"We still see people arrive, the situation on the ground remains
very difficult for refugees and specifically children," Marianne
Humbersot, a lawyer who offers counselling for migrants, said.
A
migrant walks past makeshift shelters in the northern area on the final
day of the dismantlement of the southern part of the camp called the
'Jungle" in Calais, France, March 16, 2016.
Hundreds more migrants have made they way to Calais on France's
north coast in recent months despite the bulldozing of part of their
"jungle" camp in March, and despite extra port security aimed at
stopping them from reaching Britain.
Official
figures from the Pas de Calais region put the total in tents, shanties
and a new state-run city of converted shipping containers at 3,900, up
from 3,500 at the end of March, but well down from the peak of over
6,000 reported in September.
And according to
local aid organisations - who have long been at odds with the official
count - numbers in the camp are much higher at somewhere between 5,000
and 7,000 people, of whom several hundred are unaccompanied children and
teenagers.
"We still see people arrive, the situation on the ground remains very difficult for refugees and specifically children," Marianne Humbersot, a lawyer who offers counselling for migrants, said.
Many
of the migrants fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and
elsewhere still try reach Britain, where they hope to resettle, either
by climbing onto lorries heading onto ferries or by breaking into the
nearby Channel Tunnel.
These efforts are in spite
of additional UK-funded security measures introduced in October
including extra fencing, cameras and hundreds of additional police
officers.
The camp itself has changed shape significantly this year.
A
state-run park of converted shipping containers with capacity for 1,500
beds opened in January in the north of the jungle area. The southern
half was cleared two months ago.
In another part of the northern section, migrants have been invited to move into dozens of large heated tents.
Refugees
have also been encouraged to leave the area by bus for one of France's
136 reception facilities. A Pas de Calais spokesman said almost 4,000
refugees had travelled to these reception centres since November last
year.
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