The forgotten ones…

Early evening, a grey drizzle. In the orange black glow of the park, we meet two Eritrean boys, Hami and Abdi, both aged 16. Unlike many of the Eritrean boys we meet, they speak very little English. Unsurprisingly, they are guarded. Why should they trust random strangers in a Calais park. Gradually we piece together the bare bones of a story. They were in the Jungle; when the camp was pulled down, they were placed in a CAO in Marseilles. Both of them held on to a hope that, as sixteen year olds and officially “children”, they would be accepted for asylum in the UK. When the Home Office capped the intake of children at 750 and said no more, they left the CAO and made their way to Calais where we meet them. Their goal remains to get to the UK.

Read the full story about the Calais child refugees on the Guardian website.