Migrant aid groups in the French city of Calais have slammed the local government’s approach toward Ukrainian refugees and non-Ukrainian asylum seekers, slamming the government for a “double standard.”
François Guennoc, president of the migrants’ hostel, said that associations in the city of Calais were shocked after Mayor Natacha Bouchart posed in a photograph with Ukrainian refugees who have been welcomed into the city and are being accommodated in a local youth hostel.
“We obviously have nothing against them. But the associations were shocked by the difference in treatment between Ukrainians and non-Ukrainians. A large part of the refugees in Calais are fleeing war or dictatorship,” Guennoc told newspaper 20 Minutes.
“This is the case of Ukrainians but also Syrians, Afghans and Sudanese. Except that there is the discriminatory treatment of other war refugees,” he added.
Mayor Bouchart hit back at the accusations of double standards by the associations saying “I have no lessons to learn from associations. In 2015, when Germany opened its doors to refugees, I myself offered the state services accommodation for women and children who were on the street.”
Many of the Ukrainians in Calais are awaiting the ability to travel on to the United Kingdom.
Mayor Bouchart went on to note that the city would be prepared in case Britain blocked Ukrainian refugees from entering by finding additional housing and accommodation.
Calais is one of the major hubs for illegal immigrants looking to cross into the UK, generally either by sneaking onto the back of a lorry or by using boats to cross the English Channel.
Last year, a record number of migrants arrived on the south coast of England, with nearly 28,000 arriving by late December. The UK government has stated that it expects the number of boat migrants to surge this year, estimating as many as 65,000 may arrive in 2022.
Earlier this month, a boat containing 99 illegal immigrants were ferried to the English port of Dover by the UK Border Force and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). None of the migrants were reported to be Ukrainians.