Brutal reality in Calais
It’s not my cup of tea to publicly comment on the political events in Europe, but this time I just can’t be quiet, because I am full of emotions, mixture of anger and despair.
As you all know, we do business with the vintage cars that are purchased from different places around the world and the largest market for us is the United Kingdom. In England there are countless traders of classic cars, mechanics specialists and real enthusiasts. No wonder as England has a rich automobile history and it is a real pleasure to deal with them, for me personally I like to participate in the cars parades. Each time it is a very pleasant and friendly trip.
The actual transport for us is provided by our driver Pavel, who is experienced and always reliable, with hundreds of thousands of driven kilometres/miles across whole Europe. Yes, the driver has very hard job, but Pavel is used to all sorts, he managed already in various more or less unpleasant situations, and I dare to say that he enjoys working for us. Therefore we try wherever possible to make his journey as pleasant as we can with a pre-selected comfortable hotel with breakfast and the large secure parking is an obvious requirement. Our great office manager Gabriela is available for Pavel during his journey 24 hours daily for support over the phone, just in case of emergency.
I like to have a feeling that if it’s possible to have everything under control, nevertheless we transport a valuable cargo. Of course I understand that it can be a bad luck and unforeseen situations such as a traffic collisions or weather, strike at the French road and many others. Those things just happen, and we must take them as they are. But then one day comes a situation that does not fit into the framework of an acceptable kind of scene that can happen on the road – the situations that doesn’t cause traffic congestion, severe thunderstorm or punctured wheel. The situation that Pavel has to fear for his life and this is at one of the major transportation hubs in Western Europe.
French Calais on the way to the ferry to Dover in England has become a place that after a dark turns into a jungle with wild animals. Hundreds of homeless migrants armed with knives and sticks that are not afraid in the middle of the road to light a huge bonfire of straw bales and trash in order to stop a column of trucks arriving to the port. Of course that vehicles will stop even tough truckers don’t play stunts passing through fire and then “their moment comes”. They (migrants) jump behind the cabins trucks, under the sail of trailers, tight under the axles, when the fire burns down, the column slowly gets going, none of the drivers dare leave their vehicle and only wish is that they reach their destination and return home without any injury.
The remaining crowd waiting for the “better tomorrow” disappears in the darkness behind the safety fence just few minutes before the arrival of the French police commando with the tear gas. No chasing, there is no point to talk about the arrest; this could be just another xenophobic speech. To cross the sea to Dover is for “them” of course impossible. Before the arrival at the ferry is another group of policemen who gets rid of the rest hanging on trucks, again somehow effortlessly – and you know what, they‘ll play the same game tomorrow again.
But let’s return to the story, Pavel at the front of burning out barricade doesn’t see anything in the mirrors as “they” fold them, but the sound and the aftershocks assures him of the presence of an unknown number of stowaways under the tarp of the trailer.
He decides to do a movement which “they” don’t expect and instead of heading to the ferry he chooses the nearest town, where there is a police station. With fear, but still feeling that he is doing the right thing. The noise doesn’t stop and when they find out that he is going elsewhere than to the ferry, they will moreover even begin to throw unsecured objects out on the road from the trailer. When he reaches the junctions with the police patrol, he alerts them of his unwanted cargo and asked them for help. The officers let off some of the pressure cylinder with the tear gas, throw them into the trailer and let them to run away. Pavel goes to look at the car and see the damage. The sail is from all sides completely cut.
he identity of the perpetrators isn’t known, nothing can be done, so Pavel was offered to go to the nearest police station to write a report. He refuses and subsequently he is searched, questioned about where and why he goes etc. and then after several phone calls with us decides to board at the nearest ferry towards safe Dover.
Of course, it’s “only” the sail, it’s “just” a sunken ticket for a ferry, but I have a strong feeling that someone should compensate our loss. The question is “who”? French police, government, the president Holland? The European Union, which can’t ensure the security of its citizens? Is it the compensation of the damage? Is it money? The point is that Pavel three days later, when he finally came back, still had the goose bumps on his hands from telling us the story he experienced. It is therefore a sense of security that Pavel will never have again, if we send him back by the same route overnight. We have to take certain precautions of course, so he will be not traveling in the night, but sleep in a safe distance from Calais and always continue in the morning. So extra night in the hotel, but again, it’s “just” money.
What annoys me the most that we have to adapt, the EU politicians forcing us to learn to live with it and to cope on our own. In the context of political correctness we allow ourselves to be frightened. It’s really hard for me to digest the fact that we have to experience it from the other side. If I as an EU citizen arrive by my aircraft to any French airport, which is within the Schengen area, I am subject of the unnecessary security checks as a part of the precaution announced by France, along with the still ongoing state of emergency in the connection with the fight against terrorism.
Do they also control those who live in the camp in Calais known as the “Jungle”?
Are they aware of their identity?
Is the Czech citizen with the US registration aircraft who is coming legally to France a bigger threat than a group of thousands and thousands immigrants of unknown origin terrorizing the drivers who arrive to Calais?
The articles attached below are a rare phenomenon; otherwise there is a lot of deliberate ignorance and people are not aware of the situation as the mainstream media cannot be politically incorrect. To publicly mark the immigrants as criminals or as a problem equals as racist public statement. EU leaders have learned the politically correct vocabulary and their performances are shows full of cowardice and alibis. That is very good for those, who comes to Europe with bad intentions and their greatest weapon is our weakness and incompetence. How is it possible, that the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is the only one who is capable to name the things by their right names publicly and perform the action needed to defend his country and stand up towards the European Union?
How is it possible that in Sweden, where a growing number of crimes are committed by immigrants who are not punished for their actions, but in most cases freed by the court and even get a residence permit as a bonus?
The European civilization has been collapsing for some time and those, who can stop it pretends that they don’t know anything. I have a feeling that we are slowly driven to “euthanasia”, but can’t explain exactly what the purpose is. I have heard many reasons, which at the first hearing sounds as phantasmagoric conspiracy scenarios, that they are so bizarre and unbelievable that there could be something about them.
On the other side of the globe in Australia, they are careful who they let come in to their country. Even though I do like Australia; I don’t think I could live there. I like it here in Czech Republic, although what is happening here in politics and despite the ongoing crisis in Europe.
It is very easy to go, where it works according to our ideas, but if we do not wave our hands over the seemingly trivial story, that Pavel went through, we may be able to wake up from the lethargic path we are on, but to be honest I am not quite sure about that.
Ivo Smutný, AVC