The destruction of the jungle last week left hundreds of migrants once again homeless and nearly 300 arrested including 132 minors (which 'delighted' our Home Secretary Alan Johnson - see full text of the flyer below).
The Met were in attendance, and had even prepared a pen for us on a corner some distance from the Embassy. They had brought 'Diverted Traffic' signs but these did not prove necessary. In the end we took up a compromise position on the pavement facing the Embassy, where we held a banner saying 'Calais Migrants Welcome Here and handed out flyers for over an hour. Response was mixed as might be expected in Knightsbridge, but we got honked by a taxi driver!

For Calais Updates or info on how to get involved see  http://calaismigrantsolidarity.wordpress.com/

Full flyer text:

No More Scapegoating Of Migrants!

Solidarity with migrants in Calais and everywhere!

On the morning of Tuesday 22nd September, French police bulldozed the area known as the 'jungle' in Calais where hundreds of migrants were living, destroying the homes they had built and their possessions and detaining around 300 people, including 132 children. Other migrants left before they could be detained, and are now having to sleep rough on the streets of Calais, Paris and elsewhere.

Thousands of migrants every year arrive in Calais trying to reach the UK. At any given time, 1000-1500 live in ‘limbo’ in and around Calais, not allowed to work and without support from the French government. They are often arrested and detained. Police routinely come to where they stay, harassing people, breaking tents and structures.

UK Home Secretary Alan Johnson expressed his 'delight' at this devastating and violent move by the French authorities. Immigration Minister Phil Woolas falsely claimed that the migrants in Calais can’t be 'genuine' refugees, or they would have claimed asylum in the first ‘safe’ country they came to, regardless of whether they had family in other countries. This ignores the fact that many migrants had not had the chance to claim asylum. These ‘safe’ countries often do not adhere to the UN guidelines on hosting refugees: In Greece, fewer than 1% of asylum claims were accepted last year, while in Italy thousands were intercepted and turned away without even having their claims looked at.

French and British authorities treat the migrants in Calais as less than human, and most of the media encourages us to view them this way too. We have the option to refuse to go along with this and instead try to listen to their experiences. Migration is NOT a crime. We believe people should have freedom to move and live where they choose, whatever their reason for moving. We believe that adults and children should not be detained against their will, having committed no crime. In solidarity with migrants in Calais and everywhere, join us to demand that the French authorities release any of the 300 people that are still being detained, and stop their harassment of migrants in Calais, and that the UK offer asylum to those that want it!