I have had a lot of friends and family asking what the situation is here. It’s difficult to explain really, and I would like to write about it when I get more time. Our work here in camp is rarely less than 12 hours a day, so it might not be for a bit. But I am attaching a video I found interesting that might explain it a little. This was several months ago, and the number of people in camp has increased dramatically since this news footage was put together. I was shocked at the scenes showing the overpass where the lorries are at the 8:33 minute mark because now there are only tents beside the road there. There is no ground visible. In fact, pretty much any parts in the video where you see grass it has now been covered by tents. It is like a small town, separated into little community villages— the Sudanese, the Syrians, Afghanistani/Pakistani, Kuwaitis and Iraqis, the Ethiopians/Eritreans and the other people who arrive find their place. The estimated number of people living in the jungle is 3500-4000 now. We had about 5 new families arrive in one day a couple days ago, but it seems that every day at least one new person or family arrives. There are also several other smaller camps that have popped up outside the city and in the city centre.
The school depicted in the video is up and running. Many people spend the entire day there taking French or English classes. The Sudanese man who built it is trying to get the resources to expand it. The “one meal a day” referred to in the film is provided by the French government and people begin to queue 2-3 hours before dinner because there is never enough food for everyone who wants it. The police fences are all up so most who are trying to cross walk 2-6 hours (depending on how they plan to go), some make this journey every night that they are able.
Probably the most difficult thing about being here is trying to understand how this absolute fight for basic survival and pursuance of human rights is being met with such hostility around many parts of Europe (as it is in the US). It’s literally unfathomable to me.
A friend of mine in the camp who was forced to flee Syria in his university years took his chance at crossing two nights ago in a truck, and he was caught. He was lucky, because he was just sent straight back to camp. It was his 21st attempt in 1 month and 8 days since his arrival. Another friend of mine from Kosovo is waiting to cross until his leg heals— on his last attempt he fell off a fence and broke his leg in 4 places. He says he feels that god was on his side because the hospital here in Calais has dozens of indefinite patients that have been electrocuted on train tracks after falling off of the trains they were clinging to headed for England. A Sudanese friend is currently in jail after trying to cross into the UK and will now have to seek asylum in France, where he knows nobody and doesn’t speak the language. It only makes you question the desperation and danger of people’s lives back in their native countries that they’re willing to go through such hell to pursue the hope of a better life.
I wish I could say to each of these adversaries I see commenting on the news or spreading their venomous philosophies on Facebook, “please come here. Meet these people that you’re so against. Meet these people that you’re afraid of. They’re lawyers. Doctors. Engineers. Orphans. They are teachers. Environmental activists. University students. Musicians. Artists. Football lovers. Nurses. Children. Business men. They are your neighbors. What exactly are you so afraid of, because the most intimidating thing about 99% of the people I’ve met here is their resilience and seemingly unbreakable spirits."
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