"MANY LIVE IN EXTREMELY POOR CONDITIONS, LIVING IN TENTS WITHOUT REGULAR ACCESS TO FOOD OR WATER, IN MAKESHIFT CAMPS AND LIVING SITES"
It’s a hot and sticky morning in Calais and we are waiting outside a police station with Human Rights Observers (HRO).
There are five of us packed into a little blue car - myself, filmmaker Alpha Kamara and three members of HRO - waiting for any sign of movement from the French police.
We have parked slightly further away from the station but there is still a clear line of sight to the several police convoys outside.
We wait. And we chat.
It’s mid-August - 18 August 2022 to be exact - and there is a significant population of migrants and asylum seekers living in this part of France.
Many live in extremely poor conditions, living in tents without regular access to food or water, in makeshift camps and living sites.
HRO tells me that such conditions are made worse by the actions of the French police, who routinely carry out evictions.
These evictions involve the destruction and clearance of living sites home to migrants.
The French authorities say this is to prevent permanent migrant camps developing in northern France but HRO say this is a policy intended to “intimidate” and “harass” the displaced people here.
This is why Alpha and I are here today - to watch the French police carry out an eviction.
We wait for around 15 minutes, as instructed by HRO, before the police convoys begin to leave.
We follow the convoys on their way to a living site in Calais, which is home to around 100 displaced people, to see what really happens at an eviction.
You can find out by watching the video below.
HOW MANY EVICTIONS ARE THERE?
There were a record number of migrant camp evictions in northern France last year, according to figures from unofficial human rights watchdog Human Rights Observers, who are based in Calais.
HRO witnessed 1,729 evictions take place in Calais and Grande-Synthe in 2022, in comparison to 1,229 in 2021. That’s an increase of nearly 41%.
HRO shared the figures with The News Movement ahead of the release of their annual report later this year.
The group says the actual figures may be even higher as their team cannot always be present at every eviction.
We contacted the French authorities for a response but did not receive one.
(📸: HRO)