Calais Jungle

Julia published this series of documentary photographs from Calais Jungle after its recent demolishment in October 2016: She visited the settlement and documented the people there just four weeks before this occurred. The settlement inhabited an estimated 10,000 Refugees from countries such as Syria, Afghanistan, Eritrea and the Sudan, who have fled the conflict occurring in their native countries and travelled the thousands of miles to Calais, France, in the hope that they can make the final stretch across the channel into the UK. For most of them, sadly, the flat stretch of land known as Calais Jungle had become their home, and now its demolishment has threatened what little they have. Julia photographed the Jungle and the work carried out by an established charity that supports the people living here: Care4Calais. She visited the charity's warehouse, where all the donations provided for Refugees are stored, arranged and distributed to the Refugees by the volunteers each week. Whilst documenting the Jungle, Julia heard harrowing stories of the pain and suffering experienced by the Refugees, some of them have resided in France since 2009, yet their strength, positivity and kindness astounded her. Hopefully these photographs will go some way in conveying the experiences of these displaced people,whose futures are still so uncertain.