Shipped in from Manston – the overcrowded Kent asylum centre – last November, the 55 residents housed in this processing centre run by a private company have severe or life-limiting disabilities. Some have lost limbs, others are deaf or blind. Half a dozen are paraplegic. Some have been disabled since birth; others were maimed in the war zones they’re now fleeing from.
There are war zones in Calais, Frances?
The centre has security guards but no trained care workers. Instead, disabled residents are left to fend for themselves.
Well, if they've managed to get in a makeshift dinghy or break into a lorry and cross the Channel how much 'care' can they really need?
Only a few months ago an Iranian man living in the centre died. Doctors had repeatedly said he needed a wheelchair, but he never received one. It’s thought he suffered a fatal stroke. “We’re essentially waiting for the next [death],” Maria says. “And it will be because of a lack of care.”
Ah, I just knew there'd be a fakecharity at the heart of this...
Try the food in the Essex accommodation and it’s tellingly prison-like: a falafel squashed in a slice of white bread, or a pile of beans in a polystyrene box. I’m told, three residents have become diabetic since arriving at the centre– one has lost two toes.
I'm sure the food would have been better in France...
As we finish talking, Maria asks me not to publish the location of the centre. She says that an elderly resident has recently been attacked in the street, and there are fears of further hate crimes. “He was speaking in a foreign language on his phone … That was enough.”
Blimey, if that was a cause for assault, there'd be blood running down my Tube carriage every morning...
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