ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the plight of the children, particularly unaccompanied children in Calais. As hidden and invisible figures in the narratives, the issue of children brought renewed moral and ethical scrutiny to the humanitarian crisis in Calais. The chapter traces the predicament in the camps and the struggle to find them settlements. In the process, the response of the UK government to child refugees and their outright overture to accommodate them becomes a distinct element of the crisis. The child figure also becomes a ‘suspect figure’ in media narratives where pity is not readily accorded to them. Instead their predicament is seen as a direct consequence of the parent being irresponsible. The neglected and accompanied child is a resonant and present protagonist in the Calais refugee crisis.
