French authorities kicked off an operation Monday to clear out a notorious, sprawling camp dubbed the “Jungle” — busing out about 1,600 migrants and shattering their dreams of reaching Britain.
“Bye-bye, Jungle!” one group of refugees shouted as they trudged through the muddy trails of the squalid camp, where at least 7,000 mostly Afghans, Sudanese and Eritreans had been holed up, Agence France-Presse reported.
About 1,200 cops — some in riot gear — monitored the exodus of refugees bound for shelters across France.
After often harrowing journeys across land and sea, paying smugglers along the way, most refugees found themselves mired in Calais — unable to find a way across the English Channel.
Britain has barred most of the refugees on the basis of European Union rules requiring them to seek asylum in the first member states they enter.
The harsh reality of the move hit migrants on Monday. Some were happy to leave, while others were confused or shocked.
“We don’t know yet where we are going, but it will obviously be better than the Jungle, which was made for animals, not humans,” Wahid, a 23-year-old Afghan, told AFP.
Basic information was lacking for many. “What should I do?” asked a 14-year-old Afghan.
Mahmoud Abdrahman, 31, of Sudan, said he’d be leaving Tuesday.
“It’s not good, the Jungle,” he said, complaining of inadequate food and water, as well as filthy toilets shared by hundreds.
Ultimately, Abdrahman wanted one thing more than anything else. “I need peace,” he said, “anywhere.”
The first bus carrying 50 Sudanese headed for the Burgundy region of east-central France. By early afternoon, 25 buses packed with more than 1,000 people were on their way.
“This is an operation we want to be peaceful and under control. So far it is,” French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said in Paris.
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:0Britain has taken in almost 200 teens in the past several days — but the transfers of about 1,300 unaccompanied children were on hold Monday, the BBC reported.
They were to be housed in containers as their files are studied in London to see if they qualify for a transfer across the English Channel.
Demolition work on the ramshackle camp, which sprang up 18 months ago, was expected to begin Tuesday as the relocation operation continues until Wednesday.
Christian Salome, head of the Auberge des Migrants (Migrants’ Hostel) charity, said the process was “working well because these are people who were waiting impatiently to leave.”
“I’m much more concerned about later in the week when the only ones remaining are those who do not want to leave, who still want to reach England,” he said, estimating their number at around 2,000. The Interior Ministry said that figure was exaggerated.
On Sunday night, cops fired tear gas during skirmishes with refugees around the camp. In March, riots erupted when authorities razed the southern half of the settlement.
Located next to the port of Calais, the 1.5-square-mile Jungle has become a symbol of Europe’s failure to resolve an unprecedented influx of refugees.
More than a million people fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East, Asia and Africa entered Europe last year — sowing divisions across the 28-nation bloc and fueling the rise of far-right parties.
Graffiti in the Jungle reflected refugees’ fears that Britain may be slipping out of reach.
“I lost my hope,” read one tag. “Is this justice? No,” read another.
Karhazi, a young Afghan, remained defiant.
“They’ll have to force us to leave. We want to go to Britain,” he said.
French authorities said that those who agreed to be relocated could apply for asylum in France — but those who resist face possible deportation.
Jean-Marc Puissesseau, chief executive of Calais port, where migrants in January briefly occupied a ferry, told BBC radio he was “a very, very happy man.”
“It’s for us really the D-Day,” he said, hailing an end to the “constant stress” of drivers fearful of being ambushed by migrants.
Amadou Diallo, from the West African nation of Guinea, said he was alone and losing hope.
“It doesn’t matter where I end up — I don’t really care,” he told Reuters.
With Post wires
