The good news is that European politicians have reached an agreement on how to handle migration.
The bad news was that it sounded like a very familiar kind of pact – they agreed there was a problem, it was serious and something had to be done.
But the thorny subject of exactly what could be done again – well, that was left for another day.
What we got was a show of collective effort. Interior Minister Suella Braverman was in Brussels, stressing the political weight she has given to the fight against migration. This is also the case of the French Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, who spoke of the “new cooperation” between the two countries.
But when the official announcement came, there were few signs of a big step forward – no new initiatives or rollouts. The most striking statement was the hope that the UK would reopen negotiations with the European border agency, Frontex, on how best to work together.
But, perhaps, you could say that what we got was a sign of a more thoughtful approach.
A realization that the phenomenon of migration is not dealt with by short-term solutions, but by a long-term vision of how to tackle certain fundamental questions – why do people move through the Europe in the first place, how far do the tentacles of people go – migrant smuggling, what is Europe’s responsibility in welcoming migrants and how to protect the continent’s borders?
“This is a collective problem that requires a collective solution,” Ms Braverman said. “It was a very constructive meeting between partners who are ultimately grappling with identical problems of illegal migration.”
Whether or not cross-Channel migration is indeed illegal remains a thorny question. The United Nations argues that the term should not be used, insisting that it cannot be illegal to seek asylum and that the term stigmatizes refugees.
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Ms Braverman argues that cross-Channel crossings are facilitated by illegal gangs and allow people to enter the UK without permission. She previously called the increase in cross-Channel migration an “invasion”.
Ms Braverman told me: ‘There is a very strong criminal character to these illegal migration routes. They are largely organized by criminal gangs and there is evidence to show that people come to the UK through to exploitation and smugglers – criminal gangs that are very well coordinated and exploit the vulnerable.
“We are all facing at the moment an increasing number of people arriving illegally in our respective countries. We have difficulties in reducing this, resource problems, but we have a common recognition of this challenge.
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Migrants diagnosed with diphtheria
When I asked his French counterpart, Mr. Darmanin, about the meeting, he sounded upbeat and positive, while using a rather awkward turn of phrase. “I want to tell our British friends that we are in this together,” he said. “We have work to do together to fight illegal immigration.
“That means tackling smugglers and traffickers, and I think we can look forward to the new cooperation with UK Minister Suella Braverman.
“It’s obviously difficult, I don’t forget it’s difficult for the British, it’s difficult for the French. A lot of these migrants are in the north of France and the French population has been putting up with this for over 20 years old.”
In northern France, around Calais and Dunkirk, there are still camps full of people trying to get to the UK. Two weeks ago, while filming at a sprawling, unpleasant site near the town of Grande-Synthe, we caught up with Rebaz, who had spent months traveling from Kurdistan, despite his right leg having was amputated below the knee.
Rebaz spent months traveling from Kurdistan, despite having his right leg amputated below the knee
Now Rebaz is in Britain, having crossed the English Channel on a small boat. Speaking from a detention center near Heathrow, he said he would not advise anyone to follow his path.
“I don’t think anyone should take this trip,” he said. “No one should take this sea route, it’s very dangerous. That night our dinghy had no air and the engine wasn’t running and we almost drowned.”
He expected to be well received in the UK, not least because he claims his injuries were the result of a NATO airstrike. Instead, he told us the reception had been cold.
“When I came to the UK, honestly I thought they would treat me very well. But nobody cared about me here. I’ve been here for eight days and nobody cares.
“They know that NATO hit me and I lost a leg and my other leg, my back and my head are all injured. But now I don’t have good feelings. They don’t have me. not helped at all. the camp at this hotel and that’s it. I ask them to help me, take me to a better place and give me extra attention because I am disabled. But they don’t mock.
It’s a miserable testament, but migration is often a miserable and traumatic experience. European leaders seem to recognize this and understand the extent of the problem. But what’s still unclear is the shape of their plan to turn things around.
