[ad_1]
ITV News correspondent Dan Rivers is in Calais where migrants attempt to cross the Channel to the UK from France. A record number of migrants crossed the Channel in 2021, fueling tensions between Paris and London.
The acrimonious feud comes as at least 1,185 people risked their lives to travel to the UK on small boats on Thursday – a new single-day record for the current crisis.
The only clue that something was going on was the barely visible silhouette of a man on the cliffs above the beach, quietly smoking and waiting. It was around 7 a.m. when we first saw figures moving quickly across the sand. There were maybe four or five, rushing towards the gently lapping sea.
We couldn’t make out what they were doing, just the strange flash of a torch. Then 20 minutes later, they came back and headed for the dunes. My cameraman and I waited and watched as the dull gray light slowly cleared the indistinct ripples in the sand near the beach. We were getting cold and downcast, convinced that the men we had seen must have spotted us and had been dissuaded from launching a boat. But then we saw figures on the cliffs, pacing the beach and looking at each other clearly. Maybe something was going to happen after all. Another 30 minutes passed and nothing. Again, we thought our presence was clearly delaying the migrants trying to reach the UK. We couldn’t have been more wrong.
Just after 8 am French time, and now in broad daylight, suddenly a group of maybe 40 or 50 men and a few women appeared, carrying a huge black rubber dinghy over their heads. They were jubilant, smiling and clearly excited to embark on their journey. Among them was at least one child and many were wearing life jackets. Within minutes, the boat was transported across the sand and into the water. The migrants climbed inside – a man struggled and got wet as he tried to pull himself into the dinghy. One of them lost his life jacket when the engine started and they drove off. I spoke briefly to some of the migrants who said they were from Iraqi Kurdistan and were happy to start a new life in the UK.
One told me that he had been in France for seven years and in prison for five years. Throughout this episode, there was not a single policeman to be seen anywhere, although this beach was a notorious place for migrants to launch their boats.
How far away are France and the UK to resolve the issue? Correspondent Dan Rivers reports from northern France
As the boat disappeared into the darkness, another launched perhaps half a mile farther along the beach. It was also full of dozens of people. We found the remains of a third canoe on the rocks nearby and plenty of signs of people having camped here, with sleeping bags and clothes thrown along the road. On the way back to town, we spoke to a group of migrants who told us that their smuggler did not show up with their boat, despite paying 2,500 euros each for passage to the UK. It is clear that the smuggling operation here is on an industrial scale – well organized, lucrative and apparently proceeding without any hindrance from the French authorities.
[ad_2]
