The first and only report about refugees living at the Sangatte refugee camp was published in late June. Many British people it found were illinformed, largely through false media reporting, in believing that the camp was a 'magnet' to alledged illegal immigrants wishing to enter the UK.
The study - based on interviews with more than 300 migrants revealed that only a small minority of the camp's mainly Kurdish and Afghan inhabitants were actually planning to try and reach Britain when they first left their home countries, and that even fewer knew Sangatte existed before they reached western Europe after journeys of up to 17 months. More than half only heard of the camp when they got to France.
"The idea that it is Sangatte that attracts the refugees reveals a huge misunderstanding not only of the reasons why people leave their homes, but of the conditions that precede their departure," said the study's author, Smain Laacher. "It also reveals ignorance of what it means to illegally cross countries."
The Red Cross camp near the Channel tunnel mouth, was meant to house some 300 people but is now home to 1,500 people.
Mr Laacher's six month study showed that the vast majority of Sangatte's residents were young, single, relatively well-educated men, most of whom have left their home countries not because they could not find work but because of "daily insecurity and an incapacity to control their lives". Iraqi Kurds left because of the risk of political persecution, Afghans because of war and violence. All said they wanted to live in a country where their safety was assured.
Perhaps the study's most revealing conclusion was that the vast majority of refugees left home with no clear idea of where they wanted to go: the only objective was the safety of Europe, "any developed and civilised country where people's lives and dignity are respected," as a 26-year-old Iraqi Kurd said.
A small number aimed to reach Britain because they had friends or family there, but there are five times as many Afghans and eight times as many Iraqis in Germany as in Britain. Usually, Britain became an objective only for those who reached France and could compare and contrast the two country' s asylum regimes, Mr Laacher said.
Mr Laacher said that far from Sangatte being a mythical destination famous halfway round the world, he found only 30 residents who had heard of the camp in their home countries. Most learned of its existence during their journey - and most decided to try and reach England only when they had made it as far as Sangatte.
The report revelealed that nearly 90% of the refugees are either Iraqi Kurds (33% of total), or Tadjiks and Pashtuns from Afghanistan (54%). The vast majority are men, with an average age of 25, and 70% are single. Some 41% have the equivalent of A-levels and 24% have completed at least two years higher education (college or university). Only 7% said they left home because they did not have a job. 39% cited war or civil war; 34% political persecution. Fully 76% left after being "nominated" by their families.
An average of $6,000 per person was paid for their journey. Iraqis pay an average of $5,000, Afghans $8,700.
It's funny how the views and lies of a small number of right-wing journalists, who make up stories, get coverage all over the media and at the same time stir up racial tensions when the truth gets very little airtime.