France: Address Appalling Conditions at Calais Refugee Camp

  • by: Michael Taylor
  • recipient: Bernard Cazeneuve, Minister of the Interior

Thousands of men, women and children now languish in appalling conditions at the Calais refugee camp in France.

Hungry and distressed, refugees at Calais desperately need more than the one meal they are afforded a day. Woman in the camp are unprotected, sleeping in groups to protect themselves from assault. Water is contaminated with e-coli and faeces, medical care is wholly inadequate and working toilets are rare. Tuberculosis is gouging a bloody line through the camp, leaving many dead in its wake. Salmonella are Leptospira are rampant. 

Our shared humanity and history demand an end to these awful and dehumanizing conditions.

My grandfather was a prisoner of war. Captured in North Africa by the Germans he spent a year in captivity before he escaped to Alexandria and eventually made his way back to his unit. He was lucky to survive, and his tales tell of unspeakable horrors that left him scarred for the rest of his life.

The pictures that he portrayed were of a savage war where death followed closely no matter who you were. A war where prisoners were malnourished, refused medical treatment and left to die in their own excrement - scenes never to be repeated as Europe promised that never again would man and woman alike be treated with such disdain; humanity would prevail in a new age of enlightenment and peace.

Why then, has nothing changed? Hundreds of thousands of people are running from war torn countries, ravaged by rape, murder and violence not seen since the Great War. War refugees looking for safety flee bloodshed, terror and death only to be left to die from disease and starvation once hey have arrived in a country they thought would protect them. 

The refugees at Calais have nowhere left to turn... and the world is turning a blind eye to their suffering. We cannot ignore this. We cannot allow this to happen on European soil again. 

Sign the petition to stand with me and insist that Bernard Cazeneuve, French Minister of the Interior, immediately make resources available to address the appalling conditions at Calais. 

Minister Cazeneuve,

I am appalled by the conditions at the Calais refugee area and insist that your government immediately make available resources to address them. Specifically, I wish your government to take specific steps to eliminate e. coli in drinking water, increase debris clean-up, and improve safety measures to prevent violence against women and girls.

[Your comments]

Sincerely,

[Your Name]
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