From camp to campus: Jungle refugees head to university
A total of 80, mostly Sudanese, refugees are now studying in Lille
DOZENS of refugees have left the Calais ‘jungle’ to study at Lille University, under a scheme to help them integrate into French society.
Interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve said that 80 people left the camp to begin courses at Villeneuve-d’Ascq science campus in Lille.
The students, who are mostly Sudanese, will begin with a year’s immersion in the French language, before taking courses in a subject of their choice.
All have finished secondary school, said François Guennoc, from L’Auberge des migrants, an association that works closely with people in the camp.
They are being housed in a refugee welcome centre near the campus.
The move is part of a government policy to help people fleeing war, and help in the process of asylum-seeking and integration, Mr Cazeneuve said.
In September, President François Hollande said the camp will be 'completely' and 'definitively' dismantled.
France is working to rehouse the thousands refugees living there before the winter, and the president has called on the UK for help, saying the Brexit vote does not exonerate Britain from its responsibilities.
It is thought the camp is houses up to 10,000 refugees, including 1,000 lone children.
