Calais jungle, Refugee camp in Calais, France.
The Calais Jungle was a camp on a former landfill site near the port of Calais in France. The site housed people from different countries attempting to cross the Channel to the United Kingdom.
The camp formed in 2015 and grew to several thousand residents the following year. French authorities evacuated the site completely in October 2016 and demolished the shelters.
Inhabitants from Sudan, Eritrea, and other nations established informal markets, schools, and gathering spaces within the settlement to maintain their communities.
The site sits on the outskirts of Calais near the motorway leading to the port. After the evacuation the area was transformed into a nature reserve and is not accessible to visitors today.
Various humanitarian organizations set up temporary schools and medical facilities within the camp. Residents constructed improvised structures from wood, tarps, and other available materials to improve their living conditions.
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