Having not found the life they were hoping for, some asylum seekers are seemingly trying to sneak back into Europe.
Reporter Eleanor Burleigh underneath a flyover, where migrants have been sleeping (Image: Steve Finn )
It’s not news to anyone that Dover has become a hub for illegal migrants crossing from mainland Europe into Britain. But the emerging trend of asylum seekers hitching onto lorries from the Kent seaside town to travel back to France is a new and somewheat surprising one. The Government gets a lot of flak for its asylum policies – freebies, accommodation and care while sometimes tenuous claims are assessed and appealed. But visiting an encampment near a lorry rank in Dover, the reality of the situation sank in.
The two underpasses flanking the lorry park were largely empty when we visited but littered with tents, clothing and food and drink wrappers. It painted a dismal picture, as did one asylum seeker’s account of migrants sleeping rough around the town, on benches, in parks and on the waterfront. This 20-year-old from Senegal is choosing to stay on Britain’s streets while he lodges an asylum appeal. He acknowledges that his case is not as strong as those fleeing persecution – it is instead based on “family problems”, which he chose not to elaborate on.
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But his evaluation pitched the idea of hopping on a lorry and heading back across the Channel as a feasible back-up plan – something he was choosing against on the basis of his knowledge of English and no other European languages.
Some migrants in Dover are trying to sneak into the backs of lorries to get back to Europe (Image: Steve Finn )
Mohammad Musa and Ali Essa Noor are both hoping to board a lorry back to Europe (Image: Steve Finn )
The lorry crossing, either via the Channel Tunnel or ferry, is “not an easy one”, he said, but people have done it, as they have also come the other way.
A lorry driver I spoke to, who works predominantly in Europe, said he saw cash pass hands as he was waiting to cross from Dover to the continent during a rare recent trip.
It may sound positive that migrants are leaving of their own accord – likely driven away by a flailing asylum infrastructure – but their ability to do so illegally raises real alarm bells.
Migration is a growing issue across the globe – just look at the recent situation in Ceuta.
Eleanor Burleigh meets migrant Arms Jawo (Image: Steve Finn )
If entry routes into Britain are seen as navigable without having to obtain a visa or abide by strict Border Control rules, it puts us in a dangerous position.
We need to make sure we know who is coming in and going out of the country, and that those doing so are abiding by our laws.
Illegal immigrants continue to make up around 1% of our total population. But the growing demand for economic parity among those from developing nations, often fleeing war zones and climate disasters, is only headed in one direction.
We need to make sure the proper constraints are in place, no matter what direction the tide is flowing.