Associations coming to the aid of migrants in Calais denounced Monday, October 18 a "
systematic theft
" of their personal belongings during the evictions from their places of life, describing the protocol supposed to allow them to recover them as a "
smokescreen
".
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These associations (
l'Auberge des migrants, Salam, Women's refugee Center,
etc.), which recorded 849 expulsions between January and September 2021, recall that this protocol, put in place in 2018 by the prefecture, should allow migrants to recover in a "
resource center
" the items confiscated during the evictions. But this device, which they have decided to no longer endorse "
given the ever-increasing obstacles put in place by the Prefecture of Pas-de-Calais
", "
allows the State to legitimize a systematized and institutionalized theft
", write -they.
They denounce very restricted opening hours, the obligation for migrants to be accompanied by an authorized association, but also the fact that when a migrant manages to access the resource center, it is very difficult for him to find his property. (money, telephones, medicines, identity papers ...) "
among several tons of others amassed in unsanitary conditions
". "
In 2020, of the few people who had access to this device, 72.6% did not find these value effects
", according to the press release. "
Many backpacks are seized full by the cleaning teams and are subsequently found empty
", point out the associations.
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While the protocol provides that the security forces allow time for migrants to collect their belongings at the start of deportation operations, “
on a recurring basis, they order people to leave the deported area without giving them the possibility of recover all of it
”, also denounce the associations.
Deportations are also according to them "
more and more concomitant with the distribution of meals from the state operator La Vie Active
", forcing migrants to "
choose between protecting their property or having access to water and sanitation. food
”.
Asked by AFP, the prefecture had not reacted in the middle of the day to the accusations of the associations.
