The ‘Calais crisis’ is on the agenda once again – but the problems never went away

More attempted crossings to Britain – and warnings to asylum seekers from Boris Johnson – show the vicious cycle is set to continue, says May Bulman

Eritrean migrants observe a ferry arriving in the French port from the UK this month (AFP)

The “Calais crisis” is on the agenda once again. A wave of attempted Channel crossings has placed the issue back into the media spotlight, prompting a warning from Boris Johnson to would-be asylum seekers that “we will send you back”.

His remarks bear similarity to those of Sajid Javid following a rise in crossings at the end of last year, when the then home secretary said Britain needed to tell anyone wishing to cross that they “won’t succeed”. He went on to claim that if they were “real genuine” asylum seekers they would have done that in another safe country – comments that attracted fierce criticism from campaigners.

The hostility in the responses of both Tory ministers, and the fact that the British government continues to react to spikes in attempted crossings in this way, is telling of the vicious cycle – and, arguably, hopelessness – that has come to represent the Calais situation.

Indeed, these small bursts of reaction from politicians have no effect on the estimated 900 displaced people sleeping rough in a region where their rights to shelter, sanitation, health, asylum and information in their own language are violated on a daily basis. The numbers have remained fairly steady in recent years, and the squalid conditions have not improved.

Charities on the ground say that the implementation of harsh security and surveillance measures in Calais and Dunkirk only fuels people’s desperation to escape their predicament in northern France, making them more likely to attempt increasingly dangerous crossings to Britain. The reality is that whatever security measures the UK government takes in attempt to reduce crossings, and whatever hostile words Mr Johnson uses to try to deter migrants from trying, it won't do anything to reduce the desperation of people who have been forced to flee war and persecution.