Calais Jungle

The Calais Jungle (known officially as Camp de la Lande) was a refugee and migrant encampment in the vicinity of Calais, France that existed from January 2015 to October 2016. There had been other camps known as jungles in previous years, but this particular shanty town drew global media attention during the peak of the European migrant crisis in 2015, when its population grew rapidly. Migrants stayed at the camp while they attempted to enter the United Kingdom, or while they awaited their French asylum claims to be processed. The Jungle received local support and international solidarity from activists, artists, intellectuals and grassroots aid organisations. The camp was completely cleared and demolished in October 2016. According to Government plans, 6,400 migrants would be moved to 280 temporary reception centres around France. There were concerns over the fate of 200 unaccompanied children and Human Rights Watch published a report in 2017 stating that up to 1,000 migrants were still living in the Calais region. While there is no longer a camp like the Jungle in Calais anymore, a sizeable number of migrants are still present.

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