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Calais crisis: 'There is nobody to help us so we must help each other,' says migrant trying to cross Channel

Video: A migrant from Afghanistan describes the camaraderie and plight of those in Calais' 'jungle'

Kiran Moodley
Thursday 30 July 2015 10:29 BST
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Calais crisis: Migrants trying the cross the Channel

Raihan Jan is 24 years old and was a clerk in eastern Afghanistan; he now finds himself outside the freight terminal at Coquelles, Calais.

Jan describes himself as one of many individuals from a range of nationalities awaiting an opportunity to illegally cross the Channel and into the UK.

There are many people from Arab and Asian countries, he says, with Africa particularly well represented among the roughly 3,000 migrants camped out in the French port. Despite the differing nationalities, there is a bond between all them: a common cause, a common plight.

Jan said, "We are like brothers, we have very good relations, in different ways we help each other because there is nobody to help us so we must help each other. It is very difficult life, there is no better place, we are just living in tents, these people call it a jungle."

Jan explains that at night the migrants camp out in the "jungle" and await for night to fall when they attempt to climb the fences and break into the Channel Tunnel.

David Cameron has described migrants like Jan as a "swarm" – as he warned those entering the UK illegally would not be offered a "safe haven".

Mr Cameron’s remarks follow the attempts of hundreds of migrants, many fleeing horrendous persecution in some of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters, to cross the Channel on Wednesday night.

"This is very testing, I accept that, because you have got a swarm of people coming across the Mediterranean, seeking a better life, wanting to come to Britain because Britain has got jobs, it's got a growing economy, it's an incredible place to live,” Mr Cameron told ITV.

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