Written evidence submitted by Care4Calais (ECM0002)

 

 

Background

 

In November and December 2018 there were around 250 reported cases of migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats.  This appeared to be a new development as previously it had been more common for attempts to be made via lorries. We were asked to provide evidence regarding this to the Home Affairs Committee on 22 January 2019.

 

Care4Calais has been working with migrants in Calais since September 2015.  We work with approximately 3,000 refugees who are now dispersed along the North East coast of France and Belgium from Brussels in the north down to Ouistreham in the west, mirroring the South East coast of the UK. Our work includes providing direct aid such as food, clothes and sleeping bags, and spending time with the refugees to combat the depression and despair that we encounter every day.

 

This report provides information based on our cumulative experience and also on a limited scope survey that we undertook on 20 January 2019 in order to provide information to the Home Affairs Committee. We talked to 48 refugees who were mostly Iranian but included several Afghans and some people from African countries, all ages 14 to 40.

 

 

  1. Why do people leave their home countries?

 

In answer to our survey, the most common reason given by Iranians was persecution, mostly political (45%) but some religious (18%) and sexual (2%) too. Most of the Afghans and Africans said they were fleeing war or conflict.

 

Some respondents wanted to give more detail about why they fled: “The Taliban and Daesh were near and rounded people up from my town. They would have taken me for a soldier.” “Iranian police threatened my life. If you criticise the government, they come in the night and your family will never see you again.” “I am a Christian and I cannot practice my religion safely.” “I will be executed if I return home.” All but one person said they could not return to their home country if they wanted to. For more individual comments see appendix one.

 

 

  1. Are they ‘genuine’ refugees?

 

The most common source countries of people in Northern France and Belgium are Afghanistan, Sudan, Eritrean, Iraq and Iran. According to the Global Peace Index, these are literally the most dangerous places in the world[1], so it makes sense that people fleeing from there would be in genuine fear for their lives. “No Safe Place”, the Human Rights Watch

 

 

 

 

 

 

report on Afghanistan in May 2018 describes ongoing insurgent attacks on civilians[2].  Amnesty International’s 2018 report on Sudan condemns “widespread violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.”[3] In Eritrea,

every citizen must serve an indeterminate period of “national service” after turning 18, with many ending up serving for well over a decade. A UN Commission of Inquiry has characterised the system as “enslavement.”[4]

 

A year after the Calais camp was closed a study was carried out covering those whose asylum claims had been processed.  It found that 86% had been granted asylum at that point[5], with that percentage only like to increase with time.  This means that a minimum of 86% of the people formerly living in the Calais ‘Jungle’ camp were officially recognised as refugees following detailed processing and investigation.

 

Our experience – the stories we hear every day – are of journeys that are both incredibly dangerous and horrifying, with thousands drowning crossing the Mediterranean, tales of shocking brutality and abuse on the Balkan route, and of human slave markets and torture in Libya; it only makes sense that these are journeys made by people who have no choice.

 

The best way to tell if someone is ‘genuine’ is to hear their claim – that is all we are asking for.  Not for a blanket entry permit, just for their claims to be fairly heard.

 

 

  1. Why do they want to come to the UK?

 

It is critical to remember that the idea that all refugees try to get to the UK is a common, and false, misconception.  In 2016, 18 times more people claimed asylum in Germany than in the UK.  Sweden and Hungary, which both have much smaller populations than the UK, have taken several times more refugees per head of population than the UK has.  In 2017, France handled over 100,000 asylum applications compared to 25,000 handled by the UK, i.e. four times more, and Italy handled three times more.  When looked at across Europe, the percentage of refugees who aim for the UK is less than 5%.

 

According to our survey, half (48%) of the small number who are trying to reach the UK, have family here and 15% speak English but no other European languages. This is in line with a more detailed survey that Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) undertook in the old Calais ‘Jungle’.   That survey found that half of the refugees then had family ties to the UK[6]. The instinct to be with family at times of crisis is a powerful and universal driver. Quotes we heard in January included “I want to be with my uncle.” “I want to join my brother and to study.” “Maybe in the UK it will be peaceful with no racism, black and white are the same and live together peacefully.”  For more individual quotes please see appendix one.

 

 

  1. What do people most wish for if they get to the UK?

 

The answer that we heard again and again (61%) was: “I just want to be safe”.  After what they have been through, under the conditions they are living in, people in Calais can’t think about anything else. Ali, a quiet Iranian man, said his dream is “being able to have a decent and human life without being scared and humiliated every day”. This is not just a desire to be safe from the horrors they have originally fled; but a desire to live without the constant threat of police violence and humiliation that is so common in Calais. To see more individual quotes please see appendix one.

 

 

 

 

  1. Would they claim UK asylum while in France if that option was available?

 

This could be achieved with a UK processing centre based in Northern France where refugees can register. This would be similar to the approach that has been used at an EU level.

 

Eight in ten (81%) said they would claim UK asylum in France if that option was available. People don’t want to get in boats and risk their lives by crossing the Channel – but they don’t feel they have a choice.  “I would [claim UK asylum from France]”, said one respondent, “because then I wouldn’t have to risk my life and maybe die by crossing the Channel unsafely.”

 

The remaining 19% did not say ‘no’ – they either didn’t answer or did not understand the question.

 

Care4Calais believes that introducing safe and legal routes for people to claim asylum is easily the most effective way to save lives, prevent harm and remove the ability for people smugglers to make money.

 

In 2016 we were told by authorities in the UK and in France that closing the Calais camp would stop people coming – it hasn’t. We have continually been told that the incredibly hostile environment in Calais will deter people from coming. It hasn’t.  People may be dispersed but numbers across the region are still in the thousands. It is clear that so called deterrents are not working - and the human cost of these policies is high.

 

The objective of an asylum centre in Calais would have to be to safeguard people who are genuinely at risk – not to limit migration.  If the highest-level objectives are set correctly, we have the greatest chance of a functional outcome, and a system that people would trust.

 

 

  1. Who are the people who are in Calais?

 

In our survey we asked people what their profession in their home country was. The answers were: 7 students, 5 engineers, 4 school pupils, 3 mechanics, 3 teachers, 3 electricians, and 2 artists, chefs, accountants, salespeople, plus a teacher, technician, car designer, doctor, farmer, driver, architect, soldier, security guard and a lifeguard.

 

 

  1. How are they trying to get to the UK, by boat or lorry?

 

When we asked people this question these are the responses that we got:

 

Answers: 

Lorry

 

Iranians

9

Other

8

Boat

 

Iranians

7

Africans

2

Not answer

22

 

48

 

“Clandestine entries” are by nature difficult to obtain information about – nearly half of the people we asked were not happy to answer.  However, a report by the Migration Advisory Committee released in May 2018 provides estimates for numbers[7]. In 2016-17 these were estimated to be 2,366, and 1,832 in 2017-18.  This is approximately 150 per month.

 

This would suggest that 300 people in the two months to Christmas 2018 is not particularly extraordinary or remarkable – and there must surely be fluctuations over time.

 

It bears repeating that the only reason people are entering the UK clandestinely is that there is no safe and legal route for them to claim asylum here without doing so.

 

  1. The Dublin Regulation

 

The Dublin Regulation establishes which European state has the responsibility to examine an asylum application. It is not concerned with whether an asylum application is ‘genuine’ or not, it is simply concerned with where that claim will be heard.

 

A refugee has no legal obligation to claim asylum in the first safe country, and if they do move on they are neither breaking the law by doing so, nor disqualifying themselves from refugee status[8].  Under the Dublin Regulation the most important factor in deciding in which country someone looking for asylum can claim it is family.

 

In 2016 and 2017 more people were transferred to the UK under this procedure than out of the UK.

 

2017 Eurostat figures:              Implemented transfers                             461[9]

                                          Implemented transfers                             314

 

The majority of transfers out were to Germany or Italy.

 

The Dublin Regulation does not give the UK the ability to send just anyone back to France – only certain people are affected and only after a proper procedure has been followed.

 

 

Conclusion

 

What does all this tell us? First, that the people we see on the news arriving in dinghies have been forced to flee horribly dangerous situations. Second, that they have good reasons to want to come to Britain: family and language, among others. Third, that they don’t want to be making dangerous Channel crossings but don’t feel they have a choice. And finally, that all they want is to live in the UK peacefully, contributing valuable skills, enthusiasm and experience.

 

Britain could do more to help these people – all they want is to have their asylum claims heard, and all Britain needs to do is to introduce a safe and legal way for them to do that. It is clear that deterrents do not work, and the human cost is high. Introducing safe and legal routes for people to claim asylum would be the most effective way to save lives, prevent harm and remove the ability for people smugglers to make money.

 

This could be achieved with a UK processing centre based in Northern France where refugees can register. The objective of such an asylum centre in Calais would have to be to safeguard people who are genuinely at risk – not to limit migration.  If the highest-level objectives are set correctly, we have the greatest chance of a functional outcome, and a system that people would trust.

 

February 2019

 

 

 

 

 

 


Appendix – More detailed quotes from Refugee Survey

 

Q1. Why they had left their home country.

 

 

 

Q1b Could you go back to your home country, if you wanted to?

 

 

 

Q2. Why do you want to come to the UK?

 

 

Q.3 What do respondents most wish for if they get to the UK?

 

 

Q4. Would you claim UK asylum while in France (if that option was available)?

 

 

Q5. Why have you not claimed asylum in France?

 

 

Q6. How are you going to try to get to the UK, by boat or lorry?

 

 

 

 

[1] https://www.businessinsider.com/most-dangerous-countries-in-the-world-global-peace-index-2018-6/international?r=UK&IR=T

[2] https://www.hrw.org/report/2018/05/08/no-safe-place/insurgent-attacks-civilians-afghanistan

[3] https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/africa/sudan/report-sudan/

[4] https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=reports+on+eritrea

[5] https://www.thelocal.fr/20171021/crime-down-but-misery-persists-one-year-since-calais-camp-evacuation

[6] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/calais-crisis-first-ever-quantitative-survey-in-the-jungle-reveals-thousands-of-refugees-still-a7041541.html

[7]https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/755272/ICIBI_An_inspection_of_South_Coast_Ports.pdf

[8] https://www.freemovement.org.uk/are-refugees-obliged-to-claim-asylum-in-the-first-safe-country-they-reach/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=are-refugees-obliged-to-claim-asylum-in-the-first-safe-country-they-reach&fbclid=IwAR0CVwTAOiv5rN2kKCectASNwY4awBV60RPkB9bkATTq0zTL_CUKrIWuhcM

[9] http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?dataset=migr_dubti&lang=en