Fights Break Out in Dover as Trapped European Truckers Demand to Leave Cut-Off Britain
LEFT BEHIND
Thousands of truckers were left stranded in England after Europe slammed its borders shut to stop the spread of the new coronavirus variant—and their anger is at risk of boiling over. According to Reuters, fights broke out on the streets of the southern port town of Dover on Wednesday as truckers gathered to vent their frustration at police officers. Britain and France struck a deal late Tuesday that will allow drivers carrying a negative COVID-19 test result to cross the English Channel, but the British government has warned that it will take time to test every driver. The truckers are mostly European, and they’re becoming increasingly angry as it becomes more likely that they won’t get home for Christmas. “They don’t give us food, they don’t give us drinks, they don’t give us sanitation, they don’t offer us anything,” one driver said in Spanish. “The situation is basically inhumane, so what we are asking for is a solution.”