The French government finally decided on October 24 to close the refugee camp near Calais, which had been nicknamed “the Jungle” because of the chaotic conditions that prevailed there. A New York Times report carried by the Boston Globe stated that long lines of migrants stretched for a mile along the roads and lanes leading out of the camp to a large hangar, where they would be processed. From there, they will be bussed to dozens of reception centers scattered all over France. Each migrant is required to choose between two regions, except for the island of Corsica and the Île-de-France region, which includes Paris.
The Times report noted that 60 buses, each carrying 50 migrants, were scheduled to depart the camp on October 24; 45 on the 25th; and 40 on the 26th. The demolition of the camp is scheduled to begin on October 25.
A report in USA Today said that more than 1,000 French police were on hand to keep the peace, and few problems were reported.
“We knew this morning that there would be a lot of people, and that’s what’s happening,” regional Prefect Fabienne Buccio told Reuters news service. “There was no pushing…. We had a particular concern for the minors, paid them particular attention, but it went well.”
Most of the people living in the camp — which is located very close to the French end of the English Channel tunnel — had hoped to cross through the tunnel to Britain, which had a relatively strong economy and job opportunities. The USA Today report noted that thousands of them have attempted to stow away on trucks headed for the Eurotunnel or hide on Eurotunnel trains. However, few were successful in doing so, because the tunnel operators had put stringent security measures into place.
The risk posed by migrants attempting to cross the channel into Britain by means of the tunnel is a primary reason why the French government is shuttling most of the migrants to other areas of France.
Britain’s Telegraph reported that on the night before the camp closure and evacuations began, riot police came under attack from migrants protesting the camp’s closure. The protestors hurled rocks and lit fires.
The Telegraph noted that French police have also warned that a group of British anarchists were attempting to disrupt the camp closure operation and quoted a police spokesman for the Calais region, who said, “Considering activists from hard-Left group No Borders have arrived in the Calais area and have set up home in squats, there is a high risk the activists have penetrated the camp with a view to influencing the migrants as they did in March.”
As we observed in our article on August 10, French authorities decided on February 25 to evict refugees on the southern part of the camp and followed up on July 18 by raiding two dozen establishments providing food for the residents of the camp. The decision to close down “the Jungle” was made because French authorities believed that its presence represented a threat to public safety and security.
We noted in a follow-up article on August 17 that migrants from the refugee camp near Calais had been attacking vehicles passing by on nearby roads, smashing windows, and posing dangerous threats to drivers.
While violence waged against local residents outside the camp was a fairly recent occurrence, we noted in that article that even more violent episodes had taken place inside the Jungle.
Breitbart provided a translation of a report from the local French newspaper Nord Littoral, which interviewed an Eritrean migrant named Sami who had been living in camp for six months. According to Sami, “There are people who come from different countries who do not speak the same language. That creates tensions, particularly in the queues for food. I have seen conflicts start there; you’re more likely to get a meal if you’re big and strong.”
And Britain’s Daily Mail reported on July 26 that an Ethiopian man had been hacked to death in the camp the preceding night “when 200 UK-bound refugees from rival African and Afghan gangs clashed in a vicious battle.” We observed that it appeared that the camp’s nickname was well deserved.
The relocation of the migrants from the Calais camp is but one part of the much larger refugee crisis that has affected all of Europe since the onset of the Syrian Civil War in 2011 that devastated much of that country, causing millions of Syrians and other exiles from the region to seek asylum in other countries. Often ignored by those considering the plight of Europeans faced with accommodating the waves of refugees arriving on their shores are the root causes of the crisis. The destabilization of the region that includes both Syria and Iraq began with the U.S. invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein from power in 2003. This invasion contributed to the destabilization of Iraq in two ways. First, it removed the stable government in Iraq, a government that, while authoritarian, did allow basic human rights and freedom of religion to practitioners of all faiths, including Christians. Secondly, the invasion angered many Muslim in the region, and created a “blowback” effect that fueled the growth of radical Islamic groups. Al-Qaeda became a threat again, and found a foothold in Iraq. Even worse, al-Qaeda in Iraq grew into ISIS and took huge parts of Syria and Iraq.
As the civil war in Syria heated up and a coalition of various rebel groups joined forces to topple strongman Bashar al-Assad, ISIS and al-Qaeda joined the rebels. When the United States sent aid to the rebels, some of this aid also fell into the hands of ISIS.
As control of Syria shifted back and forth between government troops and the rebels and much of the nation was destroyed, millions of displaced person fled the region and became the army of refugees who have arrived in Europe.
In an article that was reprinted by The New American in September of 2015, former Representative Ron Paul (R-Texas) talked about the real reason behind the refugee crisis. He wrote:
The reason so many are fleeing places like Syria, Libya, Afghanistan, and Iraq is that US and European interventionist foreign policy has left these countries destabilized with no hopes of economic recovery. This mass migration from the Middle East and beyond is a direct result of the neocon foreign policy of regime change, invasion, and pushing “democracy” at the barrel of a gun.
Even when they successfully change the regime, as in Iraq, what is left behind is an almost uninhabitable country….
The Europeans share a good deal of blame as well. France and the UK were enthusiastic supporters of the attack on Libya and they were early backers of the “Assad must go” policy. Assad may not be a nice guy, but the forces that have been unleashed to overthrow him seem to be much worse and far more dangerous. No wonder people are so desperate to leave Syria.
Paul’s solution to the refugee problem? “Stop meddling in the affairs of other countries. Embrace the prosperity that comes with a peaceful foreign policy, not the poverty that goes with running an empire. End the Empire!”
Photo of French police helping to clear “The Jungle”: AP Images
Related articles:
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Refugee Crisis Has Europe on the Brink
Refugee Crisis: Using Chaos to Build Power
Refugee Crisis Has Europe on the Brink, Establishment Admits
