Making the initial asylum claim and getting a ‘take charge’ request issued Initially, when voluntary organisations arrived in government to receive initial registrations to claim Calais, children in the ‘Jungle’ had no idea about asylum and book formal appointments at the their eligibility for transfer. A lack of accessible, prefecture. However, with only a handful of staff, age and language-appropriate information what should be a drop-in service has become meant that children believed they would be hugely over-subscribed. There is a queue of 30 forced to apply for asylum in France if they made to 40 people outside the office every day, both themselves known to authorities. Many hoped to adults and children, and a three-month waiting reach the UK and reunite with family members, list for an appointment with FTDA, though so were keen to avoid remaining in France. In minors are being fast-tracked. This is a lengthy addition, several had faced abuse while staying wait for a relatively simple procedure – taking in the locality. the child’s name, parents’ names and details A mistrust of the authorities, along with pressure of their journey to France – and often, when from the smugglers who profit by convincing the child arrives at their allotted time, there is vulnerable asylum seekers not to put their faith no appropriate interpreter available; children in the law, dissuaded children from applying frequently resort to using friends or other camp for asylum. Voluntary organisations conducted residents as translators. outreach work with the children, translating When they do receive an appointment at the information into appropriate languages – both préfecture, a similar story unfolds. Despite written and oral, since many children have been having made an appointment, voluntary out of school for some time – and working organisations report a minimum three-hour wait long and hard to gain the children’s trust and for a ten minute interview, fingerprinting, taking convince them that they could legally apply for a photograph and photocopying documents. asylum in the UK. Translators are often absent or speak the wrong For those few children who did seek asylum language. One problem reported by everyone in the early months, French authorities were we spoke to was the severe shortage of ad hoc not reliably asking them whether they had administrators – the adult legal representatives family elsewhere in Europe and wished to required by French law to accompany and be transferred. Outside of Calais, we heard represent minors throughout the asylum examples of cases in Dunkirk in which children process. Without an ad hoc administrator, the were promised by OFII (French Office of appointment cannot take place and it can be a Immigration and Integration) that their family six-week wait for another one. In August 2016, in the UK would be tracked down and a take there were only three ad hoc administrators charge request issued, but this did not happen and one coordinator, all voluntary, all recruited and the child ended up involuntarily seeking and trained by the French Red Cross. Ad hoc asylum in France. In one case, the voluntary administrators must fulfil certain conditions: as organisation working in Dunkirk attempted to well as being over 30, French and demonstrating track down the boy to support him to appeal a good moral character, they must have sufficient but, angry and upset, he had disappeared and available time to take on an intensive caseload was impossible to find. Voluntary organisations without pay. There is a backlog of cases, some now support children to try to ensure these of which were started as early as June, which breaches do not happen anymore. the ad hoc administrators are simply too busy to However, now that the children are beginning to take on, and so the children wait in the ‘Jungle’ trust the system, there is a severe lack of human in limbo until their cases can proceed. resources available to handle the sheer volume Finally, once the take charge requests have been of claims. An organisation called FTDA (France made, basic administrative errors often cause Terre d’Asile) has been mandated by the French severe delays. We heard one report of a request No place for children 6