Care4Calais response: Body of refugee washes up in Calais

It’s desperately sad to hear that another refugee has lost his life trying to cross the English Channel. We can only imagine the pain his friends and family must be feeling now and our hearts go out to them. The refugees in Calais form close-knit, supportive communities and this death will hit them all hard.

Tragedies like this remind us of the incredible risk some people take getting into an unseaworthy craft in cold weather and trying desperately to make it across a busy and dangerous stretch of water. Refugees take this risk because they are frightened, fleeing appalling horrors in some of the most dangerous places on earth. They do it because of the grim and unsanitary conditions in Calais, where they are constantly harassed and abused by the authorities. They do it because there is no safe and legal way to have their UK asylum claim heard.

These tragedies are not inevitable. Better policy from our Government could create a safe and legal process that would give refugees an alternative to risking a Channel crossing, and save lives.

Read the news report by clicking here.