Source: Ben Bano and Phil Kerton

According to the Pas-de-Calais prefecture, “in 2024, 77 people died trying to reach Great Britain aboard a small boat”, a record since the start in 2018 of the use of this means of crossing the Channel. According to British authorities, in 2024, 36,816 migrants managed to cross the Channel on boats, 25% more than in 2023.

According to the count of migrant aid associations, which also includes deaths on land, 89 exiles died on the coast of northern France in 2024. Support groups and political parties organised a march “for justice and dignity” in Calais recently to draw attention to these figures.

First deaths of 2025

The body of Abdul Raheem, a Yemeni aged around 24, was discovered on the morning of 22 January on the sand of Salines beach at Sangatte, facing England, where illegal boats regularly depart.

On the night of Friday to Saturday, 11 January, Suleiman, a Syrian migrant in his early twenties, died at Sangatte during an attempt to cross the Channel. He was one of about 60 people who left on a small boat, only to return very soon, soaked to the skin, leaving the victim on the floor of the boat in a state of cardio-respiratory arrest, probably crushed by the others.

In the early hours of 4 February, a Portuguese driver found the body of a migrant at the side of the A16 motorway near Calais. He was of Eritrean origin and had been hit by a truck.

The prefecture states that two people have been arrested as part of an investigation opened by the Boulogne public prosecutor’s office and entrusted to the office for combating illicit migrant trafficking.

Small boats

According to a 2024 report from the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, there has been the rise in the use of ‘small hands’ – migrants who recruit others for the smuggling gangs, helping them to fill their boats. They recruit migrants of their own nationality or ethnicity and know the embarkation points from the beaches, working in groups to prepare and launch boats.

These middle men in the supply chain may charge for their service – a fee of between €1,000 and €1,500 for each boat that leaves the French shore. With up to four hands working on a boat, this is an additional cost for the smuggler of up to €6,000 (on condition that if the boat is intercepted no payment is made). The hands sometimes recruit a third person to act as ‘security’, for which they are paid €200 to €500, or a free passage on a boat after they have worked some shifts. The hands can make some extra cash by adding their own clients to the boats, increasing the overcrowding.

Some smugglers have developed low-cost options for poorer clients (for example, Sudanese and Eritreans), who are offered passage for around €1000. To make up the margins, smugglers may load the boats with more low-paying customers.

Allegedly, for those migrants, generally from sub-Saharan Africa, who cannot afford the crossing, even at a low fee, there is still hope in the shape of what are known in local jargon as ‘zig-zag’ brokers. For a fee of €100 to €400, these brokers take a migrant to a point on the coast where a boat is being prepared for launch, so that the migrant can attempt to board it, by force if necessary, without paying the fare. The migrants already on board often have little option but to comply.

The Vietnamese phenomenon

In recent months, more Vietnamese nationals have attempted to cross the Channel in small boats than any other nationality. Many wonder why so many risk their lives trying to reach Britain. On one hand, Vietnam is a rapidly growing economy, often referred to as “mini-China”. Over the past two decades, per capita income has increased eightfold and the country boasts beautiful landscapes and a vibrant culture, attracting tourists from around the world. Yet, despite these advancements, many Vietnamese feel a sense of “relative deprivation.”

The country is a one-party Communist state, where political dissent is not tolerated. While most Vietnamese have learned to navigate this system, the lack of political freedom and economic disparity between urban and rural areas drives many to seek opportunities abroad. Average wages remain low, especially in rural areas, where many workers lack job security.

The desire to migrate is deeply rooted in Vietnam’s history. In the 1970s and 1980s, many fled the country due to economic hardships and political repression. The shift in the economy in 1986, which opened Vietnam to global markets, fuelled a new wave of migration. The narrative of “catching up and getting rich” became prevalent, leading many to believe that success lay beyond their borders. Families pool resources to finance the migration of one member, hoping they will send money back home to improve living standards. This cycle perpetuates the desire to leave, even as the risks grow.

Events in Calais

Despite the hardcore survival conditions with storms and negative temperatures, the ‘Severe Cold Plan’ hangar was only open to take in people from the street for 15 nights. Furthermore, they have to take a bus to get there and must be gone by 9am sharp the next morning. When it is unoccupied (i.e. almost the rest of the year) the hangar is closed and monitored.

Harassment and evictions remain the norm. Every 48 hours, four to seven living spaces are cleared without a legal framework. People are arrested and tents, tarpaulins and personal belongings regularly stolen.

The ‘BMX Site’ near the Town Hall has been fenced off and cleared by order of the town council which has also requested the “evacuation” of migrants surviving under two bridges and on two quays. Likewise, the ‘Fontinettes’ camp has been cleared and fenced off to prevent people from resettling. Witnesses say that police turn up every morning in Black Mercedes, using batons to wake up and arrest people in tents.

Vocabulary in the UK

The word “illegal” has been one of the terms most strongly associated with migrants in UK parliamentary debates over the past 25 years, research by the Runnymede Trust has found.

After Theresa May’s 2012 pledge to “create a hostile environment for illegal immigrants”, media coverage containing hostile rhetoric around migration and migrants more than doubled (a 137% increase) compared with the two years before.

It seems plausible that the acceptance of such language may have supported growth in racial unrest, especially given a scarcity of well-presented factual media accounts that speak well of migrants.

Ben Bano writes: 

The demonisation continues …

Have we lost all sense of proportion? Have we been infected by ‘Trumpism’? Across Europe migrants and refugees are seen as a threat to civil order and anyone who does not have a white skin is suspect. The narrative fostered by Angela Merkel has given way to something much more sinister which conflates migration with a threat to our society – never mind the fact that our care homes and farms would be severely affected by reductions in migration. We need to put a halt to the point scoring between the two major parties on who can do better on halting migration. 

And can we find ways of being prophets of hope in responding to these events, as major parts of the world are affected by climate change, war, and much else? Those of us who are activists need to continue to speak out about the tragic effects of climate change which is an existential threat to so many, particularly in Africa. A recent estimate by the UN suggested that 420 million people are affected by climate change, drought, and war. The latest news from Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo suggests that another tide of displaced people is very possible, adding to the millions who are seeking refuge from Syria, Sudan, and other war zones and areas of unrest.

We need to talk about global citizenship and our responsibilities to help those around us, not least to our MPs. In terms of awareness raising of the issues I fear that we are going backwards at a time when Trumpism and allied ideologies are making too much headway.

A Vigil sponsored by Westminster Justice and Peace, London Catholic Worker and the London Churches Refugee Fund, is held outside the Home Office from 12.30pm-1.30pm, 2 Marsham St SW1, on the third Monday of each month to pray for migrants who have died attempting to reach England. The next one will be on 17 March 2025.

LINK

Seeking Sanctuary: https://seekingsanctuary.weebly.com/