The Children of the Calais Concentration Camp

The Children of the Calais Concentration Camp

Tonight when you go to sleep with your duvet wrapped around you in your comfortable warm bed, please spare a thought and, say a prayer, for the Children of the Calais Concentration Camp.

The orphans, or ‘unaccompanied children’ (as they are ‘classified’ on the registration forms by the French Government) do not know where they will sleep, when or indeed what they will next eat and they do not know what will feature in their tomorrow.

But, what they do know and share is that they will remain very afraid, homeless, uncared for, unloved without their families: the families they have belonged to and now long for, and cry for just to be part of again, but they know they never will.

To date there are no official records which document the individuals who have stayed or still stay in/around the camp because there has never been a commissioned registration taken. Consequently, charities and aid organisations, the French Government, the British Government, and of course not forgetting the European Union, do not really know how many orphans have been resident within the Calais Jungle.  Collectively, they are in effect a ‘category’ of unknown lost souls.

Carolyn Miles, president of Save the Children said: “We are deeply concerned for the fate of hundreds of children who remain and who do not know where they will sleep tonight.”

The dangers for the Camp’s children exist at every turn, and, although an outsider may expect conditions to be safer now in the camp with the presence of aid workers and government officials, sadly this is far from a reality. In fact, if anything, the demolition of the Camp has arguably placed more danger in their path. This danger comes in many forms, but none more so than the risk of the smuggler gangs and traffickers, who wait in prey for an opportunity to take advantage of a bad situation, and we all know what happens next.   

Kevin Watkins, the chief executive of Save the Children, expressed his concerns:

“We are deeply concerned that children are being directed to stay in an area in the camp called Le CAP, which children’s agencies do not have access to and which may expose them to violence or abuse. There is no way the demolition can start until all children [have] been properly identified and provided for. To do otherwise would be unconscionable.”

Sadly, a quick and effective rescue is not on the horizon.  Registration and processing is a far bigger challenge than the authorities had originally expected. Further, once the processing is complete the children still remain uncertain of their destination. Some are to stay in shipping containers while their claims to enter the UK are processed. Others will be moved to alternative facilities – destination unknown. For the children earmarked for the UK and who regard themselves as the ‘lucky ones’, the small glimmer of hope in their eyes that this news brings will no doubt soon fade, just as all their other dreams disintegrate around them.  For the UK bound children their welcome party, in truth, simply does not exist because of the UK Government’s forward planning failures.

Alarmingly, reports reveal that the small number of child refugees the UK has received to date are currently placed in a failed former detention centre. This meager attempt at providing  ‘adequate housing’ by the UK government is a result of the Home Office’s refusal to enact a resettlement strategy to fully provide for the Calais children. Leaked emails sent from Home Office officials last week exposed internal concerns over the incomplete protocols for the arrival of the Calais Children. This, in addition to the failure by Home Secretary Amber Rudd in introducing the Dubs amendment in Calais, (Dubs amendment: created as a mechanism to grant sanctuary to vulnerable unaccompanied children,) which is now being challenged by Help Refugees (an aid organisation), and fast-tracked in the High Court over the failure for it to be implemented.

All in all, except for having a ‘structured’ roof over their heads and a meal provided by aid organisations, the hopes and dreams of the children could fade into the UK horizon. When the media buzz moves on and when the distribution is complete, the Calais Children will not be thought of again by most, not to mention those among us who will remain forever convinced that these children should not be in the country at all. However, it should be borne in mind that the pain in these youngsters hearts will be there forever, along with the horrors they have been exposed to and their internal damage will, tragically, never heal.