Calais Jungle needs to have UK consulate, suggests priest
A priest who recently visited the migrant encampment in France known as the Calais Jungle has called for England to set up a consulate in the area to help speed up the process for those who have legitimate claims for asylum in the United Kingdom.
"Nothing is straightforward, but there is one definite thing the UK Government could do: put a consulate in Calais," wrote Fr. Dominic Howarth of Basildon, Essex, in his reflection on his visit. "This would mean that the (at least) hundreds who have genuine asylum claims in the UK, with family here, would not first face a perilous and illegal journey across the Channel. It would be a statement of true justice, and integrity. Surely it is better than spending money on any more fences?"
The camp has been home to many asylum-seekers and refugees wanting to seek entry into the U.K. Early this year, the southern area of the camp was demolished and many people were evicted, but according to a volunteer, thousands are still living in the area. About 1,500 of these people are living in government-provided container housing units, while others live in tents.
"People think Calais is finished, gone," the volunteer said, as quoted in Howard's article. "They did such a good job of showing the world when so much of it was bulldozed. But 4,500 still live here. And the other 2,000 have not gone far – some to Belgium, some further along the coast."
Howarth found it hard looking at the bulldozed area, and the place, to him, is "soul-less and soul destroying." The government, it seems to the priest, sees the refugees "only as a security risk and no longer as people, as sisters and brothers who have fled war and horror."
Inspired by Seeking Sanctuary, Howarth's church in Basildon works with Secours Catholique, Auberges des Migrants, and Care4Calais to help the migrants in Calais.
