Church and Mosque Destroyed in Calais "Jungle"
Despite promises to the contrary, officials from the Calais Prefecture bulldozed a church and a mosque in the refugee camp.
St Michael's, a small makeshift chapel serving mainly Orthodox Ethiopian Christians among the migrants, was among several parts of the camp that were bulldozed.
The charity Help Refugees UK wrote on Facebook: "Sad to report that the Church has now been demolished despite the Prefecture promises to not touch places of worship. There was just time for a last minute prayer before the machinery tore in. [The Pastor] stood by in dignified silence, clutching the remaining cross from the Church roof".
And despite promises to the contrary, at around 9am the Calais Prefecture also bulldozed the mosque which was in the newly created "buffer zone". Previously they had agreed the mosque, church and school would not be affected during operations to clear a safe space between the camp and the public roads.
There are "five or six mosques," and one church in the camp, said Christian Salomé, president of l’association L’Auberge des migrants. "The mosque was abandoned, but there was still a mass in church [the day before the demolition]. This is a gratuituous and aggressive act towards one religious community". He said the decision puts more pressure on migrants and will strengthen their resolve to "reach England at any cost."
Sources:
Facebook page HelpRefugeesUK (photo credit)
