The French town of Calais has been a magnet for refugees and migrants trying to reach Britain ever since the Channel Tunnel opened in 1994, allowing trains and automobiles to race under the waters. 

Until recently, the migrants arrived in the region, stayed a bit and moved on, most of them finding one way or another to sneak across the waters into England.

But lately the authorities have made stealing across the waters more and more difficult and a bottleneck has developed – the migrants already here can’t find a way across and more keep arriving. 

Today they live in an area dubbed the “Jungle” – a small town of tents and shacks. AFP’s photographer in the nearby city of Lille, Philippe Huguen, has been photographing the migrants in Calais for more than 15 years. Here he shares what’s it like taking pictures in the Calais “Jungle.”