Britain is paying for the construction of a wall in Calais, near the so-called Jungle migrant camp, in an attempt to stop refugees and migrants from boarding lorries heading for the United Kingdom, the country’s immigration minister has confirmed.
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Since a year ago, Calais has served as the location of the Jungle, notorious for its awful living conditions.
The Road Haulage Association, who represents the drivers whose lorries are targeted by migrants, is skeptical of the plan, arguing a better alternative would be to step up security on the approach roads to Calais.
The wall will be built along both sides of a 1-kilometer (0.6 mile) stretch of road approaching the Calais ferry port, according to the UK Home Office.
The Guardian called on people in March to stop using the “dehumanizing” label and said, “anyone who thinks these people are fully human, with hopes and aspirations like the rest of us, and lives just as valuable, should cease using language that denies them this humanity”.
Immigration Minister Robert Goodwill told MPs yesterday: “We are going to start building this big, new wall as part of the £17m package we are doing with the French”.
Hungary has built a reinforced fence on its frontier with Serbia and Austria has announced plans for a massive new fence along its border with Hungary in a bid to shut down the Balkan migrant route.
“Out-Trumping Trump? Seriously? Work to begin on “big wall” at Calais to block migrants”, Catherine Fieschi posted under the handle @CFieschi.
Earlier this week a go-slow protest to demand the closure of the so-called Jungle caused major travel chaos on roads near the northern port.
Farmers have accused migrants of uprooting trees from private farmland, which they use to disrupt traffic flow near the port, allowing more time to illegally board trucks.
When the trucks slow down, migrants try to clamber into the trailers to stow away aboard.
The protesters say they will stand their ground until they see action to dismantle the Jungle camp which has swelled in size in recent months.
Despite current security measures – including a fence – Goodwill acknowledged that some people were still managing to get through to the UK.
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Ms Woodfine added that the real problem lay with the “lack of policing and security” at the border.
