France and Britain feud over young Jungle
camp migrants
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[October 28, 2016]
By Matthias Blamont
CALAIS, France (Reuters) - Dozens of
youngsters woke under the watchful eyes of French riot police on Friday
after a chilly night outdoors near the "Jungle" migrant camp in Calais,
as Paris and London squabbled over their fate and that of hundreds more
bent on getting to Britain.
Charity workers offered them food and warm drinks, telling journalists
that the youngsters were just a small sample of the scores of minors who
are in limbo since the evacuation this week of the camp, now being
demolished.
The vast site on sandy scrubland, a symbol of Europe's fraught efforts
to deal with a record influx of refugees from war-ravaged zones such as
Sudan and Afghanistan, was evacuated this week before bulldozers moved
in to flatten it.
Government officials in the region say that more than 6,000 people had
been moved out of the squalid, ramshackle camp and transferred to towns
throughout France.
But concern has switched to upwards of a thousand isolated minors who
have been put in large container-box shelters nearby or have simply not
signaled their existence. Many want just one thing - transfer to
Britain, which is almost visible across the sea from Calais.
PARIS URGES LONDON TO ACT
In an overnight statement, French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve
said he was "surprised" by declarations by British opposite number Amber
Rudd and was counting on London to honor an obligation to take minors
from Calais.
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Rudd appeared to have raised eyebrows when she said France must protect
migrant children still in Calais and suggested at least some of them
should remain in France rather than be moved to Britain, which is
obliged under EU law to reunite minors with family there.
According to a spokesman at her ministry, Rudd said: "Any child either
not eligible or not in the secure area of the camp should be cared for
and safeguarded by the French authorities.
"We understand that specialist facilities have been made available
elsewhere in France to ensure this happens," she added in comments that
refer to accommodation France has opened up to rehouse those who agreed
to leave the Jungle.
A joint statement by Cazeneuve and France's housing minister said France
hoped Britain would "quickly execute its responsibilities to take in
these minors, who hope to come to the United Kingdom. This is the best
way to give them the protection they are due."
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![](../images/102816pics/news_s33.jpg)
Smoke rises the sky as migrants and journalists look at burning
makeshift shelters and tents in the "Jungle" on the third day of
their evacuation and transfer to reception centers in France, as
part of the dismantlement of the camp in Calais, France.
REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer
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The French statement followed media reports of unsupervised children
sleeping rough around the port town since the clearance operation
was launched, even though some 1,451 minors have been housed
separately near the camp.
France says Britain has so far accepted 274 children from among this
group.
European Union rules say Britain must take in unaccompanied children
who have family ties in the country under so-called Dublin rules. An
amendment to those rules adopted in Britain this year states that
such minors whose best interests are served by doing so should also
be admitted.
Smoke and dust spiraled from the heart of the site on Friday as
demolition teams went back to work and one group of youngsters who
slept a short walk from there emerged from blankets to take tea and
breakfast from charity workers.
Abdul Hadi, an Afghan youth who reports his age as 16, says he spent
10 months in the Jungle but failed to register with the French
authorities for help when the evacuation began last Monday.
"I hope I can get to the UK this week," he said.
Sylvie Poirier, a helper from the local Auberge des Migrants
charity, says the official registration center where migrants were
urged to sign up had now closed and that scores of people like Hadi
are now roaming the streets, where riot police arrest those they
find.
(Additional reporting by Andrew Callus; Writing by Brian Love;
Editing by Richard Balmforth)
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