Risking It All: Migrants Face Deadly Choices to Reach the UK

Migrants in Calais are forced to make life threatening decisions every day as they strive to reach the United Kingdom. With little to no money to pay smugglers for boat crossings many rely on dangerous and desperate alternatives. For some, the back of a truck headed towards the UK has become their only hope. But this route is beset by risks and troubles which makes their journey not only uncertain but also perilous.

Migrants live in ramshackle camps where they face contaminated states and nights freezing with a hope of a much better life across the Channel. These camps are overcrowded and poorly equipped providing no safety or comfort. Every day individuals walk miles along highways or wait in parking lots hoping to slip into a truck unnoticed. Yet they face increased security measures around the Channel Tunnel and Calais port including thermal cameras, barbed wire, motion detectors, and surveillance systems. These increased defences are financed by international cooperation and make success almost impossible.

Given the situation, those who are migrating risk everything knowing that getting caught or injured will be the least of their problems. They hide near the axles of vehicles or inside airtight compartments where their risk of asphyxiation is high. The cases of accidents and fatalities are also very frequent. Some have been crushed by the cargo they hide beside or fallen from moving vehicles or been struck while trying to board. These tragedies suggest the physical dangers of this desperate choice.

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Migrants also experience violent confrontations with drivers who view them as invaders. Physical fights, threats and intent to cause injury are common. After several failed attempts at reaching England most return to their camps fatigued. Desperation propels them further and the probability of fatal injuries is outweighed by the incentive of the possibility of a brighter future on the other side of the Channel.

For others, it is the result of past traumas or fears of drowning whilst for others, truck crossing represents the only financially possible route. Even with these grave dangers at stake, this method remains to them a faint possibility in an otherwise hopeless situation. Every failed attempt compounds their frustration and puts them between two horns either to continue or give up altogether.

Families coming with children have even scarier decisions that have to be made. The parents weigh the risks of letting their children suffocate or get injured inside the truck against that of crossing turbulent waters in a small boat. Each choice has high stakes therefore many are left to abandon one risky option for another equally perilous path.

The struggles of this class of migrants reveal a rather adverse reality to those who are trapped in transit. For them, survival means inhumane conditions, physical violence and risking their death to reach a place they feel has safety and opportunity. The journey is one of immense courage and sacrifice and testimony to the resilience of those who may be willing to risk it all for the hope of a better future.

This article is written based on the conversations with the migrants from the Info Migrants Page.