Undeterred by Channel’s Perils, Desperate Migrants Still Plan to Cross
The New York Times
The number of migrants setting off into the English Channel by boat has soared in recent months. The deaths Wednesday of at least 27 people trying to make the crossing illustrate how dangerous it is.
CALAIS, France — The lights on the opposite side of the English Channel were visible on Thursday, emboldening Emanuel Malbah, an asylum seeker who has been living in a makeshift camp on France’s northern coastline for the past week, dreaming of making a crossing.
“I don’t believe that I’ll die,” he said. “I believe I’ll get to England.”
Just a thin waterway separates Mr. Malbah, 16, and other migrants from their goal after long journeys across Europe from homes they fled in the Mideast and Africa. But the narrowness of the passage is deceptive, as was made clear on Wednesday when at least 27 people died in a failed attempt to cross the Channel aboard a flimsy inflatable boat.
