In this Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2015 photo, Syrian refugee Odai Ahmed peddles to charge smart phones and batteries inside a tent at the migrants camp near Calais, northern France. Like most of the thousands camped near Calais hoping to cross the English Channel, Ahmed has tried more than a dozen times to breach security at the nearby ferry port and more distant terminal for cross-Channel trains. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
The Associated Press
CALAIS, France (AP) - Odai Ahmed cycles hard every day and dreams of reaching England. But as weeks turn to months, the 24-year-old Syrian feels like he's on a road to nowhere.
Like most of the thousands camped near Calais hoping to cross the English Channel, he's tried more than a dozen times to breach security at the nearby ferry port and more distant terminal for cross-Channel trains. Each time, networks of newly constructed 15-foot-high (5-meter-high) razor-topped fences and boosted police patrols have defeated him. He's already been arrested and held for five days in Calais after nearly boarding one train.
Disillusioned, Ahmed spends his afternoons recharging his smartphone on a stationary bike with a manual generator. It takes 2 ˆ½ hours' pedaling to fill the battery.
It gives him time to think. That maybe, he and his Syrian tent-mates might have to turn back and claim asylum somewhere on the continent. He finds this idea particularly frustrating because he's studied English for half his life and knows barely a word of French or German.
"If we knew the situation was like this, maybe we would have tried to settle in Germany instead," he said. "We can't live here. Syria is better than here."
Near Ahmed's cycling station, a public notice board lists more than 200 camp residents by name, nationality, age and cell phone number. They all seek refugee protection in France and await allocation of state-funded housing. That can take many months in France's overwhelmed asylum system, particularly for single men, who receive lower priority for shelter.
A 50-year-old Pakistani man, Zerdullah Khan, looks for his name but it's not on the board yet. "Maybe next week," he said, describing his own doomed attempts to scale fences or sneak aboard trains.
"Younger ones may feel free to risk their life, but I'm too old for this," he said. "I will try to learn French."
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Of related interest: "Seeking Home: Life inside the Calais Migrant Camp" - a 360-degree, virtual reality video documents the Calais camp. For Google Cardboard-compatible or 360 video: https://youtu.be/YKPDIUH9-Y8 or download the Ryot VR app: https://bnc.lt/m/2wIw0FsWeo
In this Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015 photo, three Afghan migrants on their way to try to jump on a train to Britain showing victory signs as they leave the migrant camp near Calais, northern France. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
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In this Saturday, Nov. 7, 2015 photo, a migrant walks behind a destroyed tent at migrant camp near Calais, northern France. Networks of newly constructed 15-foot-high (5-meter-high) razor-topped fences and boosted police patrols defeat many migrants hoping to cross the English Channel. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
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In this Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2015 photo police patrol through the migrants camp near Calais, northern France with their boots covered in plastic bags to protect against the mud. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
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In this Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2015 photo the French national flag flutters between the new build fences preventing migrants from reaching trains to Britain near Calais, northern France Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2015. Networks of newly constructed 15-foot-high (5-meter-high) razor-topped fences and boosted police patrols defeat many migrants hoping to cross the English Channel. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
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In this Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2015 photo French police officers stop migrants near fences preventing them from reaching trains to Britain near Calais, northern France Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2015. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
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In this Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015 photo, a man walks along a fence preventing him from reaching a highway beside the migrant camp near Calais, northern France. Networks of newly constructed 15-foot-high (5-meter-high) razor-topped fences and boosted police patrols defeat many migrants hoping to cross the English Channel. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
The Associated Press
In this Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2015 photo of fences preventing migrants from reaching trains to Britain near Calais, northern France. Networks of newly constructed 15-foot-high (5-meter-high) razor-topped fences and boosted police patrols defeat many migrants hoping to cross the English Channel. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
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In this Thursday, Nov. 5, 2015 photo, Zeragabr Tesfastasi from Eritrea stands in front of his tent at the migrant camp near Calais, northern France. Zeragabr Tesfastasi has decide to apply in France for asylum and not longer to try to cross the channel to reach Britain. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
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In this Saturday, Nov. 7, 2015 photo, a migrant builds a shelter to offer better protection against the weather than a tent in the migrants camp near Calais, northern France. Networks of newly constructed 15-foot-high (5-meter-high) razor-topped fences and boosted police patrols defeat many migrants hoping to cross the English Channel. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
The Associated Press
In this Friday, Nov. 6, 2015 photo, a man walks past a shelter with a poster calling for help from Britain's Queen in the migrants camp near Calais, northern France. Networks of newly constructed 15-foot-high (5-meter-high) razor-topped fences and boosted police patrols defeat many migrants hoping to cross the English Channel. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
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In this Friday, Nov. 6, 2015 photo, two migrants on a bicycle cross a street to follow a railway track in Calais, northern France. Networks of newly constructed 15-foot-high (5-meter-high) razor-topped fences and boosted police patrols defeat many migrants hoping to cross the English Channel. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
The Associated Press
In this Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015, file photo, a migrant stands at a fence preventing him from reaching a highway beside the migrant camp near Calais, northern France. Networks of newly constructed 15-foot-high (5-meter-high) razor-topped fences and boosted police patrols defeat many migrants hoping to cross the English Channel. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
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In this Sunday, Nov. 8, 2015 two migrant children from Iraq look out of the window of an caravan inside the migrant camp near Calais, northern France. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
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In this Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2015 photo the French national flag flutters between new build fences preventing migrants from reaching trains to Britain near Calais, northern France. Networks of newly constructed 15-foot-high (5-meter-high) razor-topped fences and boosted police patrols defeat many migrants hoping to cross the English Channel. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
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