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Syrians Seeking Asylum Are in Standoff With French Police Syrians Seeking Asylum End Standoff With French Police
(about 6 hours later)
PARIS — A migrant association in northern France said Friday that several dozen Syrians were in a standoff with security forces in the French port of Calais, with two threatening to jump off a ferry terminal roof, in a protest aimed at their efforts to seek asylum in Britain. PARIS — A three-day standoff between security forces in the French port of Calais and several dozen Syrian migrants ended Friday evening when the Syrians backed down, a migrant association in northern France said.
Maël Galisson, the coordinator of Migrant Services Platform, a migrant outreach group, said that about 60 Syrians who fled the conflict in Syria had been occupying a gangway at the Calais ferry terminal since Wednesday. When the police intervened Friday and sought to evacuate them, two climbed on the roof of the terminal building and threatened to jump unless their demands to reach Britain were met. The standoff began on Wednesday, when about 60 Syrians who had fled the conflict in their country but felt they were being harassed in France began occupying a gangway at the Calais ferry terminal. When the French police intervened Friday, two of the Syrians climbed onto the roof of the terminal building and threatened to jump or stay there until their demand for asylum in Britain was met, according to Maël Galisson, the coordinator of Migrant Services Platform, an outreach group.
He said the police had retreated and were negotiating with the group, while British border officials were on their way to help find a resolution. “These are Syrians who have come from cities in Syria like Damascus and Dara’a to escape from the Syrian conflict,” Mr. Galisson said from Calais. “They have not had a warm welcome in France and so would prefer to go to Britain.”
“These are Syrians who have come from cities in Syria like Damascus and Dara’a to escape from the Syrian conflict,” Mr. Galisson said by telephone from Calais, where he was observing the protests. “They have not had a warm welcome in France and so would prefer to go to Britain.” But Mr. Galisson said that the Syrians finally agreed to end their protest late Friday afternoon, when British border officials arrived and convinced them that their goal of attaining immediate asylum in Britain — skipping proper controls — was in vain.
Mr. Galisson said the migrants had been living in abandoned storage space when they were evicted by the police on Sept. 5. He said they had faced police harassment and were hoping to find a better life across the English Channel in Britain. Some of them have family members living in Britain, he said. According to French media reports, the British officials told the migrants that their requests for asylum would be considered on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration factors like whether they already had family in Britain. Mr. Galisson said that some of them did.
Migrant Services Platform posted a statement from the Syrian migrants on its Web site, in which they appealed for refuge in Britain. “We are here for one or two months and the French government and police have treated us very badly, and shown no interest in resolving our situation,” the statement said. “They have systematically expelled us from our homes and put us on the street. We are here for one thing, and that is to ask for asylum in England.” “They are very disappointed because they were hoping to go to Britain and find a better life,” he said. “But they realized that they would not be able to leave and that staying on the roof was futile.”
An official from the French Ministry of Interior was not available for comment. Mr. Galisson said that some of the Syrians would remain in France and seek asylum. They had been evicted from makeshift living quarters in an abandoned storage area on Sept. 5, he said, and most would probably try to live there again until they could find more permanent lodging.
For more than a decade, migrants have come to Calais in hope of sneaking across the channel to Britain, which is viewed as a more hospitable destination for asylum seekers, Mr. Galisson said. He said that while it could take up to 18 months to get asylum in France, in Britain it could take half as long. The remainder, he said, would either go to Germany or to Sweden, which announced in early September that it would grant asylum to all Syrian refugees who applied from within Sweden.
An influx of refugees from Syria has already put pressure on neighboring Middle Eastern countries, which have absorbed more than two million of them since the Syrian conflict began more than two years ago. Earlier, Migrant Services Platform posted a statement from the Syrian migrants on its Web site in which they appealed for refuge in Britain.
It has also been gathering force in Europe in recent months. In mid-September, the United Nations refugee agency said boatloads of Syrians were crossing the Mediterranean and arriving in southern Italy. It said the new arrivals were gathering pace and several thousand arrived in August and September, including unaccompanied children. “We are here for one or two months and the French government and police have treated us very badly, and shown no interest in resolving our situation,” the statement said. “They have systematically expelled us from our homes and put us on the street. We are here for one thing, and that is to ask for asylum in England.”
During the protests, the Syrians held cardboard signs bemoaning their plight in France. One said, “We sleep on the streets, take us to the UK pls.”
For more than a decade, migrants have come to Calais in hope of sneaking across the channel to Britain, which is viewed as a more hospitable destination for asylum seekers, Mr. Galisson said. He said that while it could take up to 18 months to get asylum in France, in Britain it could take half that.
Syria’s neighboring countries have absorbed more than two million refugees since the Syrian uprising began more than two years ago.
The refugee flood has also been building in Europe in recent months. In mid-September, the United Nations refugee agency said boatloads of Syrians were crossing the Mediterranean and arriving in southern Italy. It said the new arrivals were gathering pace, with several thousand arriving in August and September, including unaccompanied children.