Sangatte : The illegal immigrant’s gateway to the U.K.
Olivier Jobard
Sipa Press
“I want to sing something for those who are far from their homes and whose eyes show the pain they feel…”*
Amad, a former French teacher at the French lycée in Kabul recalls how an Afghan friend of his one day sent him that song. Today Amad is among the immigrants staying at the Sangatte centre. “At the time, I didn’t know what the words meant. Now I do.” Like Amad, thousands of people are forced to leave their country for political or economic reasons. Seeking asylum, most of them are trying to get away from unbearable circumstances. Over the past three years, close to 50,000 illegal immigrants have passed through the Red Cross Centre located near the small village of Sangatte, near Calais. Most of them come from Afghanistan, Iraq or Iran.
Preview
Attracted by the good living conditions asylum seekers can enjoy in the United Kingdom, or simply stranded here after having been rejected by country after country across the E.U., these immigrants are willing to risk their lives to cross the Channel. Concerned by the impact on its economy, British authorities have asked the French government to stem the tide of migrants crossing into Britain, despite the fact that for years the British economy has taken advantage of this cheap source of labour.
France has adopted a diplomatic approach to the problem and the government here has agreed to make security even stricter. However, this is only a half-hearted attempt, as French officials hope that most of the aliens will succeed in leaving the country. They have offered those in Sangatte no alternative, give the immigrants no information how to obtain asylym status in France, and are staunchly opposed to increasing the capacity of refugee centres.
Over the past few months, the situation in Sangatte has deteriorated. Fighting is commonplace, owing to the tension that comes from the ever-longer long wait; moreover, crossing over into England has never been chancier or more dangerous – since the beginning of the year, 12 people have died attempting to cross the Channel. Increasingly, refugees are having to use the services of smugglers, thus promoting the creation of a mafia system.
Europe bears a heavy responsibility in this situation; its members must find a way to agree on a common policy and accept that what is at stake is the lives of thousands of human beings.
Photos taken in August 2001 and May 2002
