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ADRA’s mission for refugees continues

Refugees Refer To Settlements In The North Of France As "Europe's Worst Refugee Camps”

Switzerland | Andreas Mazza, EUDnews

ADRA Dunkirk, a local branch of ADRA France, was founded in January 2012. Knowing the increasing number of refugees in its region, the team got in touch with Doctors of the World and other local associations, asking, “How can we help?” 

Unlike the other days of the week, no organization was distributing food to refugees on Sunday. Right away, ADRA committed to addressing this lack.

Despite the reluctance of the French government, the city of Grande-Synthe (near Dunkirk) and non-governmental organizations such as Doctors Without Borders opened a humanitarian camp for refugees on March 7, 2016. There, the ADRA team worked in partnership with many other associations to improve the living conditions of the exiled. 

Unfortunately, this camp burned in April 2017. Since then, in Grande-Synthe, numerous wild settlements remain and offer nothing but an uncertain future to migrants. These places are often referred to as “camps'' or “jungle,” and are pointed out for their inhumane living conditions.

“We were a small Adventist community in Dunkirk, but we decided to take action and set up a local branch,” remembers Claudette Hannebicque, head of ADRA Dunkirk. “We organized the first meeting, and we realized that immediate action was needed. The first Sunday, we brought them tea and home-baked dishes, and we did the same on the second Sunday. We soon felt that what they really needed was a complete hot meal, as it was winter and very cold.”

Hannebicque explains that the group had no finances, but that didn’t stop them; they decided to act anyway and to provide the necessary food supplies themselves for meals the entire year. The group organized fairs and flea markets to fundraise in order to continue their work, and applied to the City Council of Grande-Synthe (where the camp was located) for a grant. 

“The application was successful, and even today this grant allows us to buy most of our food supplies,” Hannebicque concludes. “When it comes to cooking gear, reparations of our van, or distribution, we rely on donations.” 

For years, ADRA Dunkirk’s job has been to distribute food, clothes, and hygiene products to refugees. Unfortunately, over the years, the presence of long-term exiles near the northern French coast became an issue of public order. Though many were committing to improving the living conditions of the refugees, locals started to look unfavorably at the settlements. At the same time, the government and local authorities launched systematic dismantlings, pursuing a policy of non-fixation of these undesired populations. Thus, over the years, the exiles have been parked, relocated, dismantled, or have settled by themselves in various places. 

For the distributions of food, ADRA goes and meets them where they are, that is to say, most often near the A16 motorway to Calais (and England). Over the past three years, refugees have occupied different locations, in particular Puythouck Woods. Refugees have been sheltered in and around a sports hall, and irregular camps were set up in a disused warehouse on the edge of the motorway, near a freight station, and under the bridge of the A16.

Nearly twenty associations operate within an inter-association group to best meet the needs of the exiles in the Dunkirk area. A water point has been set up by the town hall and dry toilets, though not very suitable for their culture, have been installed but are now out of use. Twice a week, an association runs the opening of showers for the exiles, but only men are accepted. There is nothing for women or children.

The distributions are carried out by different associations, including ADRA. 

“We take care of breakfast on Thursday morning and cook a hot meal at Sunday lunchtime,” explains Hannebicque. “In addition, we regularly distribute clothes and hygiene products.” 

Very recently, they have had rather generous donations considering the cold weather, the situation in the camp, and the successive dismantlings. But new refugees continue to arrive. Shoes and warm clothes, for example, are extremely important and much-needed. 

ADRA has also put a generator at their disposal so that refugees can recharge their phones; the only way to keep in touch with their loved ones.

The team is a heterogeneous and cosmopolitan one. Volunteers come from various backgrounds: students, church members, active or retired people, asylum seekers from Africa, the Middle East or Eastern Europe. Very few of them are Christians, and all happily commit to helping the refugees: sorting of clothes, distribution, cooking, washing up, etc.

In this region, the options for passage to England are either hidden in trucks or onboard makeshift boats in order to cross the Channel. As border controls are increasingly strict, many refugees choose to cross the Channel, which proves to be a very dangerous operation (currents, waves, engine damage, overloaded boats, risk of collision with large container ships). Many refugees get injured or even die.

The situation is not going to get any better as long as the government refuses to establish official refugee camps on the whole coast. The refugees are still in a block of wood under tents and tarpaulins, in the cold, the mud, the rain. They live in inhuman conditions.

There are at least 400 refugees in the area of Dunkirk, some who are families with young children, but it is difficult to estimate the exact number because there are several small camps that are dismantled twice a week.

Refugees are often brought to the CAO (Reception and Orientation Centre) very far from the coast, but they often come back one, two, or three days later, since they don't want to be far away. Eventually, it's easier for them to try a passage to England.

The port of Calais is highly secured which results in refugees leaving directly from the neighbouring beaches with smaller, unappropriated, water crafts. The conditions of passage through the Channel mentioned earlier make it extremely dangerous to cross on small loaded boats. 

“A few months ago, a whole family--a young couple and their 3 children--drowned while trying to cross the Channel,” shares Hannebicque. “They are not afraid to take risks; they are so close to the English coast compared to the long migratory journey they have had to get here.

Concerning the pandemic, Doctors of the World and The Red Cross both come twice a week to the settlements, making transfers to the hospital when there are suspicions of COVID cases. There have been a few cases but there is no explosion of contaminations, as many feared at the beginning of the pandemic.

“Volunteers are trying to keep some distance, which is not always easy, and wearing masks of course,” comments Hannebicque. “We feel really helpless, but we know that one day God will put an end to all this suffering.”

To donate, please go to ADRA France’s website where you can choose to support directly the local branch of Dunkirk (navigate to: My details > Je souhaite soutenir > Antenne Dunkerque).

For more information, data and pictures, please visit ADRA Dunkirk’s Facebook page.

 This article was originally published on the Inter-European Division’s news site.

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