300 members of Emaus fasted Wednesday night in support of month-long hunger-strike activists, who want to alert the plight of migrants still flocking to Calais in northern France.
Two activists, supported by members of Emmaus, are calling for a halt to the closure of migrant camps by winter.
On Wednesday, the association announced that more than 300 members of Emaus began a 24-hour “symbolic fast” in support of strikers in Calais who disagree with the state’s policy on immigrants.
A month ago, two local activists, Anis Vogel and Ludovic Holbein, have been on a mating strike. Reverend Philippe Demeester, 72, was the third striker, but ended his career last week.
The government sent a mediator to Calais to find a way out of the crisis. This mediation is being carried out by the Director-General of the Office of Immigration and Integration (Ofia), Didier Lecce, and is still ongoing.
Nearly 1,400 migrants have been accepted into a temporary reception center in recent days. On Wednesday, the governorate announced the distribution of 300 camp beds in two barns.
Posters on the walls of the barn remind of the dangers of crossing the English Channel by boat to Great Britain, AFP reports.
“It’s not enough,” says Utopia 56 coordinator Ludivine Kolas. “300 places cannot ‘meet the needs of 1,500 people in Calais,'” Colas says. Mer Calais Natacha Bouchard is concerned about re-establishing a new ‘forest’ of migrants in the city. Bouchard has asked the authorities to close the camp.
Every day immigrants come to Calais to try to reach Great Britain via the English Channel. In recent weeks, dozens of migrants have died either in road accidents or failed attempts to cross the sea.
From Paris Katarzyna Stańko (PAP)
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