Refugees in the Calais 'Jungle' have one week before half their camp is destroyed
French authorities said on Friday that they would destroy almost half of the refugee camp, which is located near the Channel Tunnel, on Monday, February 22.
The government estimates that 800 to 1,000 people live in that part of the camp, while volunteer organisations estimate the number to be closer to 2,000.
"It is time to proceed to the next step, no one must live in the southern part of the camp, everybody must leave that area," the prefect of the Pas-de-Calais region, Fabienne Buccio, said on Friday, according to France24.
The decision has been condemned by volunteer organisations working in the refugee camp.
Help Refugees, one of the grassroots volunteer organisations active in the Jungle, said in a statement on its website that the eviction threatened vital community facilities and that "the move will once more uproot those who have already had to abandon their homes fleeing war and persecution."
The French government wants the occupants of the camp to either move to the white shipping containers that have been set up to temporarily house people, or to apply for asylum in France and be moved to a refugee centre while their request is processed.
Many refugees are wary of the converted shipping containers though, as they need to be registered in order to live in them, and the accommodation is also lacking kitchens and communal areas. The containers only have a maximum capacity of 1,500 people and are already partly filled.
In January, French authorities bulldozed the area of the camp adjacent to the motorway leading to the UK, dislodging hundreds of people in the process.
Residents and volunteers had only been given five days to evacuate the area of the camp that was being demolished and the bulldozing took place without any major hurdles as volunteers had managed to move everyone before police got there.
The part of the camp that is supposed to be demolished this time encompasses many cafes and restaurants and most of the communal areas that were built by refugees and volunteers to make life in the camp bearable.
Among those places at risk is the women's and children's centre, which is a refuge for over 200 women and children who are in an extremely vulnerable position.
Other facilities that will be destroyed are the youth centre, which offers support to many unaccompanied young boys, three mosques, one Orthodox church, the legal centre, and the vaccination centre.
Three schools and the camp's library, Jungle Books, as well as a communal kitchen that distributes 2,000 meals a day and hundreds of tents and shelters are also set to be bulldozed.
Help refugees said in its statement: "These spaces offer much-needed respite and comfort for those those living in the incredibly difficult conditions within the camp."