago, the Lyon public prosecutor’s office appealed on points of law against the May decision. Such an appeal is very rare in a case that has already been considered by a higher court, and defence solicitors describe the prosecutor as 'obstinate'.
SMALL BOATS
Sadly, over a period of a few weeks, boats have been stolen from the French national lifeguard stores around Calais and sold on the internet, ending up recovered by UK coastguards a few weeks later. The resultant damage amounts to some €50,000 and the workers are unable to properly continue their mission, including rescuing dozens of migrants from drowning every week.
'Utopia 56' published shocking photos of children at Grande-Synthe being fitted with bundles of empty plastic bottles as makeshift buoyancy aids for Channel crossing attempts. 'People not Walls', the Anglo-French network supported by Seeking Sanctuary, issued a Media Release regretting such desperate measures and calling for the establishment of safe and legal ways to claim asylum in the UK.
The numbers of both attempted and successful crossings have risen to new heights. The Auberge des Migrants estimates that, with good weather, probably less shipping in the Channel during the virus pandemic, and with potential eyewitnesses confined at home by the French virus regulations, the success rate has increased from around 60 to 80 percent.
The cost for the crossing in 2019 was €3,000 to €4,000 per person, with at least six people per boat. Others say that people-smugglers, despite now using more powerful vessels, have lowered their fees to some €1,600 per person or even €1,000 for a less seaworthy vessel, but there are fears that some proposed cheaper fares may prove to be enticements towards a route into slavery. The departure area now extends down to the Baie de Somme in Picardy, 75 miles from Calais.
ARRIVING IN BRITAIN
At least 1,000 migrants arrived in Britain in small boats during the eight weeks following the start of the virus lock-down on 23 March. 145 arrived on 8 May alone, including 17 unaccompanied minors. These claimed to be of various nationalities, including Iranian, Iraqi, Kuwaiti, Pakistani, Syrian, Yemeni and Afghan.
Kent officials face the tough task of dealing with the influx while social distancing measures are in place to add financial pressures to local budgets. The county council, perhaps the most experienced in the UK, is concerned at the number of under-age arrivals. Whereas last year Kent dealt with around 240 young migrants, the number arriving this year reached 469 by 22 May, coming mainly from the Middle East, especially Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan. In addition to caring for these 469 minors, mostly boys aged 15 to 17 (younger children are usually part of a family group), the council is also responsible for supporting 932 young people aged 18 to 25 who have left the care system.
Two new reception centres for young migrants have been added to the single previous establishment, but social distancing measures during the pandemic have cut capacity and the county is appealing to other districts to volunteer to share the load.
Sky News reports that French Navy vessels escort small boats, rather than intercepting them. This is due to a requirement of the Law of the Sea. All mariners have a duty to provide assistance to vessels in distress under the 1974 International Convention on Safety of Life at Sea. Overloaded small boats in the Channel may be taking on water, but it seems that when French vessels attempt to intercept them, migrants have threatened to jump into the sea, or even to throw children overboard. Refusal to be rescued puts lives at risk, so that the French vessels have no option but to shadow the boats until they reach British waters, where the migrants know that they will be taken to the British coast, rather than back to France.
In a little-publicised move of questionable legality, Britain is working with France to rapidly send back more migrants who arrive by boat in an attempt to deter others thinking of making the dangerous journey. The Home Office confirmed to Sky News that, under 'Operation Sillath', whilst 157 people were intercepted on 22 May, only 57 were taken to Dover while 100 were returned to France.
According to the Guardian these swift returns to France are made without demanding enough evidence that people had either been fingerprinted, had claimed asylum or had spent time in their first EU country of arrival before moving to the second. In other words, migrants are not assessed properly but rather are being summarily returned to France without due process, whereas their cases should be processed by the EU country where they first registered an asylum claim – if any.
Human rights lawyers and campaigners say that they have gathered evidence upon which to base a legal challenge. The Home Office has reportedly refused to respond to a Freedom of Information request regarding Operation Sillath on the basis that this would be too costly.
An immigration detention centre visitor group has also raised concerns about the practice of returning people to France. They are concerned about 'an alarming trend' to attempt to remove asylum seekers from the UK to France even though their fingerprints cannot be found in the European-wide database and there is no clear evidence they have spent any significant amount of time in France or claimed asylum there. One person removed by the Home Office to France was then subjected to torture and abuse by traffickers.
Surely we should expect fair and proper treatment for those in distress, rather than sustained hostility?
UNITED KINGDOM
There are concerns that more unaccompanied minors will be left in rapidly deteriorating conditions and at higher risk of exploitation in Europe since Home Office confirmed that the 480 places it had offered under the 'Dubs scheme' have been filled. There are renewed calls to bring unaccompanied child refugees to the UK – given that that thousands remain stranded in Europe.
Lord Alf Dubs, who proposed the amendment, said he was pleased for the 480 accepted under the scheme, but 'heartbroken' for the many more unaccompanied children who now have no hope of reaching safety in the UK.
Without safe and legal routes like the Dubs scheme, there’s a real risk that more will be pushed into the hands of traffickers and risk their lives in dangerous Channel crossings. 'Safe Passage' has said that the UK must replace the scheme with a long-term alternative that offers more children in Europe the same lifeline.
TRAFFICKING – THE ESSEX VICTIMS
It was announced yesterday that police in Belgium and France have arrested 26 new suspects in various towns as part of an investigation prompted by the deaths of 39 Vietnamese migrants found in a truck container in Grays last year. In addition, vehicles, cash and electronic equipment were seized and 21 migrants were taken to safety.
Belgian authorities said the suspects are part of an organised crime group that smuggles people from Asia, particularly Vietnam, which has likely transported up to several dozen people every day for several months. The suspected smugglers face sentences of up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to €150,000 per victim.
The people found dead in October comprised 31 men and 8 women, aged between 15 and 44, who had died in a container loaded on a freight ferry from Zeebrugge, having previously travelled to Dunkirk and Lille. Like the Chinese found in Dover 20 years ago, their deaths arose from a combination of asphyxiation and overheating.
Five other people have so far been charged by Britain. The truck driver, Maurice Robinson, 25, pleaded guilty to manslaughter last month at a central London court. Co-defendant Gheorghe Nica, 43, has denied manslaughter charges. A trial on remaining charges is scheduled to begin on 5 October. Several others have been arrested, including at least seven in Vietnam.
HELP
Many of you will be wondering how you can help in these challenging times. Here in the UK, with access to support either suspended or severely limited, there are newly created ways of financial help – such as a new scheme in the North East which provides £30 digital vouchers sent to the phones of refugees for use in supermarkets. You will find details here. Other relevant organisations include the Jesuit Refugee Service (UK) and various members of the Caritas network of charities, plus Care4Calais operating in France.
And so in the hope of better times ahead, we wish you safety and security.
Phil + Ben.
30 April 2020
COVID Takes Control - Update for April 2020
SEEKING SANCTUARY MARKS ITS FIFTH BIRTHDAY
It's a strange time to mark or even to celebrate our 5th anniversary but at the same time we did not want to let the occasion pass.
It was in Spring 2015 at the height of the crisis which marked the growth of the "Jungle" camp that we felt that we needed to take an initiative which could bring together all those who wanted to show their solidarity in the UK with those in Northern France who were desperately trying to meet the day-to-day needs of our exiled brothers and sisters.
Our early efforts were marked by our enthusiasm although not always by thinking through how we were going to operate effectively. We were overwhelmed by offers of help often, but not always, from Churches and Faith Communities, and then for some months we were not able to to ship over all the goods that we received.
Our thanks go to the Bruderhof for their help in storing goods as well as to Care4Humanity, based at the Church of the Latter Day Saints in Canterbury, who came to the rescue in organising the transport logistics. From our inception we took to speaking to the media about the conditions facing migrants, and at times we felt that we were one of the few voices to speak up on behalf of these exiled brothers and sisters.
We were also pleased to be able to channel offers of help – both goods as well as financial help – to those who needed support and our most satisfying memories are of Churches and Faith Communities mobilising their people – often driving to France with much needed goods and teams of volunteers.
And what of the future? Some of us felt that when the "jungle" was cleared in 2016 the need for our services and those of many other NGOs would come to an end, but it was not to be and in fact conditions worsened in Calais. Soon, the need for direct help was even greater. Meanwhile we were pleased to be one of the founder members of the new cross border organisation 'People not Walls'.
And so we will continue alongside other organisations for as long as we are needed. Thanks to all of you for your encouragement and support. After each update we get positive messages which help to sustain our motivation. We hope that that when the Covid-19 crisis has passed we can get back to work and continue making sure that support reaches those who are so vulnerable.
HOW THINGS LOOK NOW
What can we report from the coast of Northern France in this strange life of virus avoidance? The situation gets worse every day. Covid-19 is now prevalent and the few remaining volunteers try to support the homeless while wearing significant amounts of personal protective equipment to distribute water and basic food rations from dwindling stocks.
Those seeking sanctuary put their lives at risk by attempting crossings of the English Channel, which remains one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. The situation is so desperate that people at risk still choose this way to escape. These vulnerable people must not be abandoned to the global pandemic. We urge the British and French Governments to provide places of safety where the exiles spread along the Channel coast can safely practice isolation and receive food, clothes, shelter and medical support.
In normal times, well over 100 volunteers work in the camps in Calais and Dunkirk to provide for people’s basic needs. Now there are probably ony a dozen or so charity workers on the front line, stretched deadly thin as they try to support 1,500 people living across multiple sites. We continue to admire the hard work and energy of the volunteers who spend time in and around Calais and the patience of the refugees who are persistently harassed and humiliated by the authorities. The aid associations who soldier on during this time of crisis deserve both our our financial support and our prayers.
CAMPAIGNS AND PETITIONS
A list of relevant campaigns and petitions of possible interest can be found here. Please consider them with care.
DAILY LIFE
Food in Calais comes in the form of picnic bags from the state-funded La Vie Active, and breakfast from Salam, who a offer a few extra ingredients to prepare a meal, when possible. A small grass-roots organisation has sprung up, the “Calais Food Collective”, working under the auspices of the Auberge des Migrants. It aims to distribute ingredients and cooking equipment so that the displaced people have the means with which to cook hot nutritious meals. Under the strict quarantine measures in place, without proper paperwork, migrants cannot visit supermarkets to buy food for themselves.
Different camps are dismantled every 48 hours, continuing to reinforce distrust of those in authority. Police supervise these operations, confiscating tents and personal property at the times when people have gone to get breakfast rations from La Vie Active. Rather than encouraging self-isolation, this repeated destruction of camps prevents people from staying in their tents and pushes them together, one on top of the other.
In Grande-Synthe, food is distributed three times a week by supporters of the national charity Secours Populaire, assisted by Salam. Social distancing is required and face masks and gloves are worn. They were joined at the end of March by members of a new group, “Solidarity Border” who bring hot meals prepared by Emmaus in Dunkirk. They also distribute blankets, sleeping bags and tents. For months, there have been no toilets or showers, just a single standpipe at one site and a daily delivery of a water bowser (with liquid soap) at the other. However, as evacuation began (see below) sanitary services and medical checks were established and arrangements for a refuse skip were promised.
To remove the need for trespass upon the tracks, the national rail company provided 24-hour access to electric power for people to charge their phones at La Linière in Grande-Synthe. A great solution, but one that was rendered useless after a few days' use: we do not know its current state. .
CORONA VIRUS
On 27 March, Prefects were instructed to look after vulnerable people during the pandemic. The state has proceeded on the basis that there are about 1300 people in need of care, whereas the aid associations consider the number to be more like 1800. About a third of these are at Grande-Synthe, including some 50 families with small children and expectant mothers. Official figures indicate that 5 migrants in the Nord/Pas-de-Calais region have contracted coronavirus, two of whom have recovered, while three remain in isolation.
The Prefecture contacted the heads of voluntary aid associations to say that they must accept strict restrictions upon their operations. A curfew prevents any distributions between 10h00 and 08h30, claiming that this is necessary to "respect the sanitary conditions for combating the spread of Covid-19". In particular, this would allow associations to intervene only "at favourable times of the day".
Alongside the time restrictions, geographic limits have also been imposed. For example a prohibition against distribution of food in the Calais town centre where there are a number of homeless people. This decision is allegedly justified by the fact that the associations must intervene "as close as possible to the migrants, on their camp located in the industrial zone". However, humanitarian work is also applied to the homeless, wherever they are. Many prefer to be in the town to avoid the unsanitary conditions in camps, which could well encourage the spread of the virus.
The police have issued numerous verbal warnings to those volunteers who are said to be breaking these rules or not respecting the principle of isolation..
“EVACUATIONS”
The stated intention is that everyone is to be moved away to places of shelter. From 3 April, several times a week, buses have moved people to one of six accommodation centres some distance inland, where it is proposed that they can live in compliance with the appropriate health rules. The capacity is 659 places.
The authorities initially said that only the sick would be moved away from Grande-Synthe, but the operations have become more widespread. By 23 April the official figure was 322 voluntary departures from Calais, with no figure given for Grande-Synthe, though certainly several lightly loaded coaches had taken people away.
The forced operations of removal to shelter are extremely violent towards the exiles. First of all a moral violence since no information is given them prior to these operations: they do not know when things will happen and, when the buses are there, no one tells them their destinations. Secondly, because they are sometimes rightly reluctant to get on buses during evacuations, they are subjected to violence from the police. Finally, confinement in collective accommodation is far from optimal in times of health crisis, especially since many exiles have complained about the inadequacy of the meals distributed in these accommodation centres. For example, people returned 50km on foot from St Martin Boulogne to Calais on the night of April 16, having only just arrived.
(Similar evacuation measures are being taken in Dieppe and Cherbourg, among other places, while at Ouistrahem and Steenvorde there are already buildings in which people can, at least to some extent, self-isolate.)
Reports from Grande-Synthe suggest that most of the departures have been voluntary, although sometimes helped by rather “muscular” incentives. The presence of dozens of vans of CRS (riot police) has often been enough to scare people away. They hide and sleep elsewhere to isolate themselves and move away from existing services to avoid evacuation. They see police inviting them on to buses wearing the same uniforms as those who harass people. The necessary%
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- ABOVE: Delivery of goods to aid warehouse in Calais (January 2016)
BELOW: Terrible injuries are sustained as migrants tackle the security fences paid for by the UK government. This 18 year old girl's hands will need specialist treatment after her unsuccessful attempt.
But there are stories of optimism and hope in the 'jungle'...
'I'm not going to let myself go downhill'
A typical scene in the jungle - many 'shacks' are now durable thanks to the efforts of aid agencies
ABOVE: A very special house for the jungle !
BELOW: Volunteers deliver a horsebox full of goods to a Calais warehouse (January 2016).
Planning permission has been sought...
We even have our own front door !
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'Our Church is the priority for us'...
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ABOVE: A full programme in the school of 'Chemin des Dunes'
BELOW: Visitors are welcome (January 2016).
BELOW: Visitors are welcome (January 2016).
'We must all learn to live together like brothers - otherwise we will die together like idiots'
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ABOVE: 'Here we're vaccinating against racism'
BELOW: Volunteers load up with donations in the UK (January 2016).
BELOW: Volunteers load up with donations in the UK (January 2016).
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A quiet moment away from the bustle as Eritrean women teach the bible to their children in the Church (Independent Catholic News)
