Several months after French authorities tore down the Calais "Jungle" migrant camp, refugees determined to get to the UK are still heading to northern France, where many vulnerable children are now stranded as the British government announced last month that it was scrapping a program to resettle unaccompanied youngsters in Britain.
With Calais' infamous “Jungle” now gone, French officials want to make sure it does not come back. “It's not dignified for France,” said Vincent Berton, Deputy Prefect of Pas de Calais.
Policemen stand guard near a makeshift church slated for destruction in the demolished 'Jungle' migrant camp on November 2, 2016 in Calais, France. /CFP Photo
“It's dangerous for the migrants and it's not good for the local population, for the public order and for the local economy,” he said, adding that the French government does not want new camps in Calais.
However, that does not mean that the refugees have stopped coming. Makeshift tents set on the ground where the camp used to be are a clear sign that many are sleeping rough in the woods around Calais.
30 minutes away, one official camp in northern France is hosting throngs of immigrants, despite having space for just 1,500 people.
Workers build the 4-meter (13-foot)-high wall along the roadway leading to the Calais port, which is being paid for by Britain as a new barrier to try to keep migrants from crossing the English Channel on November 2, 2016 in Calais, France. /CFP Photo
With the UK recently scrapping its scheme to take in 3,000 unaccompanied child refugees, some are trying more dangerous ways to get there. Officials at the camp say that more and more unaccompanied minors have been lately arriving, noting it is hard to keep track of them.
Last month a young man from Ethiopia was killed after being hit by a truck. He was the first migrant known to have died trying to reach the UK since the 'Jungle' was torn down last year.
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