The Government must allow migrants in the infamous ‘Jungle’ Calais camp to enter the UK, a Manchester-based Human Rights organisation has said.
An estimated 5000 refugees are living on the camp, but squalid conditions, rampant crime and plummeting winter weather conditions make it a dangerous place in which to settle.
A Stand Up To Racism delegation will be visiting the camp on Sunday 13 December to highlight the plight of its inhabitants, with Manchester represented by Human Rights advocates RAPAR, Bury councillor Tamoor Tariq and Sarah Davies from the Royal College of Midwives.
And a RAPAR spokesperson insisted that it was a ‘simple step’ for the UK to allow the camps inhabitants to make the short journey from Calais.
“We are not prepared to sit back and accept the idea that nothing can be done to stop the Calais camp from existing,” they said.
“The 5,000 plus people at the camp are literally on the British border. They are women, children and men from many different war-torn countries and they are now at risk of death again – but this time from a combination of plummeting temperatures and unsanitary conditions.
“This delegation is spotlighting the situation and its solution. The British Government can take a simple step that will stop these deaths from occurring by allowing people and their families to enter the UK and make their refugee claims in the country where they want to be.”
French police are struggling to control criminal activity in the camp, with reports of people-trafficking, drug-dealing and criminal gangs.
Ms Davies, who also works with the Universities and Colleges Union, said that it was ‘appalling’ that pregnant women are forced to live in the ‘Jungle’.
“There are pregnant women, mothers and babies living in appalling, dangerous conditions in Calais without access to the maternity care they urgently need,” she said.
“It is simple human decency to ensure all pregnant women get access to maternity care – no matter which country they find themselves in.
“The RCM is appealing to all European countries to work together in a co-ordinated way on this.”
The camp has developed an air of permanence – with the Daily Mail reporting that shops, restaurants, libraries and even nightclubs – due to many migrants fears over attempting to cross the Channel to reach Britain.
Those fears have been exacerbated by a spate of recent deaths, most recently in September, when a man was killed trying to cross the Eurotunnel but was hit by a freight train.
However, as the camp continues to grow, conditions are deteriorating, and the Stand Up To Racism delegation will be hoping to persuade the Tory Government to take action.
Image courtesy of BBC News, via Youtube, with thanks
