The “Jungle” of Calais : nearly 1,300 unaccompanied minors – The Point

According to the director general of France Terre d’asile, Pierre Henry, nearly 1,300 unaccompanied minors living in the Calais “jungle” and “about 500″ of these young migrants claim to have family in Great Britain, it was learnt on Wednesday.

A census conducted Monday and Tuesday on the camp of migrants has allowed us to identify “1 290 unaccompanied minors on the basis of their declarations,” said Pierre Henry, according to which 95 % of them say they want to go to the uk “. According to the counts, between 7 000 and 10 000 migrants living in this camp promised to be a dismantling next.

READ ALSO. How the State prepares the dismantling of the jungle

Less than 5 700 migrants in the jungle

figures which differ with those of the authorities. According to a press release of the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais, published on Wednesday, less than 5 700 migrants now live in the “jungle” of Calais, a significant decline compared to the record month of August (6 901 migrants), while the profile for the dismantling of the shantytown. “A counting accurate, comprehensive,” and “visual” completed Tuesday, gives the number of 5 684 migrants, says a press release of the prefecture. This census ” was conducted by 360 public officials of the border police (PAF), divided into 6 groups, in a limited period of time of three hours (from 8 hours to 11 hours) for the avoidance of double accounts related to movement of people “, explains the prefecture, which stated that it ” has been placed under the supervision of 4 sub-prefects “. Another ” counting declarative “, based on the sayings of people living in the camp, “door 6 486 the number of migrants on the Moor,” says this press release. It allows to take into account those ” not being physically present at the time of the count “.

This double census was for the purpose of “promote the sharing of the diagnosis with all stakeholders and partners committed to Calais,” according to the prefecture. The official figures and those of the associations have, in fact, almost always diverged sharply. Both methods confirm that the decrease in the number of people present in Calais that services of the State, associations and observers had reported in recent weeks, ” notes the prefecture. Two associations working in the camp of the Moor, its official name, had said in September it had documented 10 000 migrants. Since then, several NGOS, based on the number of daily meals distributed, have recognized that the number of migrants who have settled in the “jungle” had decreased. “We are up to 4 000 meals per day compared to 5 000, 15 days ago,” had said a week ago, Christian Salomé, president of the Auberge des migrants, one of the main aid organisations. According to him, the migrants “who have no desire to stay in France are already gone” camp. According to the prefecture, the new statistics ” will allow (…) to organize in the best conditions the sheltering of migrants in Calais in the different CAD (centres for the reception and guidance) “, planned in the framework of the complete dismantling of the ” jungle “. The date which was most often up here for this operation, the one of Monday, October 17, was not confirmed for the moment. “5 966 migrants have left Calais as from 27 October 2015 to join a CAD “, indicates again the prefecture.