The Jungle

/ Sky Blue English/

This week the so-called 'Jungle' in Calais started being destroyed. It started off as a refugee centre in 1999, closed in 2002 and then reopened. It had grown into a huge, sprawling , shanty town housing thousands of refugees and immigrants . The conditions were horrendous and although there were basic facilities, they were in a terrible state . It was disease-ridden , plagued by rats and 'far below any minimum standards for refugee camps'. Under pressure to take action, the French authorities decided to get rid of the site and have taken bus loads of people off to asylum centres in other parts of France. There were and maybe still are, a large number of unaccompanied children sleeping rough . Personally, I think the whole situation has been extremely badly handled and I feel that Britain could have 'played its part' as the French president said and done a lot more to help.

What's your view? Let me know in the comments section below.

 Glossary

  • so-called (adjective)

Used to introduce a term that you do not think is suitable

  • a refugee centre (noun)

A place where refugees can go to during the day and sometimes the night too.

  • sprawling (adj.)

Somewhere that is getting bigger

  • A shanty town (noun)

A place with lots of temporary shelters

  • A refugee (noun)

Someone that has left his/her country due to war or other dangerous circumstances.

  • A migrant (noun)

Someone that has left their country to find work

  • horrendous(adj.)

Very bad

  • facilities (noun)

Places to wash and go to the toilet

  • state (noun)

The condition that something is in

  • disease-ridden (phrase)

A place where diseases exist

  • to be plagued (verb - passive)

Something that causes problems

  • under pressure (phrase)

To be forced or persuaded to do something

  • authorities (noun)

The people/organisations that make decisions in a particular area

  • to get rid of (phrasal verb)

To remove something

  • an asylum centre (noun)

A place where people go who are applying to stay in a country that is not their own

  • unaccompanied (adj)

When someone goes somewhere alone

  • to sleep rough (phrase)

To sleep outside, often on the street

  • badly handled (phrase)

Not well managed

  • to play ones part (phrase)

To take part of the responsabilty for something