Jauntily swinging an orange lifejacket in one hand and a special charity bag of food in the other, the heavily-bearded migrant in our photo is preparing to cross the Channel to Britain during the Holy Islamic month of Ramadan.
He is one of hundreds of Muslim men drawn from all over Europe to a new shanty camp of bell tents near the main hospital of the French port of Calais, where hundreds of Ramadan food packs are handed out daily by British charity workers.
The migrants carry the packs, containing tinned fish, bread, nuts, biscuits, and boiled eggs, back to the muddy camp to wait for sunset, the time they are allowed to break their daytime religious fast with an evening meal called Iftar.
Over the weekend, the Daily Mail watched hundreds of migrants from the camp queue up near the hospital to collect the Ramadan bags, largely paid for by British donations.
A 17-year-old Sudanese teenager called Abdul proudly opened his bag on Saturday morning to show off the food for a photo.
‘I will wait to eat this until I can have my Iftar meal at my tent this evening,’ he said. ‘I was in Italy at the start of Ramadan, but came here by train, and then a bus, for the chance of something regular to eat, and a boat to Britain.’
Abdul and two friends, also devout Muslims from Sudan, smiled as they explained why they had also been drawn to the port.
‘The charities give us our tents, and there are plenty of lifejackets for sale on the streets and in the migrant camps which make the boat crossings safer for us,’ they said.
Migrants in Calais queue up to receive food packs containing tinned fish, bread, nuts, biscuits, and boiled eggs
A shanty camp of bell tents where migrants live sits near the main hospital of the French port of Calais
A 17-year-old Sudanese teenager called Abdul proudly opened his bag on Saturday morning to show off the food for a photo
Hundreds of Ramadan food packs are handed out daily to migrants by British charity workers
‘Without the food we could not live well or remain strong during Ramadan.’
They then disappeared into the camp under trees and washing lines which has expanded in numbers since February 17, the start of the Ramadan fasting month.
A social media backlash has grown over the handout of Ramadan charity meals for migrants. One commentator on X has claimed they are actively drawing Muslim men to Calais for the boat crossings.
Another accused charities of ‘fattening up’ or physically strengthening male migrants for the 21-mile journey in open rubber boats in order to illegally enter the Kent ports.
One of the most active British migrant-help charities on the French coast, and also in UK towns now housing migrants, is Care4Calais.
Its website proclaims that the holy Ramadan month is a time for compassion and generosity as it calls for donations to finance ‘hundreds’ of the Islamic approved food packs for distribution in the port town.
The charity’s website says: ‘Muslims across the world are observing Ramadan with loved ones. But for refugees, far from home and family, living in appalling conditions in Calais, Ramadan can be a difficult and lonely time.’
It adds that Care4Calais is proud of distributing the special food for those religiously fasting, saying: ‘They are the difference between people being able to observe Ramadan with dignity or not.’
It says each food pack costs £6.90. ‘Will you chip in and help refugees observe Ramadan in brutal conditions by buying a pack for them?’ asks the charity on its website.
Ben Cottam, 36, from Exeter in Devon, runs another Calais-based charity, Refugee Community Kitchen, which helps supply the food packs for the Care4Calais handouts.
It has also asked for donations on JustGiving to prepare items that are ‘suitable for later consumption’ in line with daytime Ramadan fasting rules.
Cottam’s charity was this week also controversially calling for donations for a special Eid meal for Calais migrants.
This is the celebration on Thursday this week which will mark the end of the month of Ramadan.
A migrant in Calais is seen holding a life jacket and a charity bag of food as he returns to camp
Migrants at Calais are seen carrying charity bags containing Iftar meals for Ramadan
The Mail monitored the queues waiting for food, packed in white plastic bags, outside what French locals are now calling the ‘Ramadan camp’
The Mail monitored the queues waiting for food, packed in white plastic bags, outside what French locals are now calling the ‘Ramadan camp’.
‘Migrants are coming to Calais from all over France to get the meals. They are being enticed here,’ a Frenchman, in his 40s, washing his car and living near the hospital camp told us.
‘The numbers waiting to cross the Channel to get to the UK are growing because of these meals.’
The Mail also tracked down a handful of Christian migrants near the controversial camp. The men said they had set up some tents elsewhere in Calais woodlands because they did not want to live with Muslims.
Hailing from Eritrea in east Africa, they sat on a wall at a roundabout near the hospital watching the queues for Ramadan food packs.
‘We are not allowed the special meals because we are not Muslim and not fasting,’ said one named Biniam, in his early 20s.
‘We get chicken and beans instead, but we are still fed by Care4Calais and other charities during Ramadan. We go to a different charity van.’
In the past week, according to Government figures, 384 migrants on five traffickers’ boats have arrived in the Kent port of Ramsgate from France.
More than 196,000 migrants have crossed the English Channel to enter Britain without permission since 2018.
Many of the thousands of arrivals in recent years are in Home Office hotels and other rent-free accommodation provided by the Government as they wait for asylum claims to be processed.