Assignment Overview…
In October 2016 we were approached by an independent production company, who were filming a documentary about the Calais Jungle Refugee Camp, in Northern France. The camp was home to over 10,000 migrants and the largest in Europe. The French authorities planned to evacuate the migrants to centres around France and demolish the camp, however there was intelligence that the migrants were planning on destroying the camp before the authorities. The crew was made up of 6 people and a mixture of male and female. They planned to embed half the team in the camp and the other half would be filming from outside the camp, to document the destruction. Our security advisor would embed with the team within the camp and liaise with the team outside the camp to advise them on how to remain safe.
Risk vs reward…
In the run up to the deployment there were confirmed reports of media crews being attacked and robbed of their equipment, sexual assaults on female journalists and infighting between rival gangs, resulting in the murder of an Ethiopian man. The sanitation and living conditions were poor and there was often disorder between migrants and French police. As the impending closure drew closer tensions rose and so did the risk, the atmosphere within the camp was palpable. In last ditch attempts to make it to the UK, migrants tried extensively to board lorries heading for the Calais Port. A media crew was mobbed in a haze of tear gas during a running battle with police and migrants, another journalist was robbed at knifepoint. As French authorities prepared to move in, fires within the camp quickly spread and engulfed the camp in flames, our security advisor identified the level of threat was increasing and managed the risk to allow the crew to keep filming.
Softly does it….
The key to success was a soft approach to security, keeping a low personal profile whilst implementing a mini hearts and minds campaign with migrants and aid workers to build rapport. This process was supported by our advisor being able to communicate in Farsi and Arabic and offering some basic medical support. The crew also employed a fixer within the camp, who our security advisor worked closely with to ensure the crew could move around freely and gain access to areas or points of interest they wanted to film. As the risk increased and smoke filled the camp the chances of becoming split up or removed by French police were high. There were pre-planned exit routes and emergency meeting points previously recced by our security advisor, also a way to regain access to the camp without being detected to continue filming.
The results…
The crew had never used security support before on previous productions, they felt having a security advisor with them may hinder their filming process, we assured them that we would add value & support them in achieving their editorial goals. At the end of the filming, the crew had left with with plenty of good footage and more importantly no injuries or illness, with all their kit and equipment (apart from a few sleeping bags which went up in smoke!) The crew had also changed their perspective on working with a security advisor and saw the value of our support, they have since been in contact for further support. The ultimate final result was a great documentary with some stunning footage, which aired on BBC2 which can be watched here.
