Remember on every day after a death, we will meet again at 18:30 in front of the Richelieu Park monument.
The first vigil, 27th July was prevented from happening by a bullying action by the police – ‘good cop’ Patrick in charge of the operation ordered by the prefect Fabienne Buccio, who had forbidden the gathering on the pretext it could cause confrontations with the far right. People who gathered in solidarity were prevented from holding one minute silence in memory of those who died and rudely pushed away by riot cops armed to the teeth with flashballs and gas canisters, one activist was arrested without any reason and charged with rebellion and possession of a weapon, a small pocket knife, that is just good for cutting apples. She spent nearly 24 hours in the police station and is due to appear in court the 18th October. Please come to the tribunal in Boulogne from 9 am to support her. People decided to turn up again the next day without announcing it. There were people from associations (Auberge des migrants and Secours Catholique), Calais anti-fascists and anti-racists, No Border activists and international volunteers).
We gathered again in the same place the day after, and this time, the turnout was even bigger and the activist who was arrested the day before came to join. The police did not arrive to stop the gathering, though there was some harassment of protesters, and cops taking photos. There were some speeches and a minute of silence. Afterwards, the long list of names of those who died at Calais border was read aloud, and the gathering peacefully dispersed.
Tadesse Maazu, aka Million, an Ethiopian man of 37 years of age was killed in Calais jungle the night between Monday and Tuesday. He was a nice quiet man who had health problems, suffered from diabetes.He was beaten / stabbed to death in his bed during a fight he had had no part in between Ethiopians of two different ethnic groups (Oromo and Amhara). The police did nothing except throwing gas at the attackers, from a distance. The ambulance did not come and the mortally injured man was taken to the hospital by a volunteer (who is not part of the No Borders network) in his van: the emergency services left him to die, maybe he could have survived if he got help in time but they are scared to go anywhere near the jungle when there is a fight. The fight originated in another part of the camp: an Oromo man was stabbed and was lying on the ground seriously injured, the others reacted thinking he was dead, and 50 – 60 men carried out an attack on the small camp where the victim was sleeping. Both groups involved in the fight are normally quiet people. The police eventually came in the jungle the day after, very late in the day as they really do not seem to be bothered. They escorted out of the camp some of the Ethiopians who had been attacked, including some women.
Other two fights, one involving some 200 people, broke up on the same night, for access to the motorway: they are so desperate they are fighting each other. The local newspaper says:
“Two fights broke out between African migrants (Sudanese, Eritreans) and Afghans, says the prefecture. One occurred about 1.15 am and four injured (three lightly and one serious), Ethiopians and Eritreans by stabbing and sticks. The other broke out at 3.55 am wounding two Eritreans. “It’s over a third fight, whose origin is unknown for now, between two Ethiopian communities, the victim was stabbed in a cabin of the” jungle “, says police in Calais”. … “Moreover, thirty flaming roadblocks were reported between 2 am and 6 am on port ring road leading to the ferry terminal and on the A16.”
The situation is very volatile, with many new people arriving every day, up to 100 new people in a day, alcohol is creating problems. they are all crammed in the North side after the destruction of the South side, desperate to get out of that trap that is the ‘new jungle’ or how you want to call it, the place is a former dump and was chosen by cazeneuve to dump people there.
Support has dropped both in terms of food, money, and materials and of international volunteers coming. As for activists, there is hardly anyone at present. Tired to fight the border? Or coming back from Thessaloniki to Calais? THANK YOU!!!
Via L’auberge des migrants international
Note this is an accurate conservative estimate, and the real numbers are even higher.
July Jungle Census shows a continuous increase in population
In spite of around 100 refugees or more leaving to accommodation centers (CAOs) throughout France every week, and of somewhat sporadic but still existing success crossing the channel, the population of the Jungle is increasing.
Part of this is due to the fact that many refugees arrive from Paris or elsewhere JUST to request a departure in a CAO, because they know departures are much faster from Calais than anywhere else in France. Therefore the ones leaving are not so much refugees living in Calais for a while and abandoning the dream to go to UK.
Every week, a few dozens arrive to try for their dreams, mostly Afghan and Sudanese, also Oromo (Ethiopian), among them, more and more unaccompanied minors.
The préfecture tells us they don’t quite agree with the numbers we came to but they do agree that the population keeps on increasing.
Now the Jules Ferry centre, run by the government, serves 3500 meals a day, their highest number ever. However, as you can see below, the total number of refugees is over 7000. This means that the community kitchens (Ashram kitchen, Belgium Kitchen, Kitchen-in-Calais and l’Auberge/HelpRefugees one), which have not yet so far been closed down by the government (the authorities ‘think’ that refugees coming from hot and often poor countries do not know how to cook and store food without refrigeration but that Europeans do…) are direly needed to serve the hot meals missing, so every refugee can have at least one meal a day. This is even more needed now that restaurants are being closed.
Please help keep all the kitchens by donating whatever you can.
And keep collecting mostly men’s clothes in S and M sizes, as well as all good sport shoes, we desperately need those!
Thanks so much for everything you keep doing for a situation that is not about to be over, regardless of this latest action by the government. It just makes our work more difficult, and more needed, unfortunately.
UPDATE: the police have kept coming regularly in the ‘jungle’ ever since, in ever larger numbers, and full riot gear. A truly intimidating presence – they were not coming to the jungle before normally, or they were sometimes doing patrols in smaller numbers.
Thursday 21th July 2016, a third mass descent of robocops to clamp down restaurants and shops. ‘Good cop’ Patrick is in charge of this glorious operation consisting in requisitioning food from the refugees, children included – on the first day they snatched all the food from the kids’ restaurants and arrested Sikander who looks after the kids together with 12 shop and restaurant owners, most have been released. 5 more were arrested the day after, always at random apparently: they just took one person per restaurant, some were charged with selling tobacco without a license and some were summoned to appear in court.
People had all their merchandise confiscated, and some have lost all the money they invested. Many had their papers and personal belongings confiscated. So life in the huge shanty town risks becoming severely restricted now, without shops, restaurants, clubs, bakers and barber shops plus showers. These amazing places for social life are now facing closure, the authorities do not want people to try and replicate some normal life in the jungle, buy cheap cigarettes or enjoy a tasty meal in a restaurant made of pallets and tarp and nicely decorated inside with whatever cheap materials, people have to walk nearly an hour to the nearest supermarket, sun or rain or queue for food but the lines are already very long and without the restaurants people will go hungry.
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The restaurants and shops put a nice front to the horrible ghetto, making it look like a city, almost. As they were open until very late, some all night long, they also provided shelter and security to the people in the camp, there was someone to look out at all times and somewhere to stop when it rains, meet with friends, play cards, charge mobiles (free of charge), etc.
Another good report of the restaurants clampdown can be found here:
The night 20th July a young man who has not yet been named died hit by a lorry. His body was found in the morning, badly maimed. He is believed to be of African origin. 9 people have died this year at Calais border. 26 last year, that we know of. Anti-racists held a vigil in place d’Armes. Good turn out, around 40 people. No more deaths! Justice for the living! Every time there is a death at the border we shall gather.
Samrawit, an Eritrean girl aged 17 died the night of Monday 12th hit by a lorry on the motorway. The teenager had been evicted from Steenvorde (Hazebrouk) on that day and was part of a group who put some wood on the motorway to stop the traffic. The lorry driver allegedly refused to stop and drove on the side of the small barricade, driving into the group of migrants and killing the young woman. She had a brother in the UK, whom she should have been able to reach legally through the family reunion scheme. More on
Extensively documented and denounced (see eg here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here), systematically covered and disclaimed by successive governments (see here and here), police violence is one of the ineffective instruments supposed to discourage refugees from coming and staying in Calais.
This violence can move. In the past they were mainly practiced where migrants were living, in squats and camps. Since 2014 violence has taken place mainly where migrants were passing through, where they were trying to hide in trucks to cross the Channel.
Police violence is also changing due to improvements made on the equipment of police and gendarmerie forces. Thereby, from 2014 on, we see a substantial increase of the use of tear gas; sometimes it is sprayed to be used at short range, preferably in the face, sometimes thrown in form of grenades, as for example the tear gas used in September 2015 to bomb the slum, or during attempts to acces the road to the port or the Channel Tunnel.
Since several weeks, the associations have noticed an icrease in injuries caused by rubber bullets impacts, especially on face and chest, and wounds caused by grenades explosions. These weapons, which use was not common before, have become more and more used, and according to witnesses they are used with no mesure nor real need, with the clear pourpose to hurt.
The various range of weapons used is related to the number of forces placed in Calais (officially more than 1,300 police and gendarmes in March 2016), the enlargment of fences, guard posts, cameras, patrol walkways, evicted areas and flooded areas, to what looks more and more as a war against people trying to cross the border to leave France. Eurotunnel, the company operating in the Channel Tunnel, has just bought two military drones to better detect migrants.
Calais: A new 4 meter high soundproof wall is to be built by the motorway from the port to Marcel Doret, to replace the fence and stop migrants from going on the motorway. It is paid for by the UK government. Inside, the wall will be covered with pretty plants, no plants outside because migrants could use the plants to climb the wall. A new height in stupidity in the mismanagement of the ‘refugee crisis’?
Another person has died in Calais, the seventh this year. A young man was found dead by the motorway on the morning of Monday 4th July. Last year 26 people died trying to cross Calais border, that we know of, including women and underage boys.
Many people are injured by police, hit by truncheons, sprayed with CS gas. Monday 20th June there were two big traffic jams, many people went on the motorway to try to go to England and dozens were injured by police, including underage boys. Most were shot at with gas grenades and rubber bullets fired directly at them, resulting in serious injuries to face, limbs, torso. Two volunteers were shot at too, one was hit on the shoulder. Two other volunteers were arrested on fabricated charges, later released by the judge. It is illegal for the police to fire gas and rubber bullets directly at people, and if you are injured by police go and report it to the legal centre near Ashram kitchen, it is open 3 pm to 6 pm every working day, or at the info point next to the Mosque (ex-Syrian tent) .
Teenager hit on the head with a truncheon
Supplies are scarce, and distributions of raw food now stopped for a week. A big aid convoy heading for Calais from the UK was stopped at the Dover border on the 18th June, people of the convoy stopped all traffic to the ferry port in Dover in protest but were moved by police.
Grande-Synthe: A new fence on the model of Calais is to be built to prevent people from going on the motorway. The State take charge of the new camp at Linieres, stop new people from settling there, destroy shelters left empty, with intention to reduce size and then close the camp.
Dieppe and Cherbourg camps evicted again (29/06 and 07/07). Fascists held a demonstration in Dieppe.
Choques: Migrants who were evicted from the small camp tried to set up a new camp on private land. The owner of the land called the police and they were obliged to move. Most are now in Calais.
Norrent Fontes (Isebergues) is threatened with eviction. and Hazebrouk (Steenvorde) jungle has just been evicted. (11/07/2016 at 6.30 am)
New evictions in Calais are to be expected from late September, as 3000 new places in CAO (centres d’accueil et orientation) are going to be created. If you have fingerprints in other countries do not go to CAO, as they will deport you directly from there (contrary to what they tell you). For correct advice go to the legal centre near Ashram kitchen, every day from 3 pm to 6 pm. The government and local authorities still intend to destroy Calais new jungle and leave only the containers, and the places for women inside the Jules-Ferry centre, for a max of 2000 people. The police counted 4500 people in the jungle, the associations 6100+ but that was a month ago, and new people arrive every day (20 to 60 per day), numbers are going up very rapidly. No news of the visit to Calais of President Hollande, but it seems he will not come before the 14th of July.
Paris: evictions and re-occupations continue. A new ‘humanitarian camp’ to be created North of Paris, in September. We must defend the right to houses for all, and oppose segregation in State-run camps.
Brexit: most people in UK have voted to leave the European Union. There are no changes for now, and it will take two years to make new accords and implement the exit of the UK. Hollande, president of France, said the accords of Toquet (by which the UK moved their border to France) stay in place. Big demonstration against austerity and against racism next Saturday 16th July in London.
2899 people have died in the Mediterranean this year. Thousands are arriving in Italy (5000 on the busiest day!) 238,983 arrivals in Europe total, 230,885 by sea 8,049 by land (IOM data, 6th July)
The Balkan route is full of people again, most travel with smugglers now. Deportations from Hungary to Serbia, 1300 stranded at the border in very bad conditions. Ventimiglia border is closed, very difficult to pass from there. Austria building a fence at its border with Italy.
EU-Turkey accords for the deportation of Syrians and other refugees from Greece back to Turkey. Most people applied for asylum in Greece and are now waiting, but the answer is usually negative. Turkey has deported thousands back to Syria, hundreds to Afghanistan. Turkey border police are shooting and have killed many Syrians who were trying to cross the border, including children.
Greece has destroyed the camps at Idomeni and put all the people in new camps, guarded by the Army. Conditions in these camps are terrible, there is not enough of anything, no medical care, overcrowding, very bad hygienic conditions and no freedom. There is a No Border camp in Thessaloniki, many of the new camps are near Thessaloniki. http://noborder2016.espivblogs.net/
Iraq. Baghdad: nearly 300 people died in the biggest suicide attack ever. North Iraq: significant gains of the Iraq Army and Kurdish militias against Daesh (ISIS).
Afghanistan: over 150 people killed in attacks in Kabul since the beginning of the year. Many more refugees are fleeing, including women and children. Yet most European governments still say it is ‘safe’ to deport Afghans to Kabul. Clashes at the border with Pakistan.
Sudan deporting Eritreans back to Eritrea, after new accords with the EU. Eritrea has also closed its border. Eritrea and Ethiopia on the verge of war. Jordan has closed its border leaving thousands of Syrians stranded in the desert. South Sudan: war resumes, new clashes in Juba. Tens of thousands dead sinceo the war began, most of the 11 million inhabitants displaced or at risk of starvation.
#BlackLivesMatter: Protests against police killing Black people. Big protests in many US cities. Some policemen were shot at and 5 were killed in retaliation in Dallas by a Black ex-serviceman . Big protests also in London and other UK cities. In 2015, 258 Black people were killed by US police. In 2016, as of July 7, US police have shot dead 509 people, of whom 123 were Black. In UK one person gets killed by police every week, on average.
People had all their merchandise confiscated, and some have lost all the money they invested. Many had their papers and personal belongings confiscated. So life in the huge shanty town risks becoming severely restricted now, without shops, restaurants, clubs, bakers and barber shops plus showers. These amazing places for social life are now facing closure, the authorities do not want people to try and replicate some normal life in the jungle, buy cheap cigarettes or enjoy a tasty meal in a restaurant made of pallets and tarp and nicely decorated inside with whatever cheap materials, people have to walk nearly an hour to the nearest supermarket, sun or rain or queue for food but the lines are already very long and without the restaurants people will go hungry.
EXODUS 