Vladim’s story
I knew I had to leave as soon as the war started. Things had not been looking good and I knew it wasn’t going to get any better. I think I had known since the 2014 war in Crimea, but I did not expect it on such a massive scale. My name is Vadim, and I was born in 1986 in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine. I lived there all my life and I never had any intention of leaving. Ukraine was a lovely country where everyone was always smiling and happy. It wasn’t perfect, mind, there was a lot of …
Sudanese man killed by car in Calais
Tragically, another refugee has been killed in Calais The man, Sudanese and his his twenties, was hit by a vehicle while walking on the road near the village of Nouvelle-Eglise at 6am on Thursday morning. Emergency services rushed to the scene, but the man was dead when they arrived. The man had only been in Calais for a few days, according to the La Voix Du Nord news organisation, so he was probably less aware of the dangers faced refugees here. He is the fifth refugee to be killed in Calais just this year. This shocking number brings home how …
Shalaw’s Story
When I was a child in Iraq I had a speech impediment, and was constantly bullied and made fun of. My family thought I’d grow out of it, but I didn’t, and as I got older it got harder to learn and make friends. People would shout names at me on the street, and punch and kick me just because I was different. No one tried to stop it. I couldn’t help the problem as I was born with it. It came with a learning difficulty that affects my memory. I forget so many things. The bullying was hard …
The Incredible Story of Roxy and her Family
Yesterday was incredible. We have been working with a family of four refugees from Ukraine who are travelling with a disabled boy. They don’t have any relatives in the UK, and I have been so worried about whether we would be able to help them. Roxy has become my friend and she has been so brave. She is only 22. A lot if reporters were asking me about her, so I suggested that she do an interview to explain her situation. We didn’t know if this would help, but I thought it might be worth a try. Incredibly, a …
Meet Emma, who knows the bonding power of haircare
I’d definitely miscalculated how many asylum-seeking ladies I could squeeze into my little hatchback. The four ladies eyed the backseat of my car with some scepticism as I explained it would be fine as long as they didn’t mind a bit of a squish. There was another gentle sigh of resistance when I insisted everyone had to wear a seatbelt. My task was to ferry these ladies from their hotel to a free hair salon that Care4Calais had organised at a nearby church hall. One of the women – a trained hairdresser herself – was coming to help out, …
Ukranian refugees turned back from UK now in Calais
Britain has turned back nine Ukrainian refugees at the border because they didn’t have visas, according to reports in the French press. The two families from Odessa in southern Ukraine had travelled four days to escape the Russian attack. Having been rejected by the UK, they are reportedly staying in hotel accommodation in Calais. Véronique Deprez-Boudier, sub-prefect of Calais, said that the British consul was now helping them to obtain visas that would allow them entry to the UK. She hoped that the process would be completed by the end of this week. While no one can fail to be …
Another refugee killed by a train
Last night a 25-year-old refugee from Sudan died after being hit by a train in Calais. Over time, the French authorities’ harassment and evictions of refugees in Calais has reduced the number of places they can sleep to a few small outlying areas on the edges of the town. More and more areas of scrubland where refugees live have been fenced off, with the result that some people are now sleeping on scraps of wasteland. Some of that wasteland is near serious hazards such as train tracks. The man killed last night was walking along a train track in …
The House of Lords has rejected Clause 11 of the anti-refugee bill
Last night the House of Lords voted against one of the most unfair and cruel parts of the government’s anti-refugee bill. They voted by 204-126 to remove Clause 11, which would allow the government to pick and choose to which refugees it gives protection. At the moment, we judge all asylum seekers in the same way, based how badly they need our help. But Clause 11 would change that. It would mean that instead of respecting the principle that all people deserve fairness, our government could subjectively decide which people it wants to help. Of course the government doesn’t …
Mojeeb’s story
My neighbours were so kind when we arrived, and they are my friends now. Everyone helped us and made us welcome in Middlesbrough. My neighbour Jenny brought me Christmas presents and fruits, and she even made us a special Christmas cake without the alcohol in it! Back in Afghanistan, I graduated from university in Kabul with a degree in computer science, and worked for USAid in Kabul as a security driver, then in IT for a Scottish international company. It was a good job but the Taliban did not like me working for an international company, and wanted me …
The Russian protests show why we should welcome refugees
In the last 24 hours millions of us have been moved by the incredibly bravery of Russian people taking to the streets to protest against Putin’s war on Ukraine. These are people who have publicly stood up for other people, and for what’s right, knowing that they may well be punished and persecuted. People who put justice and other human beings’ welfare before their own. Of course when the corrupt, violent and authoritarian regimes they live under will not tolerate their bravery, compassion and willingness to speak truth, those regimes will try to silence them by any means necessary. …