The dismantling of the Grande-Synthe (North) camp Tuesday, November 16 “is not a solution”, estimates Anna, coordinator of the association Utopia 56 in Grande-Synthe. According to her, “we need safe and legal passageways to England to avoid informal and unsanitary encampments, to avoid deaths in the sea, to avoid the violence of the crossing networks”. According to the prefect of the Hauts-de-France region, Georges-François Leclerc, “400 foreigners are sheltered in the Nord department and another part in other regions of France”.
franceinfo: Do you know where these migrants were taken this morning?
Anna: This is the problem. People were forced to get on buses. No other solution was offered to them and they do not know in which region of France they were taken. This is the only information we have at the moment. We know that they got on buses, but we do not know where they are going, or what form the shelter will take. We are really asking for an end to these expulsions, as in Calais. It’s the same fight. These are illegal evictions.
But this camp, say the authorities, was illegal, unsanitary, it had to be evacuated.
This is what the authorities are saying. Indeed, we are not pro-camp but in any case this sheltering, in this way, with theft and destruction of personal belongings and in places all over France, without knowing the destination when going up in the mountains. bus … For us, this is unacceptable. We have no information and no feedback for the moment on this shelter. It is not known if the device is suitable. In any case, the information given to them is extremely poor. We are not sure whether these people are informed of their rights, whether they are informed about their right to seek asylum in France or not. There is real misinformation and above all is the information given in a language they can understand? This is the big question we ask ourselves.
Do you know if some of them seek asylum in France or if they want to go to England?
It is very variable. A large majority of people want to go to England, but because in fact it is their last option. That’s why they have nothing to lose. There are in particular the Dublin agreements which mean that many people are refused asylum rights in other European countries and cannot apply for asylum in France. But what is certain is that evacuating the camp is not a solution. This is not a solution because the only possibility for these people is to go to England. It is their only chance to have a decent life. So they will try again, it will continue.
For us, in fact, the solution is quite clear. Safe and legal passageways to England are needed to avoid informal and unsanitary encampments, to avoid deaths in the sea and deaths in attempted passage, to avoid the violence of crossing networks.