Sangatte: Burden-sharing agreement swings into action
Briefing Notes, 6 December 2002
This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Kris Janowski – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at the press briefing, on 6 December 2002, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
Since yesterday morning, three buses carrying a total of 119 people set off from Sangatte to the UK, in accordance with the burden-sharing agreement between the governments of France and the UK announced on Monday. One bus left yesterday and another two this morning.
Those moved so far have been mostly Iraqis, along with some Afghans with close relatives already living in the UK.
Most of them were single men, apart from three Afghan families yesterday, and one mother and a young child and a 65-year-old woman with her grown-up son who left this morning. The main transfer of eligible families in the centre will start on Saturday, after appropriate accommodation was found for them in the UK
There were 1,641 people with valid badges in the Sangatte centre before the first transfers took place, including 108 people whose badges had technically lapsed, but were allowed back into Sangatte earlier in the week, after the 24-hour deadline for them to return was extended.
The seven UNHCR teams working in Sangatte have now conducted more than 1,000 in-depth individual interviews. As well as assisting in identifying those being transferred to the UK, the UNHCR teams are also preparing the lists of those who will remain in France. The first transfer from this group to accommodation elsewhere in France is also scheduled to take place later today.
Braving the cold in Calais
Many boys and young men from places like Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Somalia and the Sudan end up in the northern French port of Calais after a long and dangerous journey. Some have fled their countries to escape persecution, conflict or forced recruitment, others are looking for a better life. Calais has become a transit point where people smugglers have established networks to take these men to other European countries. Their makeshift encampments are regularly cleared by the French police, and they sleep most nights out in the open. They live in fear of being arrested or deported. UNHCR's office in Calais seeks to provide the young men arriving in the city with information about their options and the asylum system in France.
Braving the cold in Calais
From the corners of the globe, the displaced converge in northern France
Hundreds of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees have created a number of makeshift camps in northern France. Drawn from a diverse range of countries, the men are hoping that from France they will be able to enter the United Kingdom.
Locals call it, "The Jungle" - a squalid warren of shanties made out of cardboard, plywood and bits of plastic that has mushroomed among the sand dunes and brambles outside Calais. Hundreds of migrants and asylum seekers from such faraway places as Afghanistan, Somalia and Vietnam have traveled for months and over rough terrain to camp out and eventually cross the 34-kilometre stretch of sea that separates Calais from England's White Cliffs of Dover.
Some have family in the UK or have heard that it is easy to get a good job there. Others have been forced to flee their countries because of political, religious or ethnic persecution, and may be entitled to refugee status.
Since early June, the UN refugee agency and its local partner, France Terre d'Asile, have been present in Calais, informing and counselling hundreds of people about asylum systems and procedures in France and the UK.
From the corners of the globe, the displaced converge in northern France
Chad Mission Photo Gallery
Chad Mission Photo Gallery
Out in the Cold in Calais
Despite the sub-zero temperatures, migrants and asylum-seekers continue to flock to the northern French port of Calais in a bid to reach the United Kingdom across the English Channel. Some are from conflict zones and UNHCR wants to make sure they have access to asylum procedures.
"Experience Darfur"
Londoners are given the chance to see the world through the eyes of refugees. CNN's Sasha Herriman reports.
"Experience Darfur" in Trafalgar Square
On June 17, an exhibit dubbed "Experience Darfur," opened on Trafalgar Square, in London. The square was turned into a mock refugee camp for a day to highlight the plight of hundreds of thousands of people displaced by conflict in Sudan's Darfur region.
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