European Jungle

The Jungle was a refugee camp near Calais in northern France. According to Help Refugees, before it was demolished in 2016 it was home to 9,106 men, women and unaccompanied children living in a muddy expanse of tents and temporary shelters which they had built themselves and decorated as best as they could. They all had the same goal: to go to the UK.

During 2015 the infrastructure inside the Jungle developed rapidly. There were churches and mosques built out of sticks, tarpaulins and plastic, with blankets insulating against the cold. Syrians, Afghans, Sudanese, Kuwaitis, Kurds, Pakistanis and many more lived side by side among the seventy restaurants, shops and hairdressers that stretched along the main 'street' of the camp. By August 2016, however, much had changed. Some of those who paid for smugglers had been reunited with their relatives in the UK and were waiting for the first interviews with the British immigration service.

Then, in October 2016, the French government decided to demolish the camp and evict its inhabitants. Within three weeks, the camp was gone. Some of the remaining refugees were moved to temporary asylum accommodations. Others decided to fend for themselves and live on the streets while continuing to try and reach the UK.

Refugee and migrants continue to arrive in Calais on their route to try and enter the UK but now they settle in smaller informal settlements to avoid detection by French police. The only reminder of the thousands that once lived in the Jungle and made it their temporary home are hundreds of toothbrushes scattered among the dunes, next to tear gas cylinders that were fired to disperse crowds during the evacuation of the camp.