The scheme that governs the transfer of vulnerable child refugees from France to Britain is being brought to a close, leaving hundreds of children at risk of exploitation
Charities in France say they have been told by French authorities that only nine more children, who have already been identified, will be transferred to the UK under the Dubs scheme for unaccompanied child refugees. The news has triggered much concern, with a number of highly vulnerable children already missing from safe houses and immigration centres after being told that they had no legal chance of being transported to the UK. Other than the Dubs scheme, the only other legal route a child can use to reach the UK is to apply under an EU law known as the Dublin regulation which allows minors to have their case transferred to another EU country in which they have close family.
Those responsible for the care of the child refugees want them to remain in France despite the length of time it takes for applications to be processed and the lack of communication between the authorities and the applicants but are finding it difficult to encourage the children to continue to engage. Many children have now taken it upon themselves to return to the streets in the hope of making their own way which often means they become easy prey for human traffickers.
Conditions in the camps in Calais and Dunkirk are dangerous and filthy. Since the Calais refugee camp was destroyed in 2016, police, local authorities and the British and French governments are determined not to allow a permanent camp of any kind to rebuilt. Children and families live in flimsy tents and there is no segregation of the sexes. Children play in rivers of mud while teenage boys forced to share tents with older men are at constant risk of sexual exploitation. The French police officer little hope or help. Rather than protecting the inhabitants of the camps, reports have been made of the police covering food in teargas, vandalising their jerrycans of water, and pouring bleach into tents. Local authorities in northern France have also refused to provide food and water to refugees. Charities claim the poor conditions and increasing police violence are pushing children into the hands of abusers and exploiters.
Lord Alf Dubs, after whom the scheme is named, said he intended to challenge the Home Office to keep the routes open from France and expressed disappointment that the actions of the Home Office seem to be based more on arithmetic than the real and urgent needs of individuals. He claimed the Home Office has set quotas for the number of unaccompanied child migrants who can be brought in from different European countries and the arbitrary cap for France of 480 children has been surpassed.
The Home Office has refused to confirm whether transfers will continue from France, stating only that the scheme is still open across Europe.
