The Speech of Refugees to the UN Special Rapporteur on Living Conditions

Refugees come to Calais with the hope of reaching the UK. Upon arrival, we are confronted with inhumane conditions.
We are faced with insecurity from this precarious situation – living in industrial areas, bushes, under bridges, next to highways.
The French government has pushed us out more and more with the use of police hostility. Despite the rough conditions we have been able to peacefully co-exist, however we have been moved out of all areas where this has been possible. We now find ourselves surrounded and restricted by aggressive fencing, barbed wire and walls – a constant reminder of how Europe feels towards us.
Concerning hygiene: we only have access to taking a shower once a day for 10 minutes, but the demand is greater than the current available access, so a lot of people don’t benefit from this option
The number of rats has increased due to the almost total lack of garbage bins or other appropriate waste disposal options. This forces us to dispose of our trash in our living areas, creating dangerous hygienic conditions. On top of this, it projects an image to citizens and police, who end up seeing and treating us as animals.
During the daily expulsions we are subject to, we are repeatedly forced to move from our living areas. Our belongings are destroyed or confiscated and people are mistreated, insulted or arrested.
During the last big expulsion, the government’s solution to housing was to force people to relocate against our will to CAES. CAES accommodation is un-ideal and unsafe, and those who resist even peacefully to moving are arrested.
Concerning the Dublin III agreement, it’s not realistic or effective. It’s a form of slow torture. It has forced us to be nomads, an existence that spirals into more instability and risk.
Refugees flee their countries out of fear and for opportunity and freedom but still seem to do so when arriving in Europe. They don’t necessarily mind where they end up but because of the way the Dublin agreements work and the fact people cannot claim asylum in most European many have considered living illegally in the UK as their last option. It’s the treacherous terms of the reforms that push people to risk their lives at the border.