All it did was to drive them to other parts of Calais.
Desperate: Two migrants try to break into a container lorry
And so, Jungle 2 is currently a miserable but convenient stepping-stone to the UK for more than 500 itinerants, a population rapidly swelling with families fleeing Eritrea, Sudan and Ethiopia.
So it is not surprising that on Friday – despite threats of eviction, alleged beatings from police and an international outcry by homeless charities and migrant help groups – so many insisted they would stay for as long as it takes to get to England.
As one teenage Eritrean put it: ‘We will get there eventually.’
The new Jungle is situated on the seaward side of a road used by lorries heading to the port.
It is a swathe of wasteland and sand dunes, owned and used by a chemical factory to bury supposedly non-toxic waste.
Many of the migrants are men in their twenties, sometimes accompanied by women and children.
They spend nights under canvas with no drinking water or sanitary facilities – then attempt to leap on UK bound trucks about to board ferries.
Others attempt to cut their way into trailers at truckers’ cafés, where drivers rest before crossing to the UK.
Large numbers of Africans started to arrive after being evicted from squats in Calais and random camps on the outskirts of town, joining Afghans, Iraqis and Pakistanis evicted from previous camps.
They were among thousands of migrants who have risked their lives crossing the Mediterranean to reach Europe and a better life.
Many have perished either from drowning or suffocation on overcrowded fishing boats they sailed in.
Luckier ones were rescued by the Italian navy after their boats got into difficulties near the island of Lampedusa, 100 miles from Sicily.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login