I went to help at Calais’s Jungle refugee camp – and what I saw haunts me

The various EU countries that agreed to this tried very hard to make the whole refugee problem 'somebody else's problem'. By making the Southern countries ('first country of contact') the ones where they should apply for asylum. But there is no mechanism in place that stops people from moving and of course - conveniently - it would make it a non-issue for any of the Northern countries since legally no refugees would be able to apply for asylum there (that didn't stop anybody).

The exception is the UK, and that's where this particular camp comes into play. If the UK would not be an island then this camp would not exist. The fact that so few people end up there shows that borders in the EU really are all about physical barriers. Once in the Schengen area nothing stops you from moving about.

On another note: not all those that land in the EU are aware of these agreements, it's nation states that agreed to this, but they forgot they needed the consent of the refugees themselves as well, who - smart move - do not necessarily want to overstay their welcome in Spain, Greece, Turkey and Italy but would rather spread out a bit. And those countries really are already stretched to the breaking point when it comes to their capacity to accept newcomers so it is actually a good thing that there is a natural tendency to spread out over a much larger surface area.

The Calais camp is a simple artifact of the fact that the North Sea exists, without the sea it would be gone in a few days and those people there have nothing to lose trying to get to the other side. They risked their lives to get there they likely will not stop simply because there is a bit of water.

See the daily run at trucks trying to hide on them to get to the UK.

Or in developed parts of the world, for that matter. People are living on the streets sleeping under cardboard boxes or in the bushes in almost any major city in almost any developed nation, eating whatever they find in trashcans, with no access to healthcare or sanitation either.

Note that I'm not trying to downplay the misery the immigrants in Calais are in, or the terrible things they've endured. It just strikes me as odd that whenever some humanitary crisis occurs that attracts a lot of media attention, they forget about the misery they can find at home every day...

Mostly I'm trying to think of the best course of action for me as an individual. Not doing anything seems like the worst option. But when it comes to doing something, should I:

1. actively fight right-wing sentiment, with probably little effect (mostly preaching to the choir, as most of my friends are highly-educated left-wing liberals). 2. volunteer in a refugee camp, which while personally more satisfying, might waste more 'valuable' things I could do. 3. become politically active in some way, but this would require a significant up-front effort in trying to untangle the situation. 4. try to find longer-term sustainable solutions for refugees who are likely to be here for a long time no matter what happens, faced with few good options (they can't work, can't study, and are often isolated). 5. something else?

I'm currently a bit paralyzed by the possible options, yet for various reasons feel a strong desire to contribute to the problem, perceived or otherwise, of the influx refugees. I'd greatly appreciate some concrete suggestions.