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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/oct/24/q-and-a-what-happens-to-calais-refugees-now
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| Q&A: what happens now to the Calais refugees? | Q&A: what happens now to the Calais refugees? |
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| Where are they going?Sixty buses will move the refugees and migrants to 164 reception centres across France. The accommodation centres, which are intended to be temporary, will each hold 40 to 50 people for up to four months while their asylum cases are examined. Those who do not claim asylum will be sent back to their country of origin. Almost two-thirds of those surveyed in the camp have said they do not want to be evicted and taken to French accommodation, while one-third say they will continue to try to get to the UK, according to the Refugee Rights Data Project. | Where are they going?Sixty buses will move the refugees and migrants to 164 reception centres across France. The accommodation centres, which are intended to be temporary, will each hold 40 to 50 people for up to four months while their asylum cases are examined. Those who do not claim asylum will be sent back to their country of origin. Almost two-thirds of those surveyed in the camp have said they do not want to be evicted and taken to French accommodation, while one-third say they will continue to try to get to the UK, according to the Refugee Rights Data Project. |
| How many people live at the camp?The authorities say 7,000 people live here but charities put the number closer to 10,000. The French president, François Hollande, appeared to acknowledge that the official figure was an underestimate when he said last month that as many as 9,000 people could be moved from the camp to the reception centres. | How many people live at the camp?The authorities say 7,000 people live here but charities put the number closer to 10,000. The French president, François Hollande, appeared to acknowledge that the official figure was an underestimate when he said last month that as many as 9,000 people could be moved from the camp to the reception centres. |
| How will the camp be demolished?It is understood that 40 people will arrive on Tuesday to begin dismantling the camp. An additional 3,000 police are expected in and around Calais this week to assist with the process of clearing the camp and to attempt to ensure that migrants who do not want to claim asylum do not flee and/or set up new, smaller camps. With the eyes of the world on Calais, police are expected to try a soft approach, at least to begin with. There are fears that anarchists will stoke the atmosphere if French police are deemed to be heavy-handed. | How will the camp be demolished?It is understood that 40 people will arrive on Tuesday to begin dismantling the camp. An additional 3,000 police are expected in and around Calais this week to assist with the process of clearing the camp and to attempt to ensure that migrants who do not want to claim asylum do not flee and/or set up new, smaller camps. With the eyes of the world on Calais, police are expected to try a soft approach, at least to begin with. There are fears that anarchists will stoke the atmosphere if French police are deemed to be heavy-handed. |
| Why is this happening?France’s interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, says the intention is to “unblock Calais”, which is said to have suffered serious economic security consequences as a result of the camp and the daily attempts by migrants to smuggle themselves on to lorries bound for Britain, sometimes leading to violent attacks on drivers. Politics has played a big part with the French right and far right increasing their calls for hardline action before next year’s presidential election. Alain Juppé, the current favourite to become the next president, has said France must push back its border with Britain from Calais to the Kent coast. | Why is this happening?France’s interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, says the intention is to “unblock Calais”, which is said to have suffered serious economic security consequences as a result of the camp and the daily attempts by migrants to smuggle themselves on to lorries bound for Britain, sometimes leading to violent attacks on drivers. Politics has played a big part with the French right and far right increasing their calls for hardline action before next year’s presidential election. Alain Juppé, the current favourite to become the next president, has said France must push back its border with Britain from Calais to the Kent coast. |
| The French government has also been under pressure to act to tackle the humanitarian crisis in the camp, where there is overcrowding, poor sanitary conditions, food shortages as well as trafficking and exploitation of women and children. Hollande has said that conditions are not acceptable, especially for people fleeing war. | The French government has also been under pressure to act to tackle the humanitarian crisis in the camp, where there is overcrowding, poor sanitary conditions, food shortages as well as trafficking and exploitation of women and children. Hollande has said that conditions are not acceptable, especially for people fleeing war. |
| What will happen to unaccompanied children?There is supposed to be a separate queue for the estimated 1,300 unaccompanied children in the camp at the warehouse that will act as a processing centre. About 500 are believed to be eligible to come to Britain under the amendment, brought about by the Labour peer Alf Dubs, himself a former child refugee. But campaigners fear that vulnerable minors could be lost in the chaos of the evacuation. Charity workers have expressed concern that children could be caught up in violence or left vulnerable to people traffickers. | |
| Have the French previously tried to clear the camp?In February and March, the authorities demolished a large area of the southern part of the camp, saying the aim was to radically reduce numbers of migrants. Police fired teargas at migrants who threw stones and set fire to shelters after dozens of makeshift shacks were dismantled. Despite the move, the number of people in the camp subsequently reached an all-time high of almost 10,000 people, exacerbating the overcrowding problem as an increased number of inhabitants were squeezed into an area of land less than half the size it previously was. | Have the French previously tried to clear the camp?In February and March, the authorities demolished a large area of the southern part of the camp, saying the aim was to radically reduce numbers of migrants. Police fired teargas at migrants who threw stones and set fire to shelters after dozens of makeshift shacks were dismantled. Despite the move, the number of people in the camp subsequently reached an all-time high of almost 10,000 people, exacerbating the overcrowding problem as an increased number of inhabitants were squeezed into an area of land less than half the size it previously was. |