Have you seen how these Calais refugees are highlighting their plight?

Last Updated: March 6, 2016By
A placard reading " Why don't you listen to us" is seen behind a Iranian migrant, his lips sewn shut and making an hunger strike, during the dismantlement of the shanty town called the "Jungle" in Calais, France [Image: Reuters].

A placard reading ” Why don’t you listen to us” is seen behind a Iranian migrant, his lips sewn shut and making an hunger strike, during the dismantlement of the shanty town called the “Jungle” in Calais, France [Image: Reuters].

Is this how asylum seekers are expected to react to their treatment by a civilised country?

Yes, the issue of refugees has become increasingly vexed – especially considering the illegal behaviour carried out by some of them in destination countries.

But it seems to This Writer that something must be seriously wrong in the behaviour of the host countries if they are resorting to self-mutilation to get a message across.

It is entirely possible that they are trying to manipulate news-gatherers into creating sympathy for them – but it seems to this reporter that the act of physically sewing one’s lips together indicates desperation, not cynical news-management.

What is to be done about this? Anything?

Or are we all content to cower in our homes and be grateful that we aren’t on the receiving end of such treatment?

Eight men who have been on hunger strike in the Calais refugee camp since 29 February have sewn their mouths shut in protest at the continued clearance of the Jungle.

Four British volunteers, including one named Tom Radcliffe, joined the hunger strike.

The group are demanding that the clearance of the camp be put on hold until an appeal is heard by the European Court of Human Rights.

The protest comes amid heightened concern for the welfare of refugees, with a survey finding that 73 per cent say they have been victim to police violence.

A medic based in Calais told The Independent they had stitched up the head of a seven-year-old boy who had been beaten by police.

The medical volunteer who spoke to The Independent about the seven-year-old child asked to remain anonymous.

“We had to give him stitches in his head at four in the morning,” they said.

The demolition of the southern part of the camp began on 29 February, leading to clashes between French riot police and the camp’s inhabitants.

Source: Calais Jungle refugees sew mouths shut in protest at camp clearance | Europe | News | The Independent

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7 Comments

  1. joanna March 6, 2016 at 5:14 pm - Reply

    Why is the placard written in Arabic as opposed to English, considering they want to come here, and not any of the other countries they had to travel through to get where they are. Also why should we feel guilty for Their self-imposed starvation, when British people are being starved because of sanctions?!!! Absolutely no sympathy from me.

    • Mike Sivier March 9, 2016 at 3:12 pm - Reply

      The placard is in Arabic because that’s his language and he hasn’t had a chance to learn English yet.
      The sanctions that starve British people are a completely separate matter from this man’s starvation.
      Please do not wilfully mix issues in order to muddy what’s going on.

  2. Terry Davies March 6, 2016 at 5:53 pm - Reply

    civilised citizens but primitive thinking by those who have supported brutal police tactics.

  3. mohandeer March 6, 2016 at 7:06 pm - Reply

    These people are living a nightmare existence and you can tell they are monsters by the way they have mutilated bodies – their own – if they were ever given a voice it was drowned out a long, long time ago. All the EU countries could have done something about this had they chosen to tackle the problem instead of letting these asylum seekers and refugees rot in these desperate conditions.

  4. Harry March 7, 2016 at 1:44 am - Reply

    Trauma, everywhere you look Mike. The solution to all of this, apart from deconstructing the rogue organisation called NATO is to get on the streets and stay there unltil we can force the Westminster crowd to stop the wars. It cannot be any kind of solution to pour millions of people into a small island already crippled by overpopulation (yes Mike I believe the GovCorps figures are bull) whose tax base seems inadequate to house, care for, school, and provide a living for all of these millions. Without being argumentative as to why exactly an Iranian is behaving in this way when the atrocities being committed by NATO proxies are in the countries of Iraq and Syria. The EU seems to possess no such bleeding hearts when it comes to Ukrainian migrants/refugees. Why is that? Meanwhile as our services break down and ever more hundreds of thousands of Muslims flood our Island, we must contend with seeing wages hit rock bottom while profiteering and inflation and ever rising house prices force not only massive increases in rents but a shortage of houses that is forcing people onto the streets. German citizens were even forced to vacate their own homes so that migrants could move into them. Our governments are clearly provoking a race war; Think about it. Enough Mike. Enough.

    • Mike Sivier March 9, 2016 at 3:07 pm - Reply

      Our tax base is perfectly capable of housing, caring for, and providing a living for everybody here – the problem lies in the Conservative Government that doesn’t want to collect the money from rich people.
      Our services are not breaking down – the Conservative Government is deliberately crippling them. This has nothing whatsoever to do with immigration and you should not offer the Tories an excuse for their behaviour.
      Why do you lie that “hundreds of thousands of Muslims flood our island”? Not only is that a false statistic but it also appears you are trying to stir up racial/sectarian hatred, which is against the law in this country.
      Your claims about wages, profiteering and inflation are false. Your claims about house prices are more to do with the lack of new building – another Conservative policy to keep those house prices high.

      In short – please stop posting your lies here.
      If you can bring yourself to commenting on the facts, then by all means come back.

  5. John March 7, 2016 at 7:59 am - Reply

    I saw a Channel 4 news piece on this one actually. Apparently they were being relocated to supposedly somewhere better than the camp. I can’t remember the person that was being interviewed though.

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