Calais Update: 17/04/18
Proposed asylum and immigration bill being discussed by French National Assembly | Three people indicted for shootings in November | Current situation in Grande-Synthe | l’Auberge des Migrants organising march from Ventimiglia to Calais | Clearances continue across Calais
As of Monday 16th April, the National Assembly in France are meeting to discuss reforms to asylum and immigration laws. Amongst the issues being debated are the “Crime of Solidarity”, a demand which Emmanuel Macron is in favour of, saying that:
“Ceux qui sauvent des vies sont en situation de faire un geste d’humanité ne doivent pas être condamnés, mais ceux qui aident consciemment ou inconsciemment les passeurs, je ne vais pas les affranchir du délit de solidarité.”
This is disappointing to volunteers in Calais, who are already under enormous pressure from the authorities in our delivery of emergency aid, especially those who have been summoned to the police station for the mere “crime” of distributing tents or wood. Francois Guennoc, of l’Auberge des Migrants, says that he is “very disappointed” at the President’s stance, and continues on to say:
“Mais pour le moment on reste sur la loi de 1946 qui interdit l’aide à l’entrée, à la circulation ou au séjour de personnes en situation irrégulière. Et cette loi peut être interprétée de façon très restrictive ou au contraire très permissive par les juges. Il faut supprimer le délit de solidarité et préciser les dispositions existantes”
The disputed bill also proposes changes to legal detention periods, asylum applications and deportations.
“The bill would shorten the timeframe during which an arrival in France can apply for asylum.
One of the bill’s objectives is to see the legal detention period of those who have been refused asylum prolonged from the current 90 days to 135 days while awaiting deportation.
Another aim is to shorten the time frame in which a migrant can apply for asylum from 120 to 90 days.
Rejected applicants would no longer be able to apply for another residence permit and the appeal period would be reduced to 15 days.
Financial assistance would be offered to those rejected applicants who are willing to return to their home countries voluntarily.” (Al Jazeera)
Associations in Calais and across France accuse the proposed reforms of being inhumane.
We will know more later in the week about the outcome of these debates.
Following a shooting on November 25th, 2017, wherein five Afghan nationals were wounded near the former Secours Catholique centre on Rue St Omer, three suspects were arrested in Lille and Saint-Omer. On Sunday 15th April they appeared in court in Boulogne-sur-Mer. Two Afghan men aged 22 and 26 were imprisoned and indicted for attempted murder, and a French woman was indicted for complicity in attempted murder. Another arrest at the time, Mira Khan Ahmadzai, the suspected driver of an Audi which attempted to run over a group of CRS officers, was sentenced to two years in prison.
A year on from the fires which destroyed the government-run La Liniere camp, men, women and children predominantly of Kurdish origin are sleeping in a gymnasium in Grande-Synthe. There is space for 200 people, although this is constantly changing, with people being encouraged by the authorities to stay in hotels (and therefore losing their right to access the emergency accommodation). This, as well as lack of space, has led to hundreds of people (including families and very young children) sleeping directly outside the gymnasium, as well as in the woods around Puythouck. Whilst the weather has improved in Northern France following a harsh winter, the conditions are still unacceptable for refugees in the area. Numbers are growing and the current accommodation is ill-equipped to deal with this, with no real plan in place for the summer months ahead. Refugee Community Kitchen continues to feed people around Puythouck and in and around the gymnasium each evening.
l’Auberge des Migrants , in association with the Roya Citoyenne, is organising a march that will start on April 30th from Ventimiglia and will arrive in Calais on July 7th! The aim is to advocate for the reception of refugees, against the crime of solidarity and the blocking of the Franco-Italian border and the Franco-British border. “Laissez-les passer ! ” and “Accueillons les !” will be the themes of this 60-step walk. Check out the press release here, and click here for more information on the process, contacts and registration.
And as ever, clearances continue across Calais, at least 5 times a week, causing constant disruption and distress and ultimately achieving nothing.
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Written by Chris Afuakwah
