Commemoration of the 24 November 2021 shipwreck

Three years after the shipwreck of 24 November 2021 we stand together to call for a world free from border violence. As deaths at the FR-UK border have reached unprecedented levels in 2024, we call on political authorities to learn from the tragic events of 24 November 2021, amongst others, and put an end to this.

On 24 November 2021, at least 33 people in a dinghy tried to reach the United Kingdom from the coast of Dunkirk. Many of them came from Iraqi Kurdistan, but also from Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Iran, Egypt, Somalia, and Vietnam.

Three hours into the crossing, their boat found itself in distress. At this point, the boat was still in French waters. Although the people onboard made contact with the CROSS (Centres régionaux opérationnels de surveillance et sauvetage), they refused to send help. Between 1.48am and 4.34am, various people on board continued to call for help, but neither French nor British rescue services launched any operations. The inflatable dinghy was found by a fishing boat, 12 hours after leaving France.

After the shipwreck, survivors spoke out about their experiences and the way that they had been abandoned by rescue services, despite their attempts to call for help. Several weeks later, the French organisation Utopia 56, alongside family members of those who died,brought charges against French authorities.

The British government also set up an independent inquiry to look into the events that caused this fatal shipwreck. A preliminary hearing of the Cranston Inquiry took place in October 2024, almost three years after the shipwreck and following the deaths of at least 100 more people in the Channel. As political authorities pass responsibility onto others and fail to react in time to such disasters, people continue to die at the border as a direct result of their actions.

Since 1999, at least 467 people have died trying to reach the UK, and in recent years, that number is increasing at a horrifying rate. Since the shipwreck of 24 November 2021, at least 127 migrants have died at this border.

Over 78 people have already died at this border since the start of 2024, making it the most fatal year on record. In the same week as the preliminary hearing, another fatal shipwreck took place in the Channel, with 3 recorded deaths, many more reported missing, and 10 bodies found on the Pas-de-Calais beaches in the following weeks.

Many of those who died drowned in the Channel, but others were hit by vehicles on the motorway or trains, electrocuted by a live wire on the Eurotunnel site, asphyxiated inside lorries, died by suicide, drowned in the canal whilst trying to bathe or died due to poor living conditions and lack of healthcare.

Despite the fatal results of continually subjecting people to violence at the border, French, Belgian and British authorities maintain their so-called security focused approach to immigration, which only makes this border more and more hostile. It’s clear that this ever-increasing militarisation of the border does not stop anyone moving, but simply makes it more dangerous, and often fatal.

The authorities of these three countries have designed their shared border to be a dangerous place. With their adamant refusal to provide support, and their continued investment of at least 300 million euros between 2017 and 2022 on excessive surveillance and ‘protection’ measures, such as kilometres of barriers, barbed wire, drones, and increasing police patrols, these authorities hold the political responsibility for each and every one of these deaths.

We, Belgian, British, and French organisations, collectives, and activists, support the actions taken by victims’ relatives and families before the courts, to ensure that the truth on exactly what happened on that murderous night is exposed, and justice is achieved. We stand together to call for an urgent and radical change in the policies pursued at this and other European borders.

The rights of migrants must be fully respected and the values and principles of welcome and free movement must replace the racist logic of deadly border violence. We stand in solidarity with all those displaced. They should not face the further trauma of militarised and violent borders when they seek safety in Belgium, France or the UK. These governments must work together to ensure people can migrate safely.

As long as the Belgian, British, and French governments continue to coordinate simultaneous violence at the shared border and as long as people need and desire to move across borders, our solidarity and work must continue to reach beyond borders. We will continue to work together in solidarity with people on the move, to ensure that their rights are respected and that justice is done when these rights are violated.

This Saturday, 23 November 2024, a commemoration has been organised in Dunkirk. Please join from 7pm at Place Jean Bart to remember those who were killed on 24 November 2021, and all the other victims of the border regime.

Signed by :

ASSIST Sheffield
Association of Visitors to Immigration Detainees(AVID)
Big Leaf Foundation
Cambridge Convoy Refugee Action Group
CARAS
CNCD-11.11.11
Cross Border Forum
Doctors of the World
Freedom from Torture
Humans for Rights Network
IMIX
Institute of Race Relations
Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants
Jesuit Refugee Service UK
JRS FRANCE
JRS Belgium
Kent Refugee Action Network (KRAN)
La Cimade
Médecins du Monde France
Médecins du Monde Belgique
Migrant Democracy Project
Migrants Organise
Migreurop
NANSEN asbl
Project Play
Refugee Legal Support
Safe Passage International
Utopia 56
Vents Contraires
William Nicholas Gomes, Human rights activist and Freelance journalist