Along the Opal Coast in northern France, thousands of people in exile are forced to survive in extremely precarious conditions, hoping to reach the English coast after a dangerous journey by sea or by land. Crossings are becoming increasingly dangerous, while sleeping in makeshift camps without reliable access to water, sanitation, shelter or healthcare; being repeatedly evicted; and having their personal belongings confiscated have become part of everyday life for people stranded at the border.
Prevented from leaving, prevented from staying, they are increasingly forced to depend on a humanitarian system struggling to cope with an unprecedented crisis. Organisations working on the ground report violence, health risks and numerous barriers to accessing fundamental rights.
Since the dismantling of the “Jungle” in 2016, a policy of zero settlement has been in place. It involves evicting people from the places where they survive outdoors every 48 hours, constantly dispersing them further afield and, in doing so, making the situation increasingly invisible. Bodies and minds are exhausted.
The invisibility imposed on people in exile, coupled with their dehumanisation in public space, is reflected in the way they are represented in the media. It affects their ability to speak about what they experience.
People in exile are at the heart of debates on migration, yet are placed in conditions of fear and material insecurity that make it difficult for them to tell their own stories. Their images, journeys and experiences are frequently told by others, using words that can sometimes fuel false and dangerous narratives.
This situation is all the more concerning because the realities experienced on the ground are complex and, at times, devastating. The consequences of migration policies, justified and normalised by part of the media, have direct and tangible effects on people’s bodies and minds.
555 women, children and men have lost their lives at the border while attempting to reach England.
In this context, creating a media platform adapted to today’s audiovisual landscape, with and for people in exile, addresses a major challenge: creating the conditions for them to reclaim a place in the digital public sphere, at a time when dehumanisation is fuelling hatred and violence.
Lakta aims to provide access to the tools and spaces needed to tell these stories with accuracy and humanity, while placing the protection of people and their data at the heart of its work, in an increasingly hostile environment.