Migrant News reported that the French authorities will be sending buses to evacuate migrants from the Calais and Dunkirk camps in the north of the country to take them to temporary shelters, a measure taken by the French government as part of quarantine measures to combat the spread of the emerging Coronavirus.
However, migrants, as well as associations that help them, are concerned about this procedure, especially since the government has not provided them with additional details related to this precautionary measure.
The governorate of “Pas de Calais” in the north of France, the societies reported last week about a plan to evacuate the residents of the camps of Calais and Grand Sand to temporary shelters, and it was assumed that the operation started yesterday, Tuesday, with the authorities sending buses to these areas to transport the migrants to continue the operation is for several days “on a voluntary basis”.
Many organizations working to help migrants in those camps confirmed that their conditions are poor and that it is difficult for them to adhere to quarantine procedures, as they suffer from a shortage of drinking water, washing and food, and many organizations have stopped their work in compliance with government orders, and migrants can no longer find places where they can do their errands and charge their phones.
This was confirmed by the “Care for Calais” Organization, an association that provides assistance to refugees in Calais and Dunkirk, adding that the shortage experienced by the camps will be the reason for their agreement to go to the centers, because hunger is what will turn the scales according to the association, and this is why you doubt the voluntarily nature of this procedure, immigrants have no other choice. “Refugees and migrants focus more on survival than on HIV prevention”. The association also pointed out to a lack of information on these temporary residence centers.
According to the associations, the late government announcement and the lack of information are worrisome among the estimated 1.000 migrants, including hundreds of unaccompanied minors, and prompting them to ask several questions such as “Will they ask us about our papers? Will we be sent to detention centers ?”
According to the Guardian, operations will begin to evacuate one hundred people to secure centers, and before they arrive there, a medical examination will be carried out on them to verify their health conditions and upon their arrival at the temporary centers, the quarantine procedures applied to all of France will apply to them.
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