Harrowing day in the life of a crisis as desperate migrants say ‘England is hope’ – The Mirror
Within 24 hours the migrant crisis along Britains South coast will pass an unwelcome milestone. Last year a total of 8,410 desperate men, women and children successfully made the dangerous 21 mile (34km) crossing.
On Monday, when a record 430 migrants arrived on 14 boats, this years figure had risen to 8,159.
This means that since Brexit almost double the numbers of refugees have been risking their lives to enter the United Kingdom.
Today - Tuesday - the Mirror headed to Kent to report on the scale of the humanitarian crisis first-hand
Its 8am in the morning and one look out to sea confirms the forecast - perfect weather, with not a cloud or breath of wind in the sky.
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But these conditions are also perfect for the people smuggling gangs who have been launching boats up and down the coast of Northern France and Belgium during the early hours.
Sure enough, at 9am I receive an alert informing me the RNLI has dispatched a boat from its station in Dungeness. As I travel to the scene I hear the Border Forces patrol vessel is also at sea - a sure sign migrant boats are on their way towards shore.
At around 9.30am I watch as the first boat of the day arrives on the wide, shingle beach in Dungeness, Kent. A group of 32 men, mainly from Iran and North Africa, are shepherded by police away from their black dinghy, which is powered by an outboard motor.
One man named Ahmed, from Iran, tells me he and his friends paid 2,500-3000 Euros each for a place on the boat. A quick bit of maths shows this small inflatable has been worth almost 100,000 euros to the gangsters who control illegal immigration in Northern Europe.
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Ahmed says they set off from France in the dead of night before making a ten hour journey across the channel. When I ask how safe the crossing was he tells me: very dangerous before adding simply: not nice trip.
The group, including one man wearing a Live or Die T-shirt, stumbles across the stony beach towards a makeshift processing centre at the Dungeness RNLI station.
Some shelter in the shade of the building while others stretch full length to sunbathe as they wait to be booked in by police.
A PC in a high-vis jacket is in charge of formally arresting the migrants. While searching one man and bagging up his possessions he tells him: You have entered the UK illegally - you are under arrest.
When the man replies I accept the copper laughs and tells colleagues and thats nice of him isnt it?.
The man is then asked his age - 37 - before being moved to sit in a separate area.
There is one moment of drama as a makeshift knife - a Stanley blade attached to a handle wrapped in duct tape - is discovered discarded on the floor.
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At 10.30am a coach arrives ready to transport the men to a Home Office immigration centre. After receiving reports of another boat landing I leave the area as the next migrant stands up to be told: You have entered the UK illegally - you are under arrest.
Half a mile South along the beach I find another group of 12 men and boys sitting on the perimeter of the Dungeness nuclear power station.
In the shadow of a barbed-wire fence they are being guarded by four officers. Some are armed cops from the Civil Nuclear Constabulary while others are from Kent Police.
One Iranian man tells me his group left France almost the middle of the night for a 12 hour crossing. The 23-year-old, who did not want his name published, says he paid 2,000 euros for the trip.
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He tells me: It was dangerous - awful. The man left his home country four years ago in the hope of a better life. He adds wearily: Its a long journey, Im so tired.
Monday saw the highest ever number of crossings in a single day, with 430 migrants landing successfully. I ask one armed PC whether they are expecting more today. Its got to be getting close now for sure, he admits.
The third boat - and the first containing women and children - arrives shortly after midday. With 42 migrants on board it is visibly listing to one side while being winched into the shallows.
Among the first to disembark is a dad who carries his young toddler under one arm while hanging onto the ladder. After being handed his welcome pack - a single Covid face mask - the man, from Kuwait, reveals in broken English that his family paid 8,000 euros for the crossing.
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He looks exhausted as he recounts how his family - four kids and two parents - lived for one month in the camps of Northern France before making the nine hour trip.
Their entire possessions appear to be a small bundle of clothes. He tells me his daughters are 12 and 11 while his sons are aged seven and 20 months.
The seven-year-old plays with pebbles while walking up the beach while his younger brother is carried by mum. When I ask whether they can swim - miming breaststroke with my arms - the dad shakes his head and looks away.
His daughter adds firmly: no. They tell me they were protected by lifejackets. When asked whether the French authorities helped them cross the man shrugs. They dont know the politics and dont care.
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As the other passengers disembark one man from Syria flashes me a tired smile before proclaiming I love England.
Another, Zakaria, 21, says he has arrived on the beach just 45 days after fleeing his native Iran. He paid 400 for the Channel crossing but didnt have money left for food. He adds: Its been four days now I didnt eat. Crossing the seas was very,
very dangerous. In the Aegean water [the Mediterranean] we was around five or six days in the water. We were 18 in a small wooden ship, if it sinks - we die.
But we are already ready for death, because it was living death in our country.
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Zakaria, who travelled through Turkey, Italy and France, says he left Iran after being kicked out of school. He adds that his brother was attacked - possibly killed.
Speaking about his plans for the future he says: My family are in Iran, theres nothing I can do for them.
England is hope. I came because England is a modern country and I speak the language.
I think they treat us fairly here, we hope they will treat us as a human.
So we come here hoping for a new life, a new future.
I will try my best to become a science teacher.
In 2019 these types of landings were relatively rare events. But the surge in crossings since Brexit means processing migrants has become business as usual for the local emergency services.
The third landing at Dungeness was watched - and photographed - by around 20 tourists who had gathered on the beach.
Images of human suffering will now form part of their holiday albums.
I watched 86 people land on a half-mile stretch of beach in just three hours, and the scale of the crisis is worrying locals.
Landlady Mimi Durbridge, from the Jolly Fisherman pub, tells me she was left in tears after witnessing a similar landing earlier this year.
Mimi, herself a mum, says: It was one of the most heart-wrenching things Ive ever seen. There were a couple of men, a few women and some small children. They were five, six, seven years old - so old enough to know what was going on.
"It was a real eye opener for me, it was harrowing.
I was similarly moved watching the 20-month-old boy being carried ashore by his dad.
These types of images are usually associated with refugees fleeing war or natural disasters.
But with crossings rising daily they are set to become a familiar sight on British beaches - unless something is done.
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Harrowing day in the life of a crisis as desperate migrants say 'England is hope' - The Mirror