Desperate People, Desperate Acts

"It is illegal and very dangerous to attempt to enter the tunnel, and a person can be seriously injured or killed."
"Mr. Haroun could now face prison, and he will likely not be able to get asylum. He has lost everything."
Romain Dufour, spokesman, Eurotunnel

Migrants are illuminated by police torches as they run to cross a fence during an attempt to access the Eurotunnel Photo: Reuters

Despite heightened security in response to the mayhem created with thousands of refugees from the Middle East and Africa flooding into Europe, one refugee made a prodigious effort to bypass all the security and propel himself in a dashing sprint to circumvent detection and arrive at his hoped-for destination. Abdul Rahman Haroun, 40, left Calais to traverse the underground of the Channel Tunnel, determined to reach Britain and imagined freedom.

He clambered over four fences erected to ensure that if as continually happened a group of refugees attempted to breach one or two, four would be too much of a hindrance to their plans. He managed, however, to evade hundreds of security cameras and search teams. And he strode about 50 km underground, dodging trains headed to London, streaming by at 150 km/h.

He was the first migrant to walk the length of the Channel Tunnel; arriving close to the opposite side of the tunnel, in Folkestone, England, when he was apprehended. The Sudanese man was charged with obstructing engines or carriages under the Malicious Damage Act of 961, expected to appear at Canterbury Crown Court on August 24 to be sentenced. Not, presumably, if he could help it, but incarcerated, he cannot avoid that appointment.

Migrants have tried just about everything to cross the channel. Cutting through fences, stowing themselves aboard trucks, attempting to rush the barricades and evade security, only to be shoved back to where they began. And they will try again the following day. A few succeed in getting through to Britain in the general melee that ensues complicated by a dockers' strike in France. Meanwhile, the makeshift camps in Calais are absorbing more people as time goes by.

Migrants run towards the Eurotunnel (Reuters)

Hundreds of migrants attempted to enter the Eurotunnel terminal overnight Tuesday of last week. They were restrained, but Mr. Haroun was able from 7:30 a.m. Tuesday to make his way toward England, using the southern rail crossing. Security personnel were alerted, and traffic was stopped in a 16-km stretch while inspectors searched the tunnel, sealing the entrance on the French side.

Two-hour delays took place, a "test" train was dispatched at slow speed to inspect the tunnel, while police officers scoured the area for intruders. Hours of searching led to Mr. Haroun's capture in the Channel Tunnel where he was arrested near Folkestone almost ten hours after his journey began. While his journey has ended, an estimated 3,000 to 5,000 migrants remain in camps near Calais.