Calais: A Resume of Repression
No Borders | 02.01.2010 15:27 | Migration | Repression
The following is a partial summary of incidents of police harassment against migrants in Calais in December alone, all of which are designed to make life unbearable for those seeking entry to the UK.
When people are arrested they are taken to Coquelles, an hour's walk back to Calais. This can be completely draining when you are getting arrested on a very regular basis.
Note that these are only incidents which the No Borders activists in Calais are aware of. Other arrests and raids doubtlessly occurred, as however, did the successful intervention by activists. We also believe that we are thawrting police raids by continuing to conduct our 'patrols', whereby we monitor police activity near the migrant communities. For example, when we follow police vehicles to the squats or 'jungles', they tend to drive around aimlessly or stop, and eventually leave. We suspect that the police may have arrest quotas, which may explain why they don't always follow through on raids on specific squats if we are present.
However, we have been far too few of late to intervene in all the incidents. We need more people with papers to come to Calais to show solidarity with those without. If you want to come, see our website:
calaismigrantsolidarity.wordpress.com
Below is a snippet of some acts of harassment they have been able to get away with.
01/01/09:
At 9am, in a simultaneous operation, the CRS arrested 18 people at the new Pashtun jungle and 20 from the African community. The latter is inhabited by Sudanese, Eritean and Ethiopian migrants.
The CRS returned again to the African squat at 5pm and arrested 5 more.
Three vans and two cars of CRS then went onto the Arab squat; everyone managed to escape.
02/12/09:
15 people, including minors as young as 11, were arrested in a raid on the Pashtun jungle.
8 Sudanese were arrested at the train station.
2 Sudanese being arrested by the port, in their new shelter.
We intervened as the CRS attempted a raid on the Arabic squat and threatened to use CS gas. With prior warning they managed to escape again.
We alerted people at the African squat before they were raided yet again; despite there being 2 vans with over 10 police officers, no one was arrested this time.
While this was happening, three cars of police arrested 10 Afghan youths on the beach
03/12/09:
Multiple arrests were made on the beach at 11.15pm, where around 18 Afghan teenagers sleep. One young boy was injured after being hit in the leg by CRS with a truncheon.
15 Pashtuns were arrested at 10am
3 police vans and and 2 arrest vehicles also visited Ethiopians and Arabic squat. No arrests were made.
06/12/09:
At 2am, the CRS poured cold water on some Afghan boys who were sleeping rough, rendering their blankets unusable. Twelve of them were arrested and spent the night in a cramped and filthy police cell with 6 others.
15/12/09:
After daily harassment at the African squat, the place was eventually evicted. It was re-squatted.
Police waited outside the new cold weather shelter and arrested the migrants who had left to go to the water point, 50 meters away.
30/12/09:
At 10.30pm, four people were arrested by the CRS at the African squat. They took pallets which people vitally need for building fires. They also seized lots of blankets.
31/12/09:
At around 4 pm, two vans of CRS returned to the African squat, accompanied by two arrest buses. They took whomever they could catch.
In the evening, the Police aux Frontieres (PAF), went to the Arab squat to count people and check their papers, which is usually done in preparation for a larger operation.
General update of the situation in Calais since the mass destruction of the Jungles in September:
There are at least 300 migrants currently in the town of Calais itself. Local charities and the council have opened a small night shelter for around 150 of the migrants (mainly Pashtun), during the period of harshest weather. The shelter was to have 8 showers, half of which were deliberately burnt down by one or more persons hostile to the migrants. The facility is also expected to close again soon, and those sleeping there will be out on the streets again.
An estimated 2000 migrants live around the coast of Northern France, or further South. The most visible result of the repressive immigration policies implemented by the French government is that life for the migrants has become unimaginably hard.
The smugglers are still here. In fact the price of a journey from Calais to England has pretty much doubled since the destruction of the jungles: the average cost for a 'guarantee' journey to the UK in the back of a truck is now 1500 Euros. This is another remarkable result of the new immigration policies, despite the French immigration minister's assertions that the destruction of migrants' camps was done for ‘humanitarian reasons’ and to defeat people’s smugglers. In fact the smugglers are profiting from people's misery and people are pushed further into the mafia’s hands by the desperate conditions they are forced to live in.
The jungles are still here. The Pashtun jungle was razed to the ground, trees included, but people are sleeping in the woods nearby. The new camps have also been destroyed or torched by the CRS and people just shelter under bits of tarpaulin. The CRS keep going there and arrest all those who do not manage to escape, any time day or night. After, they slash the plastic covers with knives and destroy the blankets and people's property. It rains a lot.
Most of the people who were sleeping under bridges, where they had some shelter from the rain, have moved elsewhere, due to excessive police harassment and repeated destruction of tents and blankets. Still a few people sheletring under bridges, but police go there up to 3 times a day.
Note that these are only incidents which the No Borders activists in Calais are aware of. Other arrests and raids doubtlessly occurred, as however, did the successful intervention by activists. We also believe that we are thawrting police raids by continuing to conduct our 'patrols', whereby we monitor police activity near the migrant communities. For example, when we follow police vehicles to the squats or 'jungles', they tend to drive around aimlessly or stop, and eventually leave. We suspect that the police may have arrest quotas, which may explain why they don't always follow through on raids on specific squats if we are present.
However, we have been far too few of late to intervene in all the incidents. We need more people with papers to come to Calais to show solidarity with those without. If you want to come, see our website:
calaismigrantsolidarity.wordpress.com
Below is a snippet of some acts of harassment they have been able to get away with.
01/01/09:
At 9am, in a simultaneous operation, the CRS arrested 18 people at the new Pashtun jungle and 20 from the African community. The latter is inhabited by Sudanese, Eritean and Ethiopian migrants.
The CRS returned again to the African squat at 5pm and arrested 5 more.
Three vans and two cars of CRS then went onto the Arab squat; everyone managed to escape.
02/12/09:
15 people, including minors as young as 11, were arrested in a raid on the Pashtun jungle.
8 Sudanese were arrested at the train station.
2 Sudanese being arrested by the port, in their new shelter.
We intervened as the CRS attempted a raid on the Arabic squat and threatened to use CS gas. With prior warning they managed to escape again.
We alerted people at the African squat before they were raided yet again; despite there being 2 vans with over 10 police officers, no one was arrested this time.
While this was happening, three cars of police arrested 10 Afghan youths on the beach
03/12/09:
Multiple arrests were made on the beach at 11.15pm, where around 18 Afghan teenagers sleep. One young boy was injured after being hit in the leg by CRS with a truncheon.
15 Pashtuns were arrested at 10am
3 police vans and and 2 arrest vehicles also visited Ethiopians and Arabic squat. No arrests were made.
06/12/09:
At 2am, the CRS poured cold water on some Afghan boys who were sleeping rough, rendering their blankets unusable. Twelve of them were arrested and spent the night in a cramped and filthy police cell with 6 others.
15/12/09:
After daily harassment at the African squat, the place was eventually evicted. It was re-squatted.
Police waited outside the new cold weather shelter and arrested the migrants who had left to go to the water point, 50 meters away.
30/12/09:
At 10.30pm, four people were arrested by the CRS at the African squat. They took pallets which people vitally need for building fires. They also seized lots of blankets.
31/12/09:
At around 4 pm, two vans of CRS returned to the African squat, accompanied by two arrest buses. They took whomever they could catch.
In the evening, the Police aux Frontieres (PAF), went to the Arab squat to count people and check their papers, which is usually done in preparation for a larger operation.
General update of the situation in Calais since the mass destruction of the Jungles in September:
There are at least 300 migrants currently in the town of Calais itself. Local charities and the council have opened a small night shelter for around 150 of the migrants (mainly Pashtun), during the period of harshest weather. The shelter was to have 8 showers, half of which were deliberately burnt down by one or more persons hostile to the migrants. The facility is also expected to close again soon, and those sleeping there will be out on the streets again.
An estimated 2000 migrants live around the coast of Northern France, or further South. The most visible result of the repressive immigration policies implemented by the French government is that life for the migrants has become unimaginably hard.
The smugglers are still here. In fact the price of a journey from Calais to England has pretty much doubled since the destruction of the jungles: the average cost for a 'guarantee' journey to the UK in the back of a truck is now 1500 Euros. This is another remarkable result of the new immigration policies, despite the French immigration minister's assertions that the destruction of migrants' camps was done for ‘humanitarian reasons’ and to defeat people’s smugglers. In fact the smugglers are profiting from people's misery and people are pushed further into the mafia’s hands by the desperate conditions they are forced to live in.
The jungles are still here. The Pashtun jungle was razed to the ground, trees included, but people are sleeping in the woods nearby. The new camps have also been destroyed or torched by the CRS and people just shelter under bits of tarpaulin. The CRS keep going there and arrest all those who do not manage to escape, any time day or night. After, they slash the plastic covers with knives and destroy the blankets and people's property. It rains a lot.
Most of the people who were sleeping under bridges, where they had some shelter from the rain, have moved elsewhere, due to excessive police harassment and repeated destruction of tents and blankets. Still a few people sheletring under bridges, but police go there up to 3 times a day.
No Borders
Homepage:
http://calaismigrantsolidarity.wordpress.com
Comments
Hide the following 5 comments
no borders
03.01.2010 00:25
Why? Obviously there must be some incentive to relocate here. Is it because the country is so great?
Why arn't they queuing up to get into other countries?
And then if they get here, what are they going to live on?
1) Work. Well, they arn't authorised to work here. And if they were they probably arn't qualified for many of the jobs. I can't imagine an off-the-boat African working in customer service
2) Handouts. I've been told by the leftists that these refugees aren't coming here for handouts. Is this true?
3) Theft. If you got to live on something then you will have to thieve once they're money runs out.
Im not having a go, i just don't understand what people are thinking when they say there should be no borders.
just
Natural Balance
03.01.2010 08:00
2 - All Common Land stolen by Robber Barons that now call themselves 'Royals' must be liberated.
3 - All artificial National Borders to be lifted around the world.
There is nothing to fear... the human race has survived milennia without governments and national boundaries. These are artificial constructs that only benefit the Fascist States and Global Capitalists.
There is no 'overpopulation'... I have flown over many countries such as Russia where you can fly for hours without seeing any human dwellings, just mile after mile of wilderness grassland and forest. It is much the same all over the world.
In China they have driven over 30 million people off the land and into the cities... I wonder who controls the land now that China is turning from Communism to Capitalism... at least for those families in positions of power? Have you noticed that often the same wealthy elite who set up National Parks and Wildlife Trusts... such as the British 'Royal' Family, also invest in logging or mining companies that destroy thousands of acres of Tropical Jungles and Forests? In the process, they also destroy many rare species of animals and plants.
There is massive deception and hypocrisy going on at the highest levels of society around the world. They are destroying human heritage for their own personal short-term gain. These people are War Criminals and Destoyers of the worst kind.
People from other countries are not the threat... it is those who have usurped power from the people. Time to take back the initiative.
Little John
answer to your questions
03.01.2010 12:07
Why? Obviously there must be some incentive to relocate here. Is it because the country is so great?
Its complex and it differs for different people. Many have friends or family in Britain and they want to go somewhere where they know people, or those family have told them it is a nice place to come. Second, language - many may speak english already. Third, they have heard about England from films, from the news and from their occupying armies. Fourth, undoubtedly people smugglers play a huge role in constructing Britain as place where you can go, get a job, get a passport, be safe and have a future...guaranteed. Smugglers get more money the further people are smuggled as well as getting more money for borders that are tight with security, so they do have a vested interest in getting people to want to come to England.
Why arn't they queuing up to get into other countries?
Well they are queuing up to get into other countries...Greece, Italy and Spain all have large numbers of migrants from Afghanistan/Pakistan and Africa arriving on their shores. Greece however has a policy of 0.1% acceptance rate for asylum so barely anyone is accepted and are forced to keep moving Westwards.
And then if they get here, what are they going to live on? 1) Work. Well, they arn't authorised to work here. And if they were they probably arn't qualified for many of the jobs. I can't imagine an off-the-boat African working in customer service
2) Handouts. I've been told by the leftists that these refugees aren't coming here for handouts. Is this true?
3) Theft. If you got to live on something then you will have to thieve once they're money runs out.
Well, it depends whether they are claiming aslyum or coming to work. If they claim asylum then it depends if they are 18 or over or not. If they are a yoeung person then they are put into the care of social services and sent to school to learn english. If they are over 18 then things are more unpredictable...possibly given help by social services, possibly put in immigration holding centres, possibly given help by local charities. However they are normally not allowed to get a job and are instead send vouchers for food to spend in ASDA or wherever (not cash).
Once the asylum case then the situation changes. If they are refused then all support stops and they are asked to leave. Some are thrown in prison and then deported back. Others try to make it on their own...living homeless and trying to survive as an 'illegal'.
If they are accepted then they have the same rights as anyone else for five years.
If they don't claim asylum then they find work...restaurants...take-away food...shops...factories...farms...these are popular places for unregulated labour.
Handouts...ask you're self would you leave your family, friends, everything you know, possibly sell your house and land, get tens of thousands of pounds in debt, go through a journey which is hell on earth, risk your life...just to live on state welfare somewhere? Its complete reactionary bullshit
I SUGGEST YOU READ THIS BLOG POST FOR SOME BACKGROUND INFORMATION. IT JUST DESCRIBES THE JOURNEY FROM AFGHANISTAN TO WEST EUROPE.
Im not having a go, i just don't understand what people are thinking when they say there should be no borders.
ed
hard-hearted
03.01.2010 20:58
freedomofmovement4all
not hard-hearted
05.01.2010 18:20
C