Attracting the attention of the international media in the fall of 2015, the refugee crisis raised several important concerns for citizens and lawmakers alike. Considering consequences of either embracing or stopping the flow of refugee immigration, they scrupulously sought the best course of action. How were the nations to accomadate so many people? How would the refugees impact their economy? How would nations monitor such large migrations? How well will the immigrants integrate into the new societies? And with such factors in mind, should nations open their borders to the refugees? Theorizing potential consequences, leaders enacted policies according to what they believed was most beneficial to their constituents. As time passed, however, the refugee crisis no longer occupied its previously important status in the media, leaving one question unanswered. Where are the refugees now?
Temporary settlement for migrants, a camp called the "Jungle" in Northern France, sadly falls far from meeting the needs of the migrant children, some of whom travel alone. According to a Reuter's article, many migrant children will pass through the camp which is located in the Department of Pas-de-Calais. Though unreliable, an approximation places the number of migrants children who have entered the camp to be 2,000. In the recent report, "Neither Safe Nor Sound", UNICEF describes the conditions of the Jungle to be "terrible". Having journeyed from their home countries into Northern France, refugee children face mental and physical dangers in the Jungle.
For instance, basic necessities, such as access to food and water, are not adequately provided. Although equipped with hygenic facilities, the camp frequently experiences shortages or blockages that limit the use of these facilities. Access to showers is difficult and burdensome with hour-long lines and fees that accompany shower usage. In the report, UNICEF says that nearly three-fourths of the migrants were denied access to daily showers. In addition 28.4% do not receive daily meals, and 71.6% receive at least one meal each day. Especially for growing children, receiving proper amounts of nutrients is not only essential to survival but also crucial to future physical health. Furthermore, medical attention in the Jungle does not meet the demands of the children. The same report, "Neither Safe Nor Sound," illustrates the health situation to be "catastrophic and deteriorating." Levels of infectious disease from camp conditions and numbers of injuries from their migration are high. Health issues include colds, bronchitis, chicken pox, lacerations and fractures. The list of the Jungle's failures continues and including the failure to provide education and a sense of security, both of which are important for the children. After making arduous journeys to reach Pas-de-Calais, refugee children are egregiously mistreated and neglected in camps, such as the Jungle.
Exacerbating the current situation, exploitation and sexual violence pose threats to the refugee children. UNICEF says that the fear of being raped is ubiquitous among the children in the Jungle which contributes to their fear of going outside. In fact, sexual advances towards migrant children are common, creating a sense of insecurity and danger which jeopardizes the children's mental health. Many children are exploited; sometimes they do so voluntarily to collect money that they may afford to leave the Jungle and continue their passage. The exploitation itself and the fear of exploitation damage the children's mental and physical health in addition to the suffering in the Jungle.
Crossing multiple borders to escape poverty, violence and war, migrants seek new landscapes to call their home where they can build a better future. Yet so many of those migrants are children, independent expatriates. Nevertheless, they have not grown strong enough to tolerate the physical demands, do not have financial security, and do not have as much experience as adults, forcing them to reside in camps for extended periods and exposing them to exploitation. Far from being a citadel and comfort to the children, the Jungle is a crude, poorly-kept environment, plagued by disease and depraved of sustenance. There, struggling to meet their basic needs, the children occupy the bottom of the food chain in which traffickers prey on vulnerability and desperation.
