Refugees Deeply | 25.10.2017
On the anniversary of the demolition of the Calais Jungle camp, Behzad Yaghmaian reflects on the stories of the migrants who continue to flock to the area and who are taking riskier and more expensive journeys across the English Channel to the U.K.
Behzad Yaghmaian
On a midsummer night, three young Iranians pushed a small boat out to sea on the French coast a few miles from Calais. It was midnight and there were no guards around to stop them.
Using a small inflatable dinghy and two oars they had bought for 600 euros ($705), the men started a journey into the rough waters of the English Channel on July 18. They were attempting the unimaginable. There is a reason Calais is not known for migrants risking their lives by boat. The waterway is too rough to cross without a motorboat – which is hard to get in France, even for well-connected smugglers.
One of the trio, Saman, a slim 28-year-old university graduate, did not know how to swim. To be on the safe side, the others had bought him what they described as a “cheap Chinese life jacket.” Saman made a quick call to his elderly mother in Iran. “I will call you soon from England,” he told her, before joining the other two men on the boat. They began rowing.