Case Study Name: Refugees from Afghanistan

Case study.

Unit: Population Change.

Case study name: Refugees from Afghanistan.

Case study of: Refugee migrants.

What, where and when:

·  Forced migrants (called refugees) are people who are forced to flee their homes. This can due to climatic reasons (hurricanes etc.), but is more often a result of war.

·  Most refugees do not travel far from their home, hoping to return one day.

·  Some however, try to make a new life in a new country.

·  This is what has happened to a number of Afghan refugees who were trying to reach the UK.

Refugees from Afghanistan:

·  Estimated nearly 3 million people have fled the fighting in Afghanistan.

·  Most travelled to the neighbouring countries of Pakistan and Iran and are now in refugee camps.

·  People fled ethic and tribal violence as well as from international forces.

·  Some travelled to France, intending to cross the channel to the UK. They ended up in Calais on the French coast, trying to stow-away in lorries bound for the UK.

·  Most ended up living in a makeshift camp on wasteland called ’The Jungle’.

The Jungle:

·  Grew up on wasteland on the edge of Calais.

·  In 2009 there were 700-800 people living there, mainly young Afghani men.

·  Makeshift and unsanitary.

View of the locals:

·  The local people did not like having the jungle on their doorstep. They blamed the migrants for crimes and said that they begged on the streets.

The fate of the migrants:

·  On 22nd September 2009, those migrants who had not managed to sneak into the UK were arrested by the French police.

·  The camp was bulldozed.

·  However the police could not hold the men and most were simply released after a few hours.

·  They carried on trying to get to the UK.