Focus on Security and Policing in Calais Threatens to Impede Measures to Improve Humanitarian Conditions
Despite the destruction of the Calais ‘Jungle’ camp in October 2016, asylum seekers have continued to arrive in Calais, most with the hope of crossing the English Channel to claim asylum in the UK. Unfortunately, since the destruction of the camp, the crisis in Calais has received far less attention in international news media, and more importantly, there is even less understanding of the current situation on the ground in the French port city.
This lack of understanding was evident as French President Macron and UK Prime Minister May announced new deals regarding Franco-British relations, the primary focus of which was improving security in a number of different areas. Even with regard to areas unrelated to the refugee crisis, the overall focus on securitization serves only to foster distrust of both governments on the part of both asylum seekers themselves and associations working with them on the ground in Calais.
The focus that the UK and France have placed on security and increasing police presence will also have an effect on the French population of Calais, leaving them to live in what is becoming an increasingly militarized city. As it stands, the focus on securitization while failing to outline measures likely to relieve some of the pressure created by asylum seekers in Calais is not only bad for refugee communities, but also for residents of Calais. Under current policy, residents are likely to experience increased police presence and continuing tension between the refugee community and the authorities.
In the current climate, militarization and the lack of trust it fosters seem likely to make the humanitarian aspects of the new ‘Sandhurst Treaty’ difficult to implement. If the French and UK governments are serious about addressing the current crisis in the French port city, they must reconsider the emphasis on increasing security and instead focus on means through which they can build trust between the government, the refugee population, and aid agencies on the ground to implement applicable measures set forth in the new agreement.
Among asylum seekers currently in Calais, there is a deep seated mistrust for the French authorities. This derives from a multitude of sources, including experiences in their home countries where governments cannot be trusted, and in some cases where the government constitutes a direct threat to asylum seekers. The distrust of government institutions that already exists in the refugee community is only augmented by the manner in which asylum seekers are treated by certain groups of French police operating in the area. Asylum seekers regularly report that police officers destroy their property in the middle of the night, spray them with tear gas, and in numerous cases physically assault them with batons. These claims are supported by anonymous testimony from police officers. Those living in Calais also fear deportation to their home countries or other European countries, where they may be in danger or have experienced traumatic events. Access to information from the government concerning the asylum process is little to nonexistent in Calais, and this lack of information also serves to feed mistrust for French authorities.
The focus on securitization following the Franco-British summit is unlikely to improve the standing of French government institutions in the minds of asylum seekers. Rather, it will have the opposite effect of deepening the mistrust of French authorities among refugee communities in Calais. Even if the French government fulfills its promises to open accommodation centres for people currently sleeping rough in the area, skepticism on the part of asylum seekers may mean that people choose to avoid the centres. They are likely to continue sleeping rough while trying to cross over to the UK illegally, as they have been doing for almost two decades now.
Increasing access to the French asylum system for those currently in the Calais area is an important stated goal of the new treaty. However, in order to implement relevant provisions of the agreement require that asylum seekers be willing and able to engage with French authorities, which again requires a certain level of trust. If no measures are taken to build at least some trust in the refugee community, asylum seekers are far less likely to make use of new facilities, procedures, or systems set up by the French government.
It is also safe to presume that increased security in the area will not deter or prevent new people from coming to Calais to attempt the crossing to the UK. Calais has been a popular destination for asylum seekers for over two decades. Even if increased security measures make it more difficult for them to successfully cross the channel from Calais, the city is still a hub for refugee communities from a variety of countries that provide both support and information — even if it is misinformation — to those trying to reach the UK. These networks provide asylum seekers with information regarding other ways to cross the channel, in addition to much needed companionship and support in the dire situation that many find themselves in.
Increased securitization may actually impede efforts outlined in the agreement regarding efforts to combat smuggling and human trafficking. Information regarding these issues and the individuals involved in this type of criminal activity will likely be difficult for authorities to obtain if they do not have contact with asylum seekers or the associations that work with them.
Many of the people involved in these activities come from refugee communities, and obtaining information about them would likely require the French authorities to find people within these communities or the associations working with them to provide information to the government. Again, this requires trust that does not currently exist. Moreover, without legal means to reach the UK, it is highly implausible that asylum seekers would be willing to inform authorities about the presence of individuals who claim to represent the possibility of reaching the UK via the smuggling routes that they have established.
All of this is not to say that the situation is hopeless; in fact, far from it. If the French government were to implement certain measures, improving the situation on the ground in Calais is possible. There have been heartening success stories over the years, such as when a group of over 120 asylum seekers were given the opportunity to stay in France as refugees and attend the University of Lille. It is not outside the realm of possibility to see more things like this happening, if the authorities take appropriate and much needed measures to assist refugees and build trust among them.
In order to build trust, one of the first things that should happen is a large-scale and immediate change in police procedure. As long as the police continue in the vein of acting aggressively toward asylum seekers in the area, those in Calais are highly unlikely to place any trust in new efforts by the French government to provide them with accommodation and access to the French asylum system.
An effort to engage with aid associations on the ground in a positive manner could also better the ability of authorities to assist asylum seekers in Calais. Volunteers with a variety of aid organizations have spent a great deal of time building trust with the refugee community. Increased collaboration with these organizations could result in initiatives to encourage asylum seekers to utilize systems put in place by the French government, if aid associations trusted the authorities to respect the rights of asylum seekers and to help them obtain protection instead of simply sending them home or to other European countries. Additionally, bringing in third parties such as attorneys to assist asylum seekers could make a big difference. If asylum seekers had lawyers that felt they could trust to help them navigate the system, they would be far more likely to engage with it.
Ultimately, the consistent focus on securitization by both the French and UK governments is unlikely to relieve the pressure created by the refugee crisis in Calais, and will make it more difficult to implement those parts of the Sandhurst Treaty that focus on humanitarian goals. The deep mistrust of French government institutions and authorities that currently exists in the minds of asylum seekers will make it difficult to provide better access to the French asylum system, to improve efforts to better conditions for them, and to combat the organized crime and trafficking networks that they often fall victim to.
If the focus on security and policing continues, it will only serve to further the deep distrust for French authorities that already exists. However, if the government takes an alternative approach to the crisis, and designs new initiatives with the aim of building trust among asylum seekers and the aid organizations that assist them, the new agreement does have the potential to improve the situation on the ground in Calais.
The French government has taken a militarized approached to addressing the presence of asylum seekers in the Nord-Pas de Calais area for nearly two decades, and it has done very little to alleviate the problem, as evidenced by the current humanitarian situation in Calais. A more humanised approach does not guarantee that there will no longer be a crisis in Calais. Nonetheless, it is far more likely to improve the human rights situation in the area than a continuation of the failed securitization and militarization focused policies of the last twenty years.
Author: Sarah Marich
