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CSAN and Secours Catholique joint statement on Calais refugee crisis


The refugee crisis that Europe is currently facing is unprecedented, and continues to unfold before our eyes. For every day the continent's political leaders hesitate, thousands of people fleeing war, poverty and destruction continue to arrive on Europe's shores seeking sanctuary.

Many of these people end up in 'the Jungle', a camp-cum-ghetto that is home to several thousand people in Calais. They live in inhumane conditions, queue hours for food, and then bed down in hastily-constructed shacks and tents to dream of a better life. These people are not faceless. They are individuals, they are our neighbours, and they are our friends. They have lived lives and experienced traumas that most people in our countries can barely comprehend, and they need our support and sanctuary.

Today, CSAN (Caritas Social Action Network) and Secours Catholique (Caritas France) are uniting to call on the UK and French Governments to recognise the urgency of the on-going humanitarian crisis in Calais. Discussions should be re-opened to develop and implement practical solutions to address what remains an untenable situation for both countries. Further to this, both countries must also ensure the centrality of human dignity in any response. This principle is sacrosanct, and to disregard it is to disregard the principles upon which both of our societies are based.

We believe that no solution can be found in higher fences; they will only be climbed. No solution can be found in detaining those who seek sanctuary; they will only seek it again when released. A solution can only be found when both countries follow our lead in working together to find a common solution to a common challenge; thousands of people in Calais, and across both of our countries, are waiting on them to do so.

Following a visit to the camp last Thursday, Helen O'Brien, Chief Executive of CSAN, said: "On a day on which the Pope spoke to the US Congress about the need to respond to the refugee crisis in ways which are humane, just and fraternal, we arrived in the Calais camp and found a community who welcomed us as neighbours. We spoke to them, we listened to them, we ate with them, and we learned of their simple wish to re-build their lives in safety and with dignity.

We are proud to stand alongside our partners at Secours Catholique in calling for our respective governments to do more to solve this most urgent of crises."

See also: ICN 20 September 2015 Eyewitness: Visit to the 'Jungle' in Calais www.indcatholicnews.com/news.php?viewStory=28349

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