Desperate for a Better Life

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Refugees: Desperate for a Better Life

As the European Union wrestles with the growing pains of expansion and struggles to ratify its first constitution, the EU has yet to formalize a unified policy on immigration and many countries are taking draconian steps to stem the flow of illegal immigrants crossing their borders. Recently the French and British governments agreed to close the Sangatte refugee camp near Calais, France at the entrance of the tunnel that runs underneath the...
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Refugees: Desperate for a Better Life

As the European Union wrestles with the growing pains of expansion and struggles to ratify its first constitution, the EU has yet to formalize a unified policy on immigration and many countries are taking draconian steps to stem the flow of illegal immigrants crossing their borders. Recently the French and British governments agreed to close the Sangatte refugee camp near Calais, France at the entrance of the tunnel that runs underneath the English Channel. The closing of the camp forced hundreds of refugees into the street where they where subjected to sub-freezing temperatures and the wrath of local police. In Belgium, asylum seekers from Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, and the Congo, have been denied political asylum by the government which claimed their plight was economic rather than political. Yet, many of these families fear for their lives if forced to return to their home countries. Whatever their specific situations, refugees endure living in deplorable conditions and resort to desperate measures as they search for a better life.
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