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France Breaks Up Migrant Camps in Paris, Calais
法国 加莱，法国警察治理移民营地
Last Friday, French police began tearing down a huge camp in northeastern
Paris.
The camp was home for thousands of Afghans and Africans. Their removal to
shelters is part of a government effort to stop migrants from living on the
streets.
The migrant camp was sometimes called “Stalingrad” because it was near the
French capital’s Stalingrad metro station.
Aid groups said at least 3,000 people occupied the camp; however,
broadcaster CNN said the number was closer to 4,000.
Most migrants leave their home countries in search of work or a better
life. But many of the people who lived in Stalingrad are considered refugees.
They were forced to leave their home country because of war or oppression.
Some migrants held their possessions while waiting for buses to take them
to holding centers around Ile de France, a French province that includes
Paris.
Didier Leschi is the director of the French Immigration and Integration
Office. He promised his agency’s teams would be present at the holding centers.
He also said language aides would be available.
The migrants will be able to stay in Ile de France temporarily. Then they
will be sent to reception centers all over France. At the centers, they will be
told how to make an official request for asylum.
Orientation process
The police operation to clear Stalingrad came a week after French President
Francois Hollande ordered the destruction of another camp near the port of
Calais.
That camp was known as "the Jungle." Hundreds of migrants fled to
Stalingrad after the Jungle’s demolition.
Calais is near the English Channel. Thousands of migrants used the camp as
a temporary stop on their way to Britain.
Many risked their lives by traveling through the Channel Tunnel, an
underwater transportation link connecting France to Britain.
President Hollande said 5,000 migrants had been evacuated from the Calais
camp in the past week and sent to 450 centers around France.
Hollande also said he spoke with British Prime Minister Theresa May to
ensure that British officials would "play their part" in welcoming the new
arrivals.
France’s refugee crisis
After the demolition of “The Jungle,” France began busing an estimated
1,500unaccompanied young people to other parts of France. Most of them were from
South Sudan and Afghanistan.
The youngsters will be taken to temporary shelters around the country,
while British and French officials consider their individual cases.
People who lived in the temporary camps have made long and dangerous trips,
often by boat, to Europe from Sudan, Afghanistan, Syria, or other countries.
The terrible conditions in France’s migrant camps have become a sign of
Europe's worst refugee crisis since World War II.
France’s Interior Minister told the Reuters news agency that 85 percent of
the Calais migrants are expected to meet the government’s requirements for
asylum.
Migrants in the Jungle faced severe security and health problems, such as
scabiesand tuberculosis, according to a study in 2015. A water source was also
polluted with deadly bacteria.
Leigh Daynes, director of charity group Doctors of the World, told The
Guardian newspaper that Calais was a “humanitarian emergency.” The residents
were already hungry, he said. But their suffering was made worse because of
their unsafe and difficult trips to reach France.
Hollande said his country should not accept the camps because they are “not
worthy of France.” They are not a long-term answer for migrants and refugees, he
said.
A mixed welcome
Throughout France, people have shown mixed feelings toward the Calais
migrants. Some towns have been filled with protesters for and against migrants.
Some local leaders launched a campaign against taking them in.
But some towns around France are happy to receive the migrants from Calais.
For example, people in Reims offered hot coffee and treats to 29 Afghans and
Sudanese as they arrived in October. Residents have been calling aid groups to
donate clothes for the migrants and volunteer their services.
Philippe Wattier is the director of the Salvation Army office in Reims. He
said that a number of migrants have a poor image of France because many people,
including police, have mistreated them.
Sometimes, there are threats of violence against migrants. A letter to the
Salvation Army last week threatened to burn down the buildings where migrants
are staying.
Wattier said the hostility in the letter is similar to feelings in other
parts of Europe and the United States.
I’m Jill Robbins.
_______________________________________________________
Words in This Story
province - n. any one of the large parts that some countries are divided
into
reception – adj. of or related to a place where people are received,
welcomed or accepted
migrant – n. someone who moves from one place to another to find work
English Channel - n. a body of water that separates France from England
tunnel - n. a passage that goes under the ground, or through a hill or
mountain
unaccompanied - adj. in the context of this story, “unaccompanied” means
without the presence of parents
play - part – expression. to do what you can or should do to help reach a
goal. The structure of the expression is: play + possessive pronoun + part.
scabies - n. a disease that is caused by small insects and that causes
itching and red spots on the skin
2016年12月大学英语四级听力在线练习 |
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发表于 2016-11-16 18:24:56