The Mail | 29.10.2017
Police brutality towards refugees and migrants in Calais has intensified since the closure of the Jungle camp, trapping them in an „untenable and violent“ situation, a new report said.
Researchers at the Refugee Rights Data Project (RRDP) said they found evidence of „excessive“ and sometimes „life-threatening“ use of police force, with children being targeted with tear gas and people’s teeth and limbs being broken.
It is thought between 700 and 800 refugees and migrants are gathered in France’s northern port town, which continues to act as a magnet to those hoping to start a new life in the UK.
A year on from the closure of the sprawling Jungle camp, the RRDP deployed seven researchers to Calais who interviewed 223 people, including 94 children, in their native languages.
More than nine in 10 respondents reported experiencing police violence – a higher percentage than reported when the Calais camp was operational
Similarly, high numbers said they did not feel safe in Calais, while 84.3% of respondents had been woken up by police while sleeping and forced to leave their sleeping spot and more than 70% said tear gas was used against them regularly.
The report said police treatment included the use of tear gas, batons and police dogs, while respondents recalled being punched in the face, suffering broken limbs and problems with their eyesight.
Frequent night raids where groups sleeping rough were made to move elsewhere „appears to amount to intentional sleep deprivation“, RRDP said.
A 16-year-old boy from Afghanistan said a typical night involved police spraying tear gas in his face, taking his blanket and sometimes shoes, and beating him with sticks until he fled.
Others, including a 17-year-old Eritrean girl, reported being picked up by authorities and dropped off in remote locations hours away .
There were also occasions of citizen abuse, with monkey chants shouted at Eritreans, glass bottles thrown from moving vehicles, and even attempts to run refugees over.
One young Eritrean told researchers a car tried to knock him over as he walked along the roadside. He was captured on another occasion by some French drivers who forced him into their van and delivered him to the police.
The RDDP said the picture painted overall by the report, Twelve Months On, to be published on Monday, was harrowing.
Hundreds of children were particularly vulnerable and there was also a „striking absence of information and support structures“ for those displaced in the area.
The charity believes the lack of guidance over the viability of legal routes will force many to risk their lives trying to cross the Channel and reach UK shores.
It is urging French authorities to „provide more humane standards on French soil“ and wants Britain to decisively act to protect any children eligible to come to the country under the Dubs scheme for unaccompanied minors or through family reunification.