After a boat carrying migrants heading for Britain sank in the English Channel last week, four people have been detained and six have died. In the last seven days alone, more than 2,000 people have attempted to cross the channel in small boats.
A correspondent reports from Calais, where migrants continue to live in limbo. Aid agencies provide food, water, phone charges, and lessons for the kids. But the ultimate goal is to reach the small boats that will take them to Britain.
One migrant, Karim, paid smugglers 2,000 euros for a place on a boat. However, the boat sank and he was one of the ten people left behind. His two friends who stayed onboard are believed to be dead.
Idris, a 22-year-old survivor, described the overcrowded boat and the strong waves that caused it to split up. He never expected to survive but kept trying to stay afloat.
Despite the risks, migrants continue to attempt the journey to Britain. The police in France are working to stop the boats and have received funding from the UK. They use night vision gear, spotter planes, and search for hiding places used by traffickers. However, the traffickers have become experts at moving people along the more than 70-mile-long coast.
The government in the UK has made using small boats to cross the channel illegally illegal. They plan to reject asylum claims from those who have passed through a safe country and consider sending them to a third country, such as Rwanda. However, the courts are currently blocking this policy.
Stopping the boats remains a challenging task for the government. Critics argue that providing migrants with a safe and legal route to claim asylum is the only way to effectively stop the boats.
