This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2016/oct/24/calais-camp-riot-police-prepare-demolish-refugees-migrant
The article has changed 30 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Previous version
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
Next version
| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Calais refugee camp: French riot police prepare for demolition – live | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 7.24am BST | |
| 07:24 | |
| By all accounts the camp remains calm and orderly this morning. No sign of riot police or any demolitions yet. People are queuing patiently. | |
| Migrants waiting to get into the hangar. pic.twitter.com/cJFufpjzb4 | |
| Calais this morning pic.twitter.com/bIa102nEun | |
| Very calm in Calais as hundreds of migrants volunteer to leave. Sudanese and Eritrean mostly in queue for processing center so far | |
| Updated | |
| at 7.31am BST | |
| 7.18am BST | |
| 07:18 | |
| A line of buses outside the camp. | |
| La fila di autobus pronti a caricare i migranti #Calais pic.twitter.com/zrV8G702FD | |
| 7.12am BST | |
| 07:12 | |
| Here’s another reporter hammering home the fact that there do seem to be an awful lot of media at the camp. | |
| Presumably the next big headache for Calais authorities is evacuating the 10,000 journalists pic.twitter.com/QnxnP1jFPO | |
| 7.08am BST | |
| 07:08 | |
| 7.06am BST | |
| 07:06 | |
| Lisa O'Carroll | |
| Mohamed, 23, from Eritrea is very happy to leave the camp. As he walks up to queue at processsing center he tells me: “The camp is dirty and dangerous”. He has been here for three months and has tried to get asylum in France before, he says. “My fingerprints were taken in Italy and where ever you go in Europe after that they say you have to go back to the Italy under the Dublin regulation,” he says. “Now they say for the first time the fingerprints don’t matter and we can start applying for asylum again. I am happy, “ he says. He has been told the buses will go all over France including Marseilles, Lyons and Paris. | |
| 7.00am BST | |
| 07:00 | |
| The queuing continues ... | |
| Hundreds of migrants, many of them Sudanese queuing in the dark to be taken Calais camp. Almost outnumbered by media pic.twitter.com/JATZshOb1y | |
| Ismail, 25, from Sudan, happy to go to clearance queue. He travelled via Libya and Italy. Wants asylum in France pic.twitter.com/pZ2Qk7i4nq | |
| 6.55am BST | 6.55am BST |
| 06:55 | 06:55 |
| 'Better to die in my own country' | 'Better to die in my own country' |
| Angelique Chrisafis | Angelique Chrisafis |
| Two Afghan men who had spent several months in the squalid Calais camp, and years travelling, had now decided to go home to Jalalabad. They were awake before dawn and carrying the few possessions they had to register at the vast hanger. France has temporarily increased the aid to people wanting to make the journey home to their countries. Muhammad, 26, said: “I’ve tried. I’ve taken so many risks trying to get on the back of lorries. Better to die in my own country than here under a truck.” | Two Afghan men who had spent several months in the squalid Calais camp, and years travelling, had now decided to go home to Jalalabad. They were awake before dawn and carrying the few possessions they had to register at the vast hanger. France has temporarily increased the aid to people wanting to make the journey home to their countries. Muhammad, 26, said: “I’ve tried. I’ve taken so many risks trying to get on the back of lorries. Better to die in my own country than here under a truck.” |
| 6.52am BST | 6.52am BST |
| 06:52 | 06:52 |
| Lisa O'Carroll | Lisa O'Carroll |
| Guardian reporter Lisa O’Carroll is on the ground in the camp. She has sent us this dispatch: | Guardian reporter Lisa O’Carroll is on the ground in the camp. She has sent us this dispatch: |
| Good morning from the Calais camp where it is dark, dry and peaceful.Despite reports of tension, an orderly queue of several hundred migrants has already formed a quarter of a mile from the camp to be taken to accommodation centers around France. | Good morning from the Calais camp where it is dark, dry and peaceful.Despite reports of tension, an orderly queue of several hundred migrants has already formed a quarter of a mile from the camp to be taken to accommodation centers around France. |
| Today is the first of three days of clearance during which the authorities wish to relocate up to 10,000 people to specialist accommodation centres for formal registration and processing by the French and British authorities. | Today is the first of three days of clearance during which the authorities wish to relocate up to 10,000 people to specialist accommodation centres for formal registration and processing by the French and British authorities. |
| Most in the queue appear to be Sudanese. Two I spoke to said they wanted to stay in France and apply for asylum.Mohamed, from Darfur, left his country 24 months ago, taking a treacherous journey with people smuggled through Libya and on, by boat, to Italy. | Most in the queue appear to be Sudanese. Two I spoke to said they wanted to stay in France and apply for asylum.Mohamed, from Darfur, left his country 24 months ago, taking a treacherous journey with people smuggled through Libya and on, by boat, to Italy. |
| He spent 10 months in Holland but was refused asylum there. “They told me the colour of my skin was not from Sudan. I want to stay in France,” he said. | He spent 10 months in Holland but was refused asylum there. “They told me the colour of my skin was not from Sudan. I want to stay in France,” he said. |
| He has spent the last three months in the Calais camp. “It is dangerous, too many people, I am happy today to leave,” he said. | He has spent the last three months in the Calais camp. “It is dangerous, too many people, I am happy today to leave,” he said. |
| Ismail, 25, also from Sudan, also says he is happy to be in the queue. “Where do you want to go? France or the UK?”. “France, France, I want to stay here.” | Ismail, 25, also from Sudan, also says he is happy to be in the queue. “Where do you want to go? France or the UK?”. “France, France, I want to stay here.” |
| The French hope to clear 3,000 adults and children from the camp today with 60 buses taking them to unidentified centres across France. | The French hope to clear 3,000 adults and children from the camp today with 60 buses taking them to unidentified centres across France. |
| Migrants have been asked to volunteer and from 8am will be invited to join one of four queues - adult, family, child, or vulnerable and disabled. | Migrants have been asked to volunteer and from 8am will be invited to join one of four queues - adult, family, child, or vulnerable and disabled. |
| They will be given colored wrist bands and once a bus load has amassed will be whisked away. | They will be given colored wrist bands and once a bus load has amassed will be whisked away. |
| The French are hoping to have buses moving every 15 minutes. | The French are hoping to have buses moving every 15 minutes. |
| Scenes in the dark here outside the camp were slightly shambolic with the queue initially dwarfed by TV crews doing live broadcasts without talking to the men gathering behind. | Scenes in the dark here outside the camp were slightly shambolic with the queue initially dwarfed by TV crews doing live broadcasts without talking to the men gathering behind. |
| 6.47am BST | 6.47am BST |
| 06:47 | 06:47 |
| 6.37am BST | 6.37am BST |
| 06:37 | 06:37 |
| Mark Townsend | Mark Townsend |
| Mark Townsend writes in the Observer that as the toxic symbol of Europe’s migrant crisis is demolished, the personal tragedies continue for the thousands involved. | Mark Townsend writes in the Observer that as the toxic symbol of Europe’s migrant crisis is demolished, the personal tragedies continue for the thousands involved. |
| Inside the camp itself, the countdown to clearance has prompted panic. On Saturday charities were frantically handing out secondhand suitcases to families, disseminating advice on what to do when the dreaded columns of the Compagnies Républicaines de Sécurité – the riot police – converge on the camp. | Inside the camp itself, the countdown to clearance has prompted panic. On Saturday charities were frantically handing out secondhand suitcases to families, disseminating advice on what to do when the dreaded columns of the Compagnies Républicaines de Sécurité – the riot police – converge on the camp. |
| Some are not prepared to find out. “A few boys left yesterday, they asked if I wanted to go,” said Abdul Shahnawaz, 16, from Musa Qala, Helmand province, Afghanistan, who has lived in the camp since March. Did they say where? “That way,” said Abdul, pointing towards Belgium. | Some are not prepared to find out. “A few boys left yesterday, they asked if I wanted to go,” said Abdul Shahnawaz, 16, from Musa Qala, Helmand province, Afghanistan, who has lived in the camp since March. Did they say where? “That way,” said Abdul, pointing towards Belgium. |
| Read his full analysis here: | Read his full analysis here: |
| 6.18am BST | 6.18am BST |
| 06:18 | 06:18 |
| “Can’t someone help me find my mum?” | “Can’t someone help me find my mum?” |
| Angelique Chrisafis | Angelique Chrisafis |
| On the eve of the operation raze the camp, young residents were beset by fear and anxiety about their future. | On the eve of the operation raze the camp, young residents were beset by fear and anxiety about their future. |
| Paris correspondent Angelique Chrisafis spoke to Aaron, 16, from Eritrea, who arrived in Calais in June after a perilous journey fleeing conflict. He became separated from his mother along the way, and hopes to reunite with her in Britain. | Paris correspondent Angelique Chrisafis spoke to Aaron, 16, from Eritrea, who arrived in Calais in June after a perilous journey fleeing conflict. He became separated from his mother along the way, and hopes to reunite with her in Britain. |
| Read the full story here: | Read the full story here: |
| 6.16am BST | 6.16am BST |
| 06:16 | 06:16 |
| 'They have no idea where in France they will be sent' | 'They have no idea where in France they will be sent' |
| 1/Before dawn in #calais hundreds of mainly Sudanese men with donated rucksacks stand in line waiting to be put on buses across France | 1/Before dawn in #calais hundreds of mainly Sudanese men with donated rucksacks stand in line waiting to be put on buses across France |
| 2/They have no idea where in France they will be sent. They will be shown a map & given a choice of 2 regions #Calais | 2/They have no idea where in France they will be sent. They will be shown a map & given a choice of 2 regions #Calais |
| 6.14am BST | 6.14am BST |
| 06:14 | 06:14 |
| An ITV reporter on the scene says the first buses have arrived to move people out of the camp. | An ITV reporter on the scene says the first buses have arrived to move people out of the camp. |
| First buses have arrived in #Calais to take away thousands of migrants and refugees from the #Jungle camp @GMB pic.twitter.com/SwUbkqy6pO | First buses have arrived in #Calais to take away thousands of migrants and refugees from the #Jungle camp @GMB pic.twitter.com/SwUbkqy6pO |
| 6.08am BST | 6.08am BST |
| 06:08 | 06:08 |
| Angelique Chrisafis | Angelique Chrisafis |
| Our Paris correspondent Angelique Chrisafis is in the Calais camp watching events unfold and has sent this report: | Our Paris correspondent Angelique Chrisafis is in the Calais camp watching events unfold and has sent this report: |
| By 6am in Calais, refugees and migrants had begun to line up with rucksacks on the road outside the hangar where buses would later take them to processing accommodation centres across France. | By 6am in Calais, refugees and migrants had begun to line up with rucksacks on the road outside the hangar where buses would later take them to processing accommodation centres across France. |
| Some others, who didn’t want to stay in France and who had given up hope of getting to England, were chancing it on their own - some going to Germany or to Italy. Ehsan, 20, from Afghanistan, had been trying to stow away on trucks to Kent six nights a week for four months. | Some others, who didn’t want to stay in France and who had given up hope of getting to England, were chancing it on their own - some going to Germany or to Italy. Ehsan, 20, from Afghanistan, had been trying to stow away on trucks to Kent six nights a week for four months. |
| He was now going by train back to Italy where he had been fingerprinted upon arrival in Europe. ‘Nobody knows what the future holds,’ he said. ‘I just want to be safe and to one day find work.’ | He was now going by train back to Italy where he had been fingerprinted upon arrival in Europe. ‘Nobody knows what the future holds,’ he said. ‘I just want to be safe and to one day find work.’ |
| 6.03am BST | 6.03am BST |
| 06:03 | 06:03 |
| Refugees and migrants arrive at official meeting points | Refugees and migrants arrive at official meeting points |
| Backing up what we have seen from Twitter, AFP now reports that people have started arriving at official meeting points set by French authorities as part of the full evacuation of the Calais camp. | Backing up what we have seen from Twitter, AFP now reports that people have started arriving at official meeting points set by French authorities as part of the full evacuation of the Calais camp. |
| Men and women carrying suitcases and bundles of possessions gathered in front of a warehouse which is serving as the main headquarters of the operation in which some 6,000 to 8,000 migrants will be moved to reception centres across the country. | Men and women carrying suitcases and bundles of possessions gathered in front of a warehouse which is serving as the main headquarters of the operation in which some 6,000 to 8,000 migrants will be moved to reception centres across the country. |
| A queue of around 60 people already stretched in front of the closed doors of the operational headquarters, under the glow of streetlights. | A queue of around 60 people already stretched in front of the closed doors of the operational headquarters, under the glow of streetlights. |
| Dozens of riot police vehicles and other trucks carrying equipment had earlier set off in the direction of the operation centre, an AFP correspondent saw.” | Dozens of riot police vehicles and other trucks carrying equipment had earlier set off in the direction of the operation centre, an AFP correspondent saw.” |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 6.04am BST | at 6.04am BST |