Ten years ago today, thousands of migrants were thrown out of a shanty town nicknamed The Jungle in the port of Calais.
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thousands → throw → Calais
Their eviction was hailed as a historic moment that would bring an end to the never-ending stream of foreigners determined to cross the 21-mile Channel illegally.
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that → hail → Channel
Just after dawn on October 24, 2016, bulldozers moved into the giant 40-acre camp as weeping charity workers watched in despair.
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workers → move → despair
In a brutal operation ordered by the French government, the machines destroyed entire streets of rickety timber huts with corrugated iron roofs and cardboard doors alongside tea houses, tobacco stores, bicycle repair shops, secretive mosques, an immigration lawyer's office, barbers' salons, drug dens and even a brothel.
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machines → order → houses
Those who had been living in The Jungle came from the sub-Sahara, North Africa, the Middle East and almost every other nook and cranny in the world.
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who → live → world
Residents were sent on buses to be resettled throughout France.
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Residents → send → France
The few women and babies among them went to nearby refuge houses, while, as we shall see, many children were brought to Britain in the most controversial evacuation.
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children → go → evacuation
I have been reporting on migrants in Calais for some 20 years.
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I → report → years
But I have never seen more of them here than in recent days – each and every one planning to get to England.
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I → see → England
The official tally of those massing at the ferry port and in neighbouring Dunkirk is nearly 4,000, the Home Office's border security commander, Major General Duncan Capps, said this week.
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commander → mass → Dunkirk
But this does not account for additional thousands spread along the 240 miles of the French coast from the Belgian border to Cherbourg in Normandy, most of them waiting in informal camps for the wind to die down – as it is expected to do next week – so they can continue their journey by traffickers' boats.
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they → account → boats
As for the charities supporting migrants, 21 of them – British and French – staged a commemoration last weekend mourning the dismantling of The Jungle.
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21 → support → Jungle
There were talks on the merits of open borders, a stated determination to 'keep alive the memory of a vanished camp', heartrending testimonies from those who 'survived' life there, and a reading from a new photo-reportage book called London Calling that details the 'daily realities' of migrants today waiting 'in the cold and mud' for a crossing to England.
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that → be → England
In driving rain, the charities led two public walks up a steep hill to a viewing area looking down over what was once The Jungle, now turned into a coastal wetland for nature lovers and bird-watchers.
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what → drive → lovers
The viewing area is perched on top of a former Second World War coastal artillery battery, built by the Germans.
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area → perch → Germans
The side of the concrete edifice has been marked by pro-migrant activists with a message in large red letters, visible from a mile away: 'SAFE TRIP 2'.
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side → mark → letters
Between them, the charities organising the weekend events have a total income of £840,000 a year from private donations, legacies and public funds, a proportion of which is spent on assisting their clients cope in what are now termed 'living sites' or temporary camps on the French coast.
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what → organise → coast
On Monday morning at 8.45am, I stood by the Marcel Doret bus stop in the port's industrial zone to watch volunteers, many of them students or unemployed Britons, walking to a big warehouse nearby that is home to the thriving French charity L'Auberge des Migrants as well as other like-minded organisations, including Britain's Refugee Community Kitchen.
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that → stand → Kitchen
The address is kept secret for fear of a backlash from Calais residents, many of whom believe the city has been taken over by those drawn here by the food, water and shelter offered by charities.
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city → keep → charities
General views of 'The Jungle' immigrant camp in Calais, France, taken in October 2016
Starting at 9am, the volunteers prepare and cook up to 1,000 hot meals a day – meals that are distributed by the charity's white vans to 'feeding' stations around Calais where, later in the day, I watch hundreds of young African men queuing.
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hundreds → take → men
Some of the hungry arrivals are held behind metal fences by charity workers until serving time to prevent an uncontrollable melée.
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Some → hold → melée
Throughout the town we discovered charity leaflets in multiple languages posted up at feeding stations – even on street corners and trees.
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we → discover → corners
One was marked 'New Arrival Guide, October 2026, Calais'.
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One → mark → ?
They tell migrants how to survive in France and gain asylum in Britain, with, for instance, a section on 'how to look for a UK lawyer' on arrival on the South Coast.
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They → tell → Coast
This arrival guide tells migrants how to call the British coastguard in mid-Channel for a Border Force vessel or RNLI lifeboat to pick them up.
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vessel → tell → them
It gives the phone number and a reminder to give their exact location at sea so the British know where to find them.
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British → give → them
Other charity leaflets tell them that 'crossing to the UK is very dangerous, this information may save your life.
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information → tell → life
Do not try without an engine, beware of winds over ten knots, stay far away from ships because they make big waves'.
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they → try → waves
The information made available includes addresses for charity medical clinics where girls and women in northern France en route to Britain can be treated if they have injuries from rape or female genital mutilation, or HIV or other serious sexual diseases.
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they → make → rape
A free dental clinic at the Calais hospital, advertised by the charities in Arabic and English, was in operation on Wednesday as, one by one, young male migrants in hoodies came to the door.
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migrants → advertise → door
It is no exaggeration to say that the word 'UK' is on the lips of every migrant I speak to here.
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I → say → migrant
In a camp off the ring road, I find 50 Eritreans with their families living in squalor.
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Eritreans → find → squalor
I give them some food, and sweets for the little ones.
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I → give → ones
'We don't care if it is dangerous for our children to cross the sea,' says Robel defiantly.
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Robel → care → sea
'We have been here two weeks, and we will go to England.
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we → go → England
They can go to school.
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They → go → school
We will get a house.'
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We → get → house
They are drawn to Calais, not just because of the traffickers' persuasive talk and regular boat and lorry services, but because of the ever-generous charities.
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They → draw → charities
Migrants onboard a smuggler's boat off the beach of Equihen-Plage, northern France
One of the 21 organisations commemorating The Jungle's closure was Secours Catholique (Catholic Relief Service) which runs an open-doors day centre near the port, handing out tents, clothes and shoes to migrants along with medical advice.
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which → commemorate → advice
It says it offers migrants 'information about their rights' so they can take stock of their situation as they consider the next step in their journey to Britain, adding: 'We have a genuine policy of hospitality.'
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We → say → hospitality
…and 48 more, not listed.
The Aporia
