Anaïs Vogel and Ludovic Holbein had started their fast on October 11 to denounce the “inhuman” treatment inflicted on migrants. They felt Wednesday, November 17, not being “no longer able to fight through the hunger strike”.
Le Monde with AFP
The two Calais associative activists who observed a hunger strike since 11 October in support of migrants announced, Wednesday, November 17, the end of their action. “We are no longer able to fight through the hunger strike. That’s why we decided today to stop it,” said Anaïs Vogel and Ludovic Holbein.
They had started their fast to denounce the “inhuman” treatment inflicted on migrants and claim a moratorium on camp dismantling, with a 72-year-old priest, Philippe Demeestère, who had begun to eat at the end. of twenty-five days.
“We are tired and angry. We are not listened to. The dialogue is closed,” said Ludovic Holbein, at a press conference. Tears in the eyes, Amaigrie, Anaïs Vogel told having “shame of politicians and women who govern us”.
Three dead and four missing since January
The government had quickly dispatched an on-site mediator, the director of the French office of immigration and integration, Didier Leschi, to try to appease the situation. The senior official had asked them on November 10, after several meetings with them and associations, to stop their strike.
“We have remedied the question of the personal effects of migrants, putting an end to the evacuations by surprise. They now have a deadline for recovering them. We responded to the request of a citizen dialogue”, with a committee that Brings together state-owned associations and services, had listed the government emissary. A “reception center” for the night has also been open temporarily, but has closed since. The exiles are now led to new accommodation places: 150 in the Pas-de-Calais and 150 outside, according to a statement of the prefecture published Wednesday.
For years, migrants affluent on the coast of Hauts-de-France in the hope of rallying the United Kingdom, with a clear increase, since 2020, crossings aboard small boats. According to the United Kingdom, 22,000 migrants have managed to reach England since January. Three dead and four missing are to be deplored.