Violence in Calais must stop

PRESS RELEASE - 07 March 2016 - Help Refugee


73% of refugees in Calais have suffered police violence in France



New first-hand field research shows that almost 75% of respondents have experienced first-hand police violence during their time in Calais, including instances of sexual violence. And nearly half have experienced violence by citizens – largely from far-right groups.

The research was carried out by the Refugee Rights Data Project in partnership with Help Refugees, surveying more than 800 people residing in the informal camp in Calais. This makes it the largest independent data collection project to be carried out in Calais to date.

Preliminary results of the study cover 10% of the camp’s population – 86% of these respondents were adults, and 14% children aged under 18.

The results reveal that 74.1% of respondents have experienced health problems during their time in the camp – most due to its ‘unhealthy environment’.

In light of recent media reports citing self-harm and hunger strikes by refugees facing eviction, our study found that 2-3% of respondents cited suicide as an option if they are never allowed to have their asylum claims submitted in Britain and/or if their temporary homes are destroyed.

Having fled some of the most conflict-ridden areas of the world, 86.1% responded that they cannot go back to their country of origin for fear or war, persecution or death.

Please find more preliminary results below. The rest of our data is currently being processed, and a final report collating all 800+ responses will be released shortly.

Marta Welander – Founder, Refugee Rights Data Project – said:

"This data demonstrates that the French and British authorities have so far failed to treat people residing in the Calais camp with dignity and respect. We welcome François Hollande’s recent demand that refugees are treated with dignity and that unaccompanied minors are reunited with family in the UK ‘quickly and in an efficient fashion’. We look forward to seeing him take practical steps to uphold the human rights of vulnerable people at this critical moment in history.”

Lliana Bird & Josephine Naughton – Founders, Help Refugees – added:

"Violence against vulnerable people is wholly unacceptable, and we are grateful to the Refugee Rights Data Project for shining a much needed light on this issue. We remain deeply concerned for the physical and mental wellbeing of the refugees in Calais, in particular the 423 unaccompanied children, and believe that the French and British governments’ continued failure to provide residents with any clear information regarding their rights and options only serves to add to their trauma.”

POLICE VIOLENCE

 73% of respondents have experienced police violence

- 16.7% reported verbal abuse, 41.1% being exposed to tear gas, 28.3% physical violence, and 1% sexual violence

 57% have experienced tear gas ‘every day’ or ‘many times a week’. 17.4% have experienced tear gas ‘once a week’

 69.4% expressed that police treatment of refugees is ‘very bad’ or ‘bad’


NON-POLICE VIOLENCE

 45.4% of respondents have experienced violence by citizens (non-police such as far-right groups)

- 28.9% reported verbal abuse, 27.1% physical violence, and 1.4% sexual violence


HEALTH

 74.1% of respondents have experienced health problems in the camp

 62.9% reported knowledge of at least one refugee death in the camp

- 12.6% responded that the death was due to police violence, 12.4% due to citizen violence, and 5.9% due to health problems in the camp

 2-3% of respondents cited suicide throughout the survey, for instance if they are never allowed to have their asylum claims submitted in Britain or if their homes are destroyed

FUTURE PLANS AND ASPIRATIONS

 82.3% intend to stay in Calais/Dunkirk or ‘don’t know’ what they will do if the camp is demolished

 92.6% of respondents wish to go to the UK

 35.2% have friends and/or family in the UK (including parents and children)

 23.8% would like to live in the UK for language reasons

 86.1% responded that they can’t go back to their country of origin, while 6.4% don’t know if they can go back

 69.7% said they have no access to information about European immigration rules and asylum laws

 74.1% have no information about their rights or opportunities to change their situation


ABOUT THE REFUGEE RIGHTS PROJECT

The Refugee Rights Data Project is a non-profit project established in late 2015. We aim to fill the data gaps relating to refugees and displaced people in Europe by conducting our own independent field research.

Our project is entirely run by volunteers, who have expertise spanning a broad range of sectors. We are independent of any political ideology or religion, and united by our commitment to defend the rights of some of the world’s most vulnerable groups of people.


ABOUT HELP REFUGEES

Help Refugees are a humanitarian organisation and the primary givers of aid in Calais & Dunkirk where they have been active since September 2015. To date Help Refugees has sent over £500,000 worth of aid to Calais, coordinated the building of over 1,000 shelters and run the main distribution warehouse. Help Refugees is also active across Lesbos, Samos, Chios, Athens and Idomeni.

Visit: www.helprefugees.org.uk.

Help Refugees is a charitable fund under the auspices of Prism The Gift Fund Charity

Number: 1099682


CONTACT DETAILS

For enquiries, please contact:

Natalie Stanton

Co-coordinator and Media Relations Manager - Refugee Rights Data Project

T: 07817 380 897

E: info@refugeerights.org.uk

Paris: March for refugees rights - Gare Du Nord to Republique

Paris, 10e arrt, 18h, plusieurs centaines de personnes.

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Calais brûle : Liberté pour les migrants !

Manifestation ce vendredi 4 mars à 18H00 à partir de la Gare du Nord.


Ce lundi la police a commencé à détruire le camp de Calais. Nous, réfugiés à Paris, disons qu’il faut laisser les réfugiés décider par eux-mêmes et leur apporter des solutions.

Nous voulons que le gouvernement laisse les réfugiés à Calais, s’ils le veulent, aller en Angleterre. Si les réfugiés veulent rester à Paris pour obtenir l’asile ils devraient avoir leurs droits, ces choses qu’on nous a promises, un logement, des papiers et l’éducation.

Nous, réfugiés, sommes tous ensemble. Les réfugiés qui veulent aller en Angleterre et ceux ici.

Nous sommes désolés, nous n’aimons pas dire cela mais nous dormons dans les rues. Nous ne reculerons jamais sur nos droits.

Nous voulons être traités comme des êtres humains. Nous nous sentons mal parce que nous vivons dans les rues et les parcs. Nous sommes des êtres humains. Est-ce que quelqu’un peut le dire au gouvernement ?

Nous allons faire des manifestations pacifiques sur la situation des réfugiés à Calais.
Nous appelons tout le monde à venir avec nous pour soutenir les réfugiés à Calais et à Paris.

Manifestation ce vendredi 4 mars à 18H00 à partir de la Gare du Nord.




ENGLISH VERSION

Calais is burning : Freedom for migrants !

This monday, the police began to destroy the camp of Calais. We,
refugees in Paris, say that you should let the refugees to decide by
themselves and give them some solutions.

We want the government to let the refugees in Calais, if they want, to go to UK. If they want to stay in Paris to make asylum, they should have their rights, the things that were promised to us, houses, papers and education.

We, refugees, are all together. The refugees that want to go to Britain and the ones, here. We are sorry, we don’t like to tell it but we are sleeping in the streets. We will never move back from our rights.

We want to be treated like human beings. We are feeling badly because we are living in the sreets and parks. We are human beings. Can someone say it to the government ?

We are going to do peaceful protests about the situation of refugees in Calais.

We call everybody to come with us and support the migrants, in Calais and Paris :

Demonstrate on Friday 4 March from Gare du Nord at 18.00.

No Borders

Not much to add...

M.I.A. - Borders

'Borders'

Freedom
I don't need ‘em
Where's your rhythm?
This world needs a brand new rhythm
We done the key
We done them key them to lie
Let’s beat ‘em
We them smartphones done beat ‘em

Borders
What's up with that?
Politics
What's up with that?
Police shots
What's up with that?
Identities
What's up with that?
Your privilege
What's up with that?
Broke people
What's up with that?
Boat people
What's up with that?
The realness
What's up with that?
The new world
What's up with that?
I'm gonna keep up on all that

Guns blow doors to the system
Yeah f*ck 'em when we say we're not with them
We're solid and we don't need to kick them
This is North, South, East and Western

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MIA's Borders: artist braves boats and barbed wire in video crusade for refugees

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/nov/27/mia-borders-video-refugee-crisis-europe

Rap artist releases self-directed video for new track Borders that follows refugees on hazardous journey to Europe, as lyrics chastise governments’ failure to act

Most artists would be incapable of approaching a subject as serious as the refugee crisis in song. Not MIA, however, whose new album is on course to politicise pop once again. “The world I talked about 10 years ago is still the same,” she recently posted on Twitter. “That’s why it’s hard for me to say it again on a new LP.” 

Today, the British artist of Sri Lankan descent premiered Borders, a track that proves she remains unique in her ability to implement ideas about pop culture and important global topics. With it comes a self-directed video, which makes a compelling statement on the continuing migration crisis, chastising the response of European politicians and lamenting the arrival of border fences to keep out migrants. The video mimics the hazardous journeys faced by migrants, showing a flotilla of boats laden with refugees. Other scenes show individuals scaling massive fences topped with barbed wire, a reference to the series of securitised border fences erected by number of countries to keep out refugees.

The track, which sonically fuses eastern and western styles, questions the fabric of modern society – politics, identities, privilege, “being bae”, “breaking the internet” and smartphones – before reducing the world down to its essentials: your values, your beliefs, your families, your power.

Borders is the first track we’ve heard from new album Matahdatah since Swordsback in July. According to a statement from her label, both songs and videos are part of “a truly global and characteristically DIY MIA project. The two pieces will ultimately come together in a larger body of work that explores the concept of Borders, an element of which will be a full-length album and film experience entitled Matahdatah.”

Her fifth record will be released on Interscope Records. Until then, you can watch the video below.

For England, for Motherlands

Just thinking about the links between these two beloved songs... Eight years apart.
They speak about England but it could be about any homeland, really...

I remember listening to the first one massively when I was living in Prague, in 2003, and to the second when in Nairobi, in 2011. 

But I could apply the same words to Paris... 

Sinéad is so powerful in her writing.
And PJ is such a poet.

"A Prayer For England"

In the name of 
And by the power of 
The holy spirit 
May we invoke your 
Intercession for 
The children of england 
Some of whom have seen 
Murder so obscene
Some of whom have been taken 

Let not another child be slain 
Let not another search be made in vain 

Jah forgive us 
For forgetting 
Jah help us 
We need more loving 
See the teachers
Are representing you 
So badly
That not many can see you

Let not another child be slain 
Let not another search be made in vain 

Jah calls the ones who's 
Beliefs kill children to 
Feel the love of you and be healed 
And may we all cry too 
For representing you 
So badly so badly 

Jah forgive us 
For forgetting 
Oh Jah help us 
To be forgiving
The teachers are representing you 
So badly that not many can see you

Let not another search be made in vain 
Let not another child be slain

"England"

I live and die through England
Through England
It leaves a sadness
Remedies never were within my reach
I cannot go on as I am
Withered vine reaching from the country
That I love
England
You leave a taste
A bitter one
I have searched for your springs
But people, they stagnate with time
Like water, like air
To you, England, I cling
Undaunted, never failing love for you
England

MSF Confirms Use of Tear Gas Against Migrants at French 'Jungle' Camp

According to a spokesperson for Medecins Sans Frontieres, the French police are using tear gas against migrants living at the so-called Jungle camp in the French port city of Calais.

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/europe/20160229/1035536744/rear-gas-migrants-calais.html#ixzz41ZFuVZ2j


MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The French police are using tear gas against migrants living at the so-called Jungle camp in the French port city of Calais, a spokesperson for Medecins Sans Frontieres, or Doctors Without Borders, told Sputnik on Monday.

“We can confirm that this morning dozens of policemen went onto the camp and they started to remove part of the camp called part 9. We know that this afternoon they launched tear gas in the camp and some violence occurred against migrants. There is violence there now, and they are using tear gas against migrants,” Samuel Hanryon said.


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Details in The Guardian

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/29/french-authorities-begin-clearance-of-part-of-calais-jungle-camp?CMP=share_btn_tw

French authorities step up moves to dismantle part of Calais 'Jungle' camp

French authorities have begun what appears to be a concerted if gradual process to dismantle the sprawling refugee camp in Calais known as the “Jungle”.

Volunteers helping those inside the collection of makeshift structures and tents, which houses an estimated 3,500 people, said workers began taking down homes in the southern section of the camp from early on Monday morning, backed by police.

Videos on French media websites showed people in orange-jackets dismantling wooden structures by hand, with riot police in the background. The debris was loaded into a large container. About 20 shelters were reportedly pulled down.

A spokeswoman for the volunteer British group, Help Refugees, said the demolition work had continued gradually for much of the day, and that between 60 and 70 camp residents had lost their accommodation. 

The work took place without unrest, although one British activist was reportedly arrested.

Calais authorities have pledged to dismantle a significant part of the southern section of the encampment, although they say this will take place over weeks. The work was delayed by a legal appeal by migrant charities, rejected by a French court late last week. 

Of those who lost their homes on Monday, some had moved into space elsewhere in the camp, the Help Refugees spokeswoman said, while others had been seen carrying sleeping bags into Calais.

“We don’t really know yet what people will do, but it seems likely some will just be dispersed to other areas around Calais,” she said.

Clare Moseley, of British volunteer group Care4Calais, said prefecture officials arrived at the camp at 7am and gave residents an hour’s notice to leave or face arrest. “The police presence is massive,” she said. “They have the whole area cordoned off.” French media reported that about 40 vans of riot police were in position near the site.

Help Refugees said some of its volunteers had been blocked on Monday morning from entering the camp, home to refugees and migrants from countries including Syria, Afghanistan, Sudan, Eritrea, Iran, Pakistan and Egypt.

A spokeswoman said the demolition began in a section of the camp with a mostly Iranian population: “People were being told they had to leave, otherwise they would be arrested. A lot of people seemed quote confused.”

A spokesman for the Calais prefecture denied there was a vast new clearing operation under way. He said French officials from asylum agencies and other state agencies would continue to go from tent to tent to talk to talk to migrants about their options as they had done last week.

“There is a reinforced police presence today to allow those officials to enter and talk to people. But this is a gradual process which will take place over several days and weeks. There will be no bulldozers.”

Fabienne Buccio, the head of the Calais prefecture, said three-quarters of the homes in the southern part of the camp were now empty after officials encouraged residents to leave over recent days.

Police were needed, she said, in case what she described as “extremists” tried to stop migrants accepting offers of new accommodation or buses to centres elsewhere in France.

Migrant aid groups had feared the local French authorities could move swiftly after a court on Thursday gave the legal go-ahead to demolition.

French authorities said earlier this month they intended to bulldoze half of the main camp, warning between 800 and 1,000 migrants and refugees to leave a seven-hectare southern section of the site. Buccio previously told Le Monde she intended to reduce the size of the camp by about half.

Care4Calais is among the groups that have opposed the dismantlement plans in the French courts. A legal appeal against last Thursday’s ruling had been lodged last week, Moseley said, and was expected to be heard soon.

A Help Refugees spokeswoman said Monday’s work did appear to be the start of wider clearance: “That’s what it’s looking like. They did say it’s going to be slow and respectful, giving people options, and I suppose they have in a way. But at the same time they’re not giving people access to information. One person was seen being given their options as their shelter was being dismantled, so the respect they talked about last week isn’t really happening.”

While some residents have moved into shipping container shelters and a small number have left on state-provided coaches to centres elsewhere in France, many more than the official estimate of 800 to 1,000 people remained inside the main camp. A census carried out by two charities recorded 3,455 people living there, with one group telling the Guardian earlier this week that this included 445 children, of whom 305 were unaccompanied.

Welfare groups, including Save the Children, have warned that clearance efforts will leave residents with nowhere to go, among them an estimated 300 unaccompanied children. There are a few hundred places remaining in the container camp, but nowhere near enough to house all those potentially evicted.

While the dismantlement process was given the go-ahead last week, the court in Lille ruled that common spaces such as schools and places of worship could remain standing.

European March for Refugees' rights - Paris event

Photos de la Marche pour le droits des migrants, Paris, samedi 27 février 2016, avec le BAAM et D'Ici et D'Ailleurs 

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Informations envoyées de "la Jungle"

Témoignage d'une association travaillant à Calais :

Polyvalence

1 hr · 

En direct de la Jungle : 

Problème avec les portables : pas de batterie. On était à l'école du chemin des Dunes pour les charger mais l'électricité à été coupée.

L'accès de certaines parties de la Jungle est empêchée par les CRS. On a réussi à passer : il y a des CRS partout, ils sont armés et ils sont violents.
Ils poussent les migrants et les journalistes, jusqu'à les faire tomber.

Il y a des équipes de démantèlement qui défoncent les cabanes à coup de massue et de pieds de biche. Tout tombe par terre, complètement détruit.
(On leur a demandé si on pouvait les interviewer, certaines personnes sont venues nous voir pour nous dire qu'elles n'avaient pas le droit de nous parler.)
Pour protéger leurs abris, les migrants montent sur les toits.

Pourquoi d'un coup tout s'est accéléré alors que le gouvernement avait promis de ne pas utiliser la violence ?
Parce que les No Border ont empêché les maraudes qui allaient chercher les migrants "pacifiquement" pour les sortir de leurs abris. Mais il s'agit d'un prétexte, il y aurait eu une autre raison de toute façon et les CRS seraient venus.

Tout le monde est calme sauf les CRS, ils ont des lacrymos, la situation risque de se compliquer.
On filme avec la caméra donc on ne peut pas envoyer les images en direct. 

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Chaos à Calais suite à l'intervention brutale des CRS :

Peter Allen on Twitter

“UK bound refugees in Calais 'Jungle' now setting fire to their tents as riot police try to evacuate them.”

TWITTER.COM|BY PETER ALLEN

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Les forces de l'ordre françaises ont commencé la démolition de "camp" de Calais

FEBRUARY 29, 2016

Demolition happening now! // La démolition du bidonville a commencé !

Police are doing their shitty  job and destroying people’s houses in the south half of the Calais jungle. Around 55 police vans and 200 police are moving through the jungle with bulldozers and demolition workers. Some people are  on their roofs to resist the eviction. Police removed one person from his roof and have demolished his house.

One person who was filming the police was arrested without any reason then released. Police still managed to delete some of the footage.

The call-out for solidarity is more relevant than ever. Now is the time to show active solidarity with all the precarious residents of the Calais Jungle, forced into it by the violent border regime.

NO EVICTIONS! NO BORDERS!

https://calaismigrantsolidarity.wordpress.com/2016/02/29/demolition-happening-now-la-demolition-du-bidonville-a-commence/

Les flics ont commencé leur sale boulot et détruisent en ce moment les maisons des gen-t-es dans la moité sud de la Jungle de Calais. A peu près 55 cars de CRS et 200 flics avancent dans la Jungle avec les bulldozers et des ouvriers. Quelques personnes se tiennent sur leurs toits pour résister à l’expulsion.

Une personne qui était en train de filmer la police s’est faite arrêtée sans raison puis rapidement relâchée. Les flics auront quand même supprimé une partie des vidéos.

L’appel à solidarité est plus vrai que jamais. Il est temps maintenant de montrer une solidarité active avec les habitant-e-s précaires de la Jungle de Calais, habitant-e-s malgré eux puisque c’est la violence du régime des frontières qui les y a forcés.

NON AUX EXPULSIONS ! NON AUX FRONTIÈRES !

Calais Migrant Solidarity

Resisting the border regime since 2009 

Mon reportage à Calais, dans les camps de la "Jungle"

Bénévoles français et britanniques au secours des réfugiés de Calais

Plusieurs fois démantelés par les forces de l'ordre, les camps de la "jungle de Calais" mobilisent de nouveau l'attention. Les réfugiés de la zone sud sont menacés d'expulsion par les autorités françaises.

Selon la préfecture "800 à 1000 migrants" vivent dans la "Jungle" de Calais. Selon les associations sur place, ils sont 2000. Pour tenter de faire face à l’absence d’organisations nationales et de soutien politique, des bénévoles de plusieurs pays d’Europe se mobilisent et apporte de l’aide aux migrants. C’est le cas des Britanniques de Care 4 Calais et de l’association parisienne D’Ici et d’Ailleurs, qui se sont rencontrés, sur place, récemement.

Ecoutez le reportage de Melissa Chemam en cliquant sur le lien ci-dessous:

http://www.dw.com/fr/bénévoles-français-et-britanniques-au-secours-des-réfugiés-de-calais/a-19079824

"Nous nous sentons un devoir envers ces gens tant qu’ils sont coincés ici." (un bénévole de Care 4 Calais)

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Ecoutez l'intégralité de l'émission :

http://www.dw.com/fr/quest-ce-qui-se-passe-en-saxe/av-19079783

ALLEMAGNE EUROPE

Qu'est-ce qui se passe en Saxe ?

Cette région de l'est de l'Allemagne a été le théâtre de nouveaux incidents xénophobes. Un phénomène qui n'est pas nouveau mais qui prend une nouvelle dimension avec l'afflux record de migrants. Notre correspondante Melissa Chemam rentre de Calais, dans le nord de la France. Elle a rencontré des Français et des Anglais qui retroussent leurs manches pour venir en aide aux réfugiés.

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Merci à Konstanze!

Marche européenne pour le droit des réfugié.e.s

RDV à Paris, Place de la République, de 12h à 16h

A l'occasion de la Marche européenne pour le droit des
réfugié.e.s, des évènements auront lieu partout en Europe le 27 Février 2016.

Le BAAM, soutenu par D'Ici & d'Ailleurs, vous convie au rassemblement qui se tiendra à Paris
de 12h à 16h sur la Place de la République.

Les conditions de voyage et d'accueil en Europe pour les réfugié.e.s restent aujourd'hui bien loin des espérances de chacun. La France, Terre d'Asile historique, en fait partie.

Nous souhaiterions que cet événement soit à la fois un moment de convivialité, d'échange et l'occasion de faire entendre nos voix, et nos pas.

MOBILISATION POUR ET AVEC LES MIGRANT.E.S!
MARCHONS POUR FAIRE AVANCER LES CHOSES!

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On the occasion of the 2016 European March for Refugees' Rights, actions will take place everywhere in Europe on Saturday 27th February. You are invited to the Paris Event which will take place from noon to 4pm at Place de la République.

The events of the latest years have shown that travel and living conditions of migrants nowadays in Europe are far from being safe. European national states are not able to find reliable solutions, as is clearly testified by the millions of deaths at sea and on terrestrial routes towards Europe. 

There is still a long way to go, and France (which has historically been a land of asylum) needs to step up.

We hope this action will be a moment of friendly exchange, and the occasion to speak up.

A DAY OF ACTION CALLING FOR SAFE PASSAGE OF REFUGEES!
THE EUROPE ON THE MOVE IS THE EUROPE OF REFUGEES AND OF EUROPEAN CITIZENS HELPING THEM!

27 FEBRUARY 2016: EUROPE UNITES FOR REFUGEES

On the 27th of February, European citizens will come together for human rights, for refugees rights. For the creation of #SafePassage, to demand all european governments to take actions NOW: 
- safe passage from war-torn lands to safe havens
- safe passage from the arrival points in Europe to the destination countries!
- no more bracelets! 
- no more confiscations!
- no more borders closed!

These people are running away from death. We cannot allow them to die in front of our eyes! We cannot allow them to be held in inhumane camps when they came looking for freedom and safety! We cannot watch our Europe fall apart! We cannot fail as human beings! 

On the 27th of February we come together to make one clear statement all across Europe: #SAFEPASSAGE. You can organize demonstrations, gatherings, manifestations or any other means of gathering people in your country, your city, to voice this message loud and clear!