Emergency Clearances Appeal: Calais and Dunkirk Evictions
In the next few days the French authorities will be closing the gym in Dunkirk where approximately 600 people, including many families, have been living for the last eight months. People will be put on buses for reception centres around France but, as with every similar event before, they will shortly return to sleep rough in the surrounding area. This gym was not designed to provide sleeping for 200 people inside and 400 outside, or toilets and showers for 600 people in total. But it’s still a lot better than the alternative of just sleeping rough. We have also been …
Miguel Roldàn’s Incredible Speech
Last week our founder Clare Moseley spoke alongside Miguel Roldàn, a Spanish firefighter facing 20 years in prison for saving lives in the Mediterranean Sea, at the Fire Brigades Union annual conference. We would like to share with you the inspiring and moving speech that he made. My name is Miguel Roldàn and I am a firefighter from Sevilla. In the year 2017 I was on a cooperation project in the central Mediterranean, so I am under investigation for human trafficking. Our actions were carried out under the supervision of the MRCC (Rome control and coordination centre), so any …
Lord Dubs’ Visit To Calais
Last week, we were delighted to welcome Lord Alf Dubs to Calais and take him to meet some of our friends living in the area. The Labour peer came to the UK as a child refugee in 1939 and has spent his political career campaigning against injustice. Lord Dubs has never given up on the many young people in northern France who have been abandoned by our government and he is continuing to fight for them today. “These are the forgotten children on Britain’s doorstep,” he says. “We’ve abandoned them. I’m so angry about it.” We have the greatest respect …
Unfair Treatment of Refugees Intensifies Hostile Environment
It appears that Theresa May’s ‘hostile environment’ – a notion coined way back in 2012 as a means of curbing illegal migration – is still insidiously present in Britain’s society, as new evidence has surfaced that draws attention to the unfair treatment of genuine asylum seekers. With the process of asylum applications already fraught with challenge, it has been further revealed that the Home Office has been tracking the whereabouts of confirmed asylum seekers via the debit cards that they are issued. Mistrust of successful applicants and refusal of jobs Currently, those claiming asylum in the UK are entitled to …
