Since the Chief Minister Ian Gorst announced last week that Jersey could allow five or six families from the war-torn Middle-Eastern country into the Island, public forums and social media have erupted with debate.
Over half a million refugees and migrants, many of whom are from Syria, have crossed the Mediterranean into Europe to escape civil wars. In Syria it is estimated that around 250,000 civilians have been killed during a four-year conflict.
Today scores of people, including politicians, were due to attend a debate at the Town Hall on whether Jersey should accommodate some of the refugees.
Mr Baker, who runs his own professional speaking business and was due to speak at the event, warned that Senator Gorst could lose his career in politics if he fails to listen to the people.
However, others, including teacher Bram Wanrooij, founder of the Jersey Calais Refugee Aid Group, who was scheduled to be on the panel for today’s debate, believe that the Island has a ‘moral obligation’ to help and added that there is no evidence to suggest refugees have a negative impact on a nation.
Mr Baker said: ‘We feel unrepresented and the people of Jersey have come to the conclusion that what they say is ignored. The government does what the government wants to do. But with this I think they will go a step too far and in the case of Senator Gorst I think he is risking serving his last term in office.’
Mr Proudfoot, who made his money in a range of business ventures from technology to firearms, said the Island was faced with one of the biggest political debates in recent times and questioned the logic of taking in refugees from Syria.
‘I’m sure Senator Gorst could lose lots of votes over this,’ he said. ‘He is on about bringing five or six families in. What are they going to do when they are here? Are we going to change the employment laws to let them work? Or are we just going to pay for them to live?,’ he said.
Assistant Chief Minister Andrew Green told the States on Monday that he believes ‘one or two’ 1(1)k’s would be willing to ‘house’ refugees if they came here.
Mr Proudfoot added: ‘We should definitely help in some way but should we really be moving people from their homeland and bringing them here? They will feel completely isolated.
‘Plus we just cannot afford it. Are we looking at getting interpreters in because I doubt these people will be speaking English? What about schools? This is at a time when public finances are under strain. I don’t think it is the right time to spend our funds on bringing these people in. We have Islanders who are struggling to make ends meet.’
The debate has become heated on social media, and a dedicated Facebook group – ‘Are you one of the 82%?’ – has been set up for Islanders who believe that Jersey should not welcome refugees to share their views.
Mr Proudfoot, who rubbished comments on a Facebook forum from Deputy Sam Mézec that labelled him as a ‘tax-dodging inmigrant’ by saying he pays more than £125,000 a year into the Island’s economy through tax, said one of the biggest concerns was that of a culture clash – something with which Mr Baker agreed.
‘People talk about Isis. A lot of it is probably overstated but of the hundreds of thousands of people that have come into Europe, how can we know that ten, 20 or 30 of them are not terrorists?’ he said.
THERE are more than 3,500 migrants living in a makeshift camp called the Jungle outside Calais – but what is life really like there?
JEP reporter Ian Heath visited the camp with aid worker Sophie Renouard and pilot Kat Tiefenthal, who were delivering much-needed supplies.
He found that like anywhere else, there are good people and bad people within the community.
Hope exists, with schools, shops and restaurants being built within the camp. But amid the positivity there are disturbing reports of violence, prostitution and rape.
THE Jungle is a slum. There are piles of rubbish everywhere, there’s little sanitation, a lack of food and disease is starting to spread. It’s a mess.
Flooding following the recent rains has destroyed some of the camp – a large tent on the outskirts has been ripped apart and replaced by a large pool of water.
Young men huddle together in makeshift sheds when they wish to sleep and the campsite is filled with an almost endless sprawl of second-hand tents.
The men also congregate around the scarce hubs where they can charge their mobile phones or electrical devices and the few points where they can collect safe, clean water.
Migrants from different countries gravitate towards each other in different sections of the camp – there’s a Sudanese section, an Eritrean section, a Kuwaiti section, a Syrian section.
I was told the national make-up of the camp is about 35 per cent Sudanese, 30 per cent from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and Iraq, 25 per cent from Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia, 5 per cent Syrians and 5 per cent from North Africa, with a handful of eastern Europeans.
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Most of the camp occupants are young men in their twenties and a lot of people have questioned why the camp is populated with fit, young men and virtually nobody else.
But the Jungle isn’t a place for families. Life is difficult in the camp and it is hard getting there in the first place.
After speaking to several migrants, I learn that many of them have left their families behind because it was too dangerous or too expensive for them to come with them.
The ‘fit young men’ have come to Calais because they can cope with the tough conditions, and stick it out to try to find a new life in France or Britain.
Many people have also questioned whether the occupants of the camp are economic migrants or refugees – the answer is both.
Some have fled war and oppression to find somewhere to live safely and in peace while others are seeking the better opportunities that Western Europe has to offer compared to their home countries.
Tensions can run high at times in the camp and there were reports during my visit that fights had broken out the night before over resources. Meanwhile, Europeans dropping off aid in their cars have been overrun by migrants.
I also learn that some of the shrewder migrants are stockpiling goods and selling them on to new entrants to the Jungle.
The camp has become something of a mini city, with makeshift schools, shops, restaurants and even a hairdressers springing up. Different communities seem to have emerged and some of the migrants are demonstrating their entrepreneurial skills, setting up businesses in even the most basic conditions.
Many of the migrants have paid upwards of $6,000 to make it to Europe, paying smugglers to transport them across the Mediterranean. Some, however, told me that they got across the sea for free.
I was told by an aid worker that 30 per cent of the migrants want to live in France, and the rest want to move to Britain where it is perceived as easier to find employment – including illegally – and where they believe they will face less racial discrimination.
A women’s refuge has been set up in the Jungle but it is full to capacity and is having to turn back women seeking shelter. There are reports of rapes and prostitution within the male-dominated camp.
I was told that about 1,500 migrants have made it to Britain through stowing away in cross-Channel traffic and there are about 30 to 50 more migrants coming into the camp every day.
Another aid worker told me that many of the men in the Jungle have cuts and bruises from trying to climb over a fence, which was erected around the nearby motorway by the UK government, as they try and jump onto lorries heading for Dover.
The Jungle is not going away any time soon and winter is coming, with its harsher conditions. There will be a high death toll unless people have shelter and insulation to get them through the colder months.
