A Brief History of "the Jungle" in Calais
The '90s and 00s
There have been people on the move living in and around the French city of Calais since the early 1990s, prompting the Red Cross to open the first official welcome centre in the neighbouring town of Sangatte in 1999 (Alcalde and Portos 2018). This centre was used to provide support to any displaced persons who were passing through the city.
(The terms ‘people on the move’, ‘forced migrants’, and ‘displaced persons’ are used interchangeably throughout this blog to refer to persons who were forced to leave their homes and are now trying to seek asylum and safety elsewhere.)
The closing of the centre resulted in the settlement that would become known as “the Jungle”. It developed out of discarded tents and wooden pallets, anything that could be used to construct a make-shift shelter. It was then completely evacuated under the orders of President Nicolas Sarkozy in 2009.
President Sarkozy stated that he wanted to improve the sanitary conditions for displaced persons as well as prevent human traffickers from continuing their work. Nevertheless, no action was ever taken to provide more hygienic conditions for forced migrants.
The port of Calais, for many people on the move it represents the gateway to the UK and the chance for a better life. August 2022
2010 - 2016
In the years following the closure of the centre and the original Jungle, there continued to be displaced persons arriving in Calais, with Europe seeing a noticeable increase in the number of people entering for the purpose of seeking asylum. A second Jungle was established by refugees and asylum seekers, and by the end of 2015, it was estimated that around 4,500 people were living in Calais. It became a village in its own way, with communities setting up small shops, restaurants and even barbers, as well as NGOs being able to provide targeted support in a specific area.
In March 2016, the southern half of the camp was destroyed by the French authorities. NGOs tried to take legal action to prevent this but were unsuccessful. In a report from Refugee Youth Service, it was estimated that because of the demolition, 130 minors were recorded missing by NGOs (Regan 2017).
The shared warehouse which multiple NGOs use as a base to support their work helping refugees and asylum seekers. August 2022.
The End of the second Jungle
It is hard to know how many forced migrants lived in the Calais Jungle at any time as there was no official tracking method; some people would spend only hours there, others months. Nevertheless, it has been estimated that the Jungle population reached an all time high in September 2016 with approximately 10,000 residents.
It was then in September 2016 that French President at the time François Hollande announced that the entire Jungle was to be demolished and all displaced persons to be moved from Calais. Those living there were presented two options by the French authorities: either they claimed asylum in France and were sent to an asylum centre, or they were deported back to their country of origin.
The reality for many was that they ran away and went into hiding.
In October 2016, the area known as the Calais Jungle was destroyed by fires and bulldozers. But once again, as was the case previously, this did not deter forced migrants.
There are many factors which make Calais attractive for refugees and people on the move. Its position as a major port with multiple ferry crossings between France and the UK everyday, as well as the French entrance to the EuroTunnel, are the most obvious. Many people arrive in Calais with the wish to claim asylum in the UK because they already speak English or because they have family there.
Ultimately though, the reason that a person is in the city does not matter, it should not affect their ability to have access to food, water, shelter, and community.
An informal camp established under the cover of a treeline. Conditions like these are the most common living arrangements for people in Calais. July 2022.
The aftermath and on to the present day
For a few weeks after the complete destruction of the Jungle, there were very few forced migrants in Calais; gradually however, their numbers increased once again, although never again nearing the top estimate of 10,000 people.
With the loss of the Jungle however, there was a loss of community, a loss of a support network. The Jungle itself had become a community space where people could easily access aid and food and be supported by NGOs. Afterwards, all action became more covert.
At the end of 2022, the NGOs still working in and around Calais suffered a major blow as Choose Love, a large charity providing significant financial support to organisations on the ground, withdrew the vast majority of their funding from the region. This left many organisations relying on private donors and general public fundraising.
Today, the situation in Calais is ever-changing.
The zero points of fixation policy was brought in to prevent another Jungle from ever forming; in reality, this policy leads to daily evictions and creates extremely harsh conditions for people on the move as well as complicating the jobs of the NGOs in the region. The number of people on the move rises and falls, depending on many factors.
There are still multiple organisations working on the ground to provide necessary support while the French government consistently fails to meet the basic needs of displaced persons. What is abundantly clear is that when the French or British governments take action in Calais to “increase safety” or “improve conditions”, they’re not referring to these in relation to forced migrants.
With near-daily evictions and scarce resources, those in the city today face a harsh reality.
A community of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants make a settlement on some disused land. August 2022.
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References
Alcalde, J. and Portos, M. (2018) Scale Shift and Transnationalisation Within Refugees’ Solidarity Activism. From Calais to the European Level. In: D. della Porta, eds. Solidarity Mobilizations in the 'Refugee Crisis'. Palgrave Macmillan: London, pp.243-270.
Ibrahim, Y. (2020) The child refugee in Calais: from invisibility to the 'suspect' figure. Journal of International Humanitarian Action, 5 (19), N.P.
Regan, A. (2017) Somebody's Child: Resilience Against the Odds in the Calais 'jungle'. Refugee Youth Service. Available in print only.