In Calais, the State does not keep its promises made on the evacuation of migrant camps
At the end of last year, Didier Leschi, head of the Ofii, was appointed mediator by the State to find a solution with the three hunger strikers in Calais, who denounced the living conditions of exiles in the region. Following meetings with activists and associations, Didier Leschi announced several measures, including that of no longer evacuating informal camps without first informing the occupants. Nearly six months later, other promises have not been kept, activists say.
“Systematically” offer accommodation to migrants when their camp is dismantled, no more surprise evacuations, 45-minute period granted to allow exiles time to recover their personal belongings… These promises were made in early November by Didier Leschi , head of the French Office for Immigration and Integration (Ofii). The latter had been sent as a mediator to Calais by the authorities to respond to the demands of activists from the north of France, among whom three had gone on a hunger strike to protest against the living conditions of the exiles. Almost six months later, are these announcements respected during the dismantling of migrant camps in Calais?
1/ Accommodation will be “systematically” offered to exiles during camp evacuations
It was Didier Leschi’s first promise. The associations claim that it was not held. “The authorities have never offered accommodation during the evacuations,” says Natacha*, a lawyer with Human Rights Observers (HRO), which documents the actions of the state during the dismantling of camps.
A reception area opened a few days after the arrival of the mediator. But the structure closed its doors 12 days after it was put into service. Migrants could come and spend the night there before being transferred to centers suited to their administrative situation.
>> To (re)read: In Calais, the State undertakes to “systematically” offer accommodation to migrants
From Monday to Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. rue des Huttes, in Calais, shuttles pass from Monday to Friday, to direct exiles to accommodation centers in the region. But for Natacha, this system is “disconnected from camp evictions”. “People show up there, there is no connection with the dismantling,” says the lawyer. And, according to the associations, the police do not inform migrants of this device during evacuations.
For the past few days, about twenty tents have been camping in front of the place where these shuttles pass, in the hope of being able to benefit from a warm place. But some of these centers are also saturated, according to Pierre Roques, coordinator of the Auberge des migrants.
2/ “There will be no more surprise evacuations” of migrant camps
Here again, it seems that the announcements of the State are not followed in practice. Migrants would never be warned in advance of the dismantling of their camp. “A few days after the mediator moved, the police came with a loudspeaker and gave people 10 minutes to evacuate the premises,” recalls Pierre Roques. “But that didn’t last long either.”
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Exiles are therefore often surprised by the operations of the forces of order. Especially since the pace of evacuations varies. Dismantling now takes place in the morning or afternoon, every 36 or 48 hours, randomly. Whereas before, evictions from camps were systematically organized in the morning.
“People are kept in uncertainty: they never know when they will be driven out. Sometimes they are not there at the time of the operations and therefore cannot recover their belongings and their tents”, observes Natacha.
Since January 1, 560 evictions have been carried out on the places where exiles live in Calais. And for the month of April alone, this figure rises to 102, according to figures from HRO.
3 / Migrants will have a period of “about 45 minutes” to gather their personal effects before dismantling
The 45-minute deadline was never observed by the authorities either. However, since the mediation of Didier Leschi, the associations recognize that there are fewer cases seized during the dismantling. Migrants present when the police came can now leave the field with their personal belongings and tents.
But the problem remains unsolved for the exiles absent during these operations. Some have gone on meetings or have gone to get food and cannot find their belongings when they return to the camp. And even if the person arrives in the meantime, it is already too late. “Once the tent is taken by the cleaning agents, the police say that they can no longer recover anything,” says Natacha.
In mid-January, a place for storing the personal belongings of migrants lost or confiscated during evacuations opened in Calais, rue des Huttes. Exiles can come there spontaneously to pick up their belongings, during opening hours (1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday).
But for humanitarians, this “unprecedented device” touted by the authorities does not work. “It’s not a system of recovery but of redistribution”, notes Natacha. “It’s first come, first served.”
Backpacks, telephones or identity papers are returned to migrants who can justify themselves. But tents, blankets, tarpaulins or clothes are given to the first comer, without these things being named. For the simple and good reason, that it is “impossible to name the first owner”, specified at the time François Cordier, president of the Face Valo association, mandated by the State to manage the premises.
The associations also criticize a place far from the places where migrants live. Consequences according to activists: few people perform there. Moreover, during evacuations, “when the police take their belongings, no one explains to them how to get them back. So people don’t know where to go,” notes Pierre Roques.
*The first name has been changed at the request of the person concerned.
** Contacted, Didier Leschi assures that he is no longer on the Calais car file “mobilized in Ukraine”. The boss of Ofii sent us back to the Pas-de-Calais prefecture, which has not yet responded to our requests.