Journalists Attacked In Calais Migrant Camp, Pro-Immigration Activists Urge Them to Remove Evidence from Internet

Two Dutch film makers have been attacked in the infamous Calais Jungle camp by migrants wielding pepper spray and a knife. Members of the Calais Migrant Solidarity group have urged them to remove the clip from the Internet, stating menacingly: “You are not doing yourself a favour by putting it online as I think this is not what you came for to Calais…”

Ms. Engels released the clip, taken while filming her new documentary, “Calais: Welcome to the Jungle,” via her YouTube account.

The clip, which only lasts 41 seconds, clearly shows her colleague and photographer Teun Voeten being attacked and thrown into a tent while three men pin him down. The perpetrators then proceed to run off down the makeshift streets of the migrant settlement.

Mr. Voeten is a longstanding contributor to outlets such as Vanity Fair, the New York Times Magazine, National Geographic, Newsweek, and Time magazine–the latter of which named German Chancellor Angela Merkel as their Person of the Year in 2015. {snip}

The description in the video alleges that the pair were set upon by three migrants armed with a “big knife” and pepper spray. The attackers attempted to rob the pair before other migrant residents of the Jungle were able to chase them off.

Ms. Engels posted the video on her Facebook along with her reaction to the attack, describing the men who robbed her as, “a couple of assholes,” then going on to make excuses for her attackers, saying they are likely to become criminals because, “they’ve got nothing higher to aim at”.

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Photographer, and victim of the attack, Teun Voeten also posted the footage on Facebook to the group “Calais Migrant Solidarity (no borders),” and was met with comments urging him to remove the footage.

One comment went as far to say, “You are not doing yourself a favour by putting it online as I think this is not what you came for to Calais…” while another added: “In the wrong hands this footage could be used irresponsibly”.

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This video comes at a crucial time for the Calais migrant camp as French officials announced their plans to demolish the encampment and force residents to move by January 18th. The BBC reports that the move is to combat poor living conditions in the camp and trade the tents currently being used for housing and replace them with converted shipping containers.

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