Jude Law, Benedict Cumberbatch and Idris Elba lead group urging Government to save children in Calais Jungle
Authorities are due to demolish a section of the refugee camp where many unaccompanied children are living
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Your support makes all the difference.Jude Law, Benedict Cumberbatch and Idris Elba are among 145 stars urging David Cameron to save children living in the Jungle camp in Calais in an open letter.
French authorities are due to demolish the southern part of the Jungle on Monday where many unaccompanied children and families are living. The move would destroy the temporary homes of over 3,000 people.
Figures from Help Refugees show that there are 440 children living in this section of the camp, 291 of whom are unaccompanied.
The letter calls on the Government to allow children living in the camp who have family in the UK to be reunited with them “with immediate effect”. It also calls for the demolition to be postponed until children are granted protection within the French system or reunited with family in the UK.
“We believe the above actions are the absolute minimum that the British Government should be taking to alleviate the suffering of the refugees in Calais, and must be made an urgent priority. The British charities, Help Refugees and Citizens UK, have already largely identified, screened and begun to process the minors in question,“ the letter states.
“This is a humanitarian crisis that needs to be acknowledged as such and it is imperative that we do everything we can to help these innocent and highly vulnerable refugees, especially the minors, as swiftly as is humanly possible.”
Law, who is leading the appeal, said he recently visited the camp and met with unaccompanied children “who have no choice but to endure the horrific conditions of the Jungle”.
He said: “These are innocent, vulnerable children caught up in red tape with the frightening prospect of the demolition of the Jungle hanging over them. David Cameron and the British Government must urgently work with the French authorities to alleviate this humanitarian crisis.”
Additional reporting by the Press Association
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