The Irish and UK governments should divide the Calais refugees

Having just returned from ‘The Jungle’ camp in Calais, France, now under partial demolition by the French authorities who are using brutal policing, including tear gas and rubber bullets, to further traumatise and displace the residents there, we would like to share one story with you.

It is the story of a young man from Afghanistan, who works to provide healthcare to the residents of the camp.

He was forced to flee his home country, leaving his family and life behind, having refused to fight for the Taliban and subsequently being forced to watch the murder of his cousin.

Like so many others forced to make such journeys, he had a perilous and traumatic walk to Europe, seeing much death on the way.

Since arriving in Europe, he has continued to have his basic rights denied to him and has witnessed further abuses of the human rights of those who have the legal right to seek asylum. As the bulldozers close in on his home in ‘The Jungle,’ he has become increasingly despairing, his feelings of hopelessness compounded by the near impossibility of making contact with his family at home, and of his being ‘stuck’.

He wrote last night:

“What the hell is going on? Are we criminals? Are we murderers? No we are not! We left our own countries because of the above things. What is the meaning of human rights? I think we don’t have the right to live because human rights may mean something else that we refugees don’t understand…. I’m making a request to the UK and Irish governments: please, please come and divide these refugees between yourselves.”

We call on the Irish and other EU governments to ensure that the human rights of those fleeing persecution are upheld, along with international law, and that safe passage is guaranteed for them.

Paul Birmingham

Balbriggan

Gary Daly

Dublin

Zoe Lawlor

Limerick

Elena Lydon

Castlebar

Prof. Damian McCormack

Dublin

Colette Ní Eachtarn

Limerick

Dr. Fintan Sheerin

Drogheda