“I am very scared but I have no choice”

In this camp located between Loon-Plage and Grande-Synthe, dozens of migrants are gathered. Men, women but also young children who meander between the tents and the lit fires to warm themselves. Despite the tragedies, such as the death of these 27 people at sea off Calais on Wednesday November 24, the candidates for exile continue to want to join England.

Amir left Iran for seven months, he has been here for two days and intends to try his luck when the weather is favorable. “I’m scared, I’m very scared, he confides, “My mom tells me not to go. She says, ‘It’s dangerous’, but I have no choice.” Ali holds the same speech. He arrived a month ago, regularly spends a few nights at the hotel before coming back here. He thinks he will be able to go to sea within ten days, despite the fear. “Yes I will leave, and maybe I will die …”, he said with a sad little laugh. Like many migrants here, he does not want to stay in France. The future for him is on the other side of the Channel.

“My friends are in the UK, I have to go. I can’t stay here because I don’t know anyone.”

In this camp, associations come to serve food to migrants. Some, in conjunction with the prefecture, also offer to help them with administrative procedures. But there are also smugglers. Saïd has already spent thousands of euros to come to Grande-Synthe with his father. “I fled my country, Iran, for help, but the authorities put me in prison, he says. Why ? I’m a refugee, I haven’t done anything wrong. ”

And this thirty-something will take to the sea well despite the risks. “If I die I don’t care. Better than being here. Look where we live. In tents, in the rain, in the cold. My dad is old, I feel so sad for him.” The other reason for his departure is the harshness of the French police: “I want to be in a peaceful place but they move us to another place when we want to leave and then come and destroy our tents. Why? I am really lost …”

The French government has made a new appointment with European ministers on Sunday 28 November in Calais. The ministers in charge of Belgian, German, Dutch and British immigration, as well as the European Commission, are invited to a meeting to determine how to strengthen police, judicial and humanitarian cooperation. The objective is to better fight against the networks of smugglers, which function as “mafia organizations” and are primarily responsible for these tragedies according to the executive. According to him, more than 7,800 migrants have been rescued at sea in this area since the start of the year.