Camp to close

Vandalism, theft and human-trafficking were contributing factors in France's decision to close down the makeshift camp, known as 'the Jungle', near the Channel port of Calais within the next 10 days.

The northern region of France has attracted thousands of migrants from impoverished nations, including Afghanistan and Iraq, over the past decade. Their hope was that Calais would prove to be the gateway to a new life in Britain.

On Thursday, Calais mayor Natacha Bouchart defended the decision to close the camp, saying this would end an unbearable situation for the region's local people.

French state official Ivan Bouchner also referred to numerous incidents of theft and vandalism.

“The state is here to protect the people of Calais and its region,” Bouchner said. “The aim is to send the message that you can't cross the Channel in Calais, and to hit at the traffickers' logistics base.”

While officials argued that the camp was being used by people-smuggling gangs, the UN's main refugee body warned that France had a duty towards migrants from conflict-ridden areas of the world.

“We understand the French authorities' position. The living conditions for migrants in these camps are unacceptable,” said William Spindler, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). “But if we close ‘the Jungle', it is important that the migrants are given a chance to apply for asylum, in particular those who come from Somalia, Iraq or Afghanistan.”

According to officials, the closure operation had been planned for six months. Dozens of migrant squats had already been been closed down and further operations were expected.

The number of migrants has already been cut from 700 three months ago to 300. 170 have requested asylum in France rather than try to reach Britain. The migrants have three choices: to return to their homeland, apply for asylum in France, or face deportation.

However, French immigration minister Eric Besson has given an assurance that there would be no forced repatriation to unsafe countries. The goal was to find an individual solution for each migrant.

However, aid groups working in the area fear that closing the camp will not end the problem; the migrants will just move somewhere else.

“Instead of pulling them out of The Jungle for them to set up another, let's take time to inform them. We are doing everything to create new problems just as things were starting to improve,” Friar Jean-Piere Boutoille, of the C-Sur coalition of aid groups told AFP.

mo/AFP/dpa

Editor: Susan Houlton