Why do so many from all over the world try to cross the English channel? | World News

While the politicians spoke, so many people came from all over the world to try to cross the channel with small boats. But why?

Why make a very dangerous intersection to try to get to a country that seems increasingly hostile to asylum seekers?

When British and French leaders met, with a small boat on the front lines of their agenda, we came to North France to get some answers.

This is not a new question, but seasoned with fresh relevance.

During the morning spent around the migrant camp in Dunkirk, we met migrant From Gaza, Iraq, Eritrea, South Sudan, Sri Lanka and its surroundings.

Some afraid, waving our hands; Some like to talk. Very few are comfortable filmed.

All except one person – who said he came to the wrong place and really – really wanted to claim asylum in Paris – intend to reach England.

They saw the calm sea, feeling the gentle breeze – the perfect condition for the crossing of small boats.

John has come here South Sudan. He told me that he was now 18 years old. He left his host country that was hit by war right before his 16th birthday. He felt that reaching England was his destiny.

“Britain is my dream country,” he said. “It’s my dream since I was still at school. It was the country that colonized us and when I got there, I would feel like I was at home.

“In England, they can give me the opportunity to succeed or do whatever I need to do in my life. I feel like I am a British child, who was born in Africa.”

He said he wanted a career in England, either as a journalist or human resource, and, like many other people we met, struggling to insist he would work hard.

The crossing of the ship was wrapped more than just an inconvenience – trivial compared to the previous difficulty from its journey to England.

We met a group of men who were all traveling GazaIntend to start a new life in England and then bring their families to join them.

A man, who left Gaza two years ago, told me that his son had been shot at the feet “but there was no hospital for him to go to”.

Next to him, a man named Abdullah said he entered Europe through Greece and lived there for months, but was told that the Greek authorities would never allow him to bring his family.

England, he thought, would be more accommodating. “Gaza is being destroyed – we need help,” he said.

A man from Eritrea Tell us that he escaped from a failed country and had friends in England – he planned to become a bicycle courier in London or Manchester.

He could not live in France, he said, because he did not speak French. English is presented as a big draw for many people we talk to, like during similar conversations for years.

I ask many of these people why they don’t want to live in France, or other safe European countries.

Some repeat that they cannot speak language and feel alienated. Others said that he tried, and failed, to get permission to residency in France and Belgium.

But this too, clear, a defective survey. Last year, five times more people were looking for asylum in France like in England.

And French critics have long insisted that Britain, a country without an European -style ID card system, made him attractive to migrants who could “disappear”.

Read more:
Channel crossing rose 50% in the first six months of 2025
French police are forced to watch when the migrants try to cross

A young man from IraqWith truly perfect English, coming to chat. He issued confidence and a number of damage.

It only takes seven days to leave Iraq to Dunkirk; When I asked how he traveled so fast, he shrugged. “Money Talks”.

He looked around him. “Let me tell you – everyone you see around you will get to England and the first job they get will be in the black market, so they will not pay any taxes.

“Back on that day in England, they used to welcome immigrants very well, but today I don’t think they want, because too many of them come by boat. Every day around seven or 800 people. That’s too many people.”

“But,” I asked, “If those people are a problem – then what makes you different? Are you also a problem?”

He shook his head firmly. “I know that I’m a very good person. And I won’t be a problem. I will only live in England for a few years and then I will leave again.”

A man from Sri Lanka said he “would feel safe” when he arrived in England; A tall man and smiling from Ethiopia echoed sentiment: “We are not safe in our home country, so we have come here,” he said. “We want to work, being part of England.”

Emmanuel is someone else from South Sudan – wise and fluent. He left his country five years ago – “at the beginning of Covid” – and had not seen his children all the time. The goal is to start a new life in England, and then bring his family to join him.

He is an electric engineer who is trained, but said he can also work as a truck driver. He insisted that England had responsibility to people from their former colonies.

“England came to my country – colonizing, killing, raping,” he said. “And we don’t complain. We let it happen.

“I am not the problem. I will not fight anyone; I want to work. And if I break the law – if there are immigrants violating the law – then okay, deport them.

“I know it’s not easy – some people will not like me, some people will do it. But England is my dream.”