Refugees and volunteers together: a true community
Before the Taliban picked on him, Abas had a good, happy life in Afghanistan. In his late-twenties, he had a loving family and a good job working in international trade. Then one day, the Taliban got wind of his relationship with the West, they called him an infidel, told him he should give up his job, when he refused, they came to his house to kill him. “I had to escape through the neighbour’s house” he remembers. “I ran to the house of a family friend and with their help I managed to escape over the border to Iran” …
Hassoun’s story
Being a refugee in Calais has shocked me. I don’t understand why some people here hate us so much. I didn’t expect the people here to be like this, chasing us away and shouting horrible things at us. The police are the worst – it’s almost like they are the Janjaweed militia I was running away from. My name is Hassoun. I’m 21 and I live in an area of Calais they call Old Lidl. I’m just trying to get to the UK to join my uncle and cousins who are there. It’s mostly Sudanese where I live and, as …
Calais: We need you to pay attention
We REALLY need you to pay attention to what’s happening in Calais right now. Tragically, at 6:30pm last night, a TER train to Calais hit a group of Eritrean refugees. This instantly killed one and has left three serious injured – one an “absolute emergency” condition. This is the FIFTH official Channel related death in under two weeks. At least one refugee drowned last Tuesday after his boat capsized, another body was found off Dunkirk on Wednesday and one person was found dead on a beach near Calais this morning (close by: a boat filled with water). And on October …
Yet another refugee death on the border
Yesterday, yet another refugee died and one went missing as they tried to cross the English Channel. Shockingly, you would have to study the news closely to even know this; it seems that such an event becoming more common makes it mundane rather more horrific. We understand that yesterday one particularly overloaded little vessel set off from Dunkirk. It occupants were frightened people, hoping to find safety in the United Kingdom; one of them, a 30-year-old man, would die before reaching any dry land. The boat not gone far from the shore when, perhaps catching a forceful wave, it was …
French authorities announce moderation
The French authorities have announced a moderation of their treatment of migrants who are sleeping rough in Calais. This follows a three week hunger strike by a priest and two activists in the town, and a recent 79 report by Human Rights Watch that accuses the authories of abuse. Two pledges have been made. The first is to give people 45 minutes to gather their possessions when the police carry out evictions, and to cease ‘surprise’ evictions. If this happens it is a victory for the hunger strikers – currently people often lose all their possessions during evictions including …
Raafi’s story
I worked in Helmand Province for Britain’s Ministry of Defence as an interpreter for five years. I spent my time with the British soldiers, on patrol and on the post. I carried the massive packs through the sweltering lands, I was shot at and hunted. I lived with the same risk as the soldiers – the only difference was I didn’t carry a weapon. But I never felt as scared as I did in the last days of Kabul. I have a lovely wife and two small children, and when I was no longer needed by the …
Moj of the Access Team
A wise friend told me once that once you are successful you must put the money in your bank from your work, but you must also put a deposit in nature’s bank, and one day that will repay you too. So that’s what I am doing now. I work for Care4Calais as a volunteer interpreter. I do my everyday work from nine to five, and after that I put my phone down. But I’ve told the people at Care4Calais that they can call me anytime, day or night, even if I’m sleeping, and I’ll answer. I’m an interpreter for …
Lighting up London with C4C!
Our volunteers and refugees in north London had so much fun at the big switching on of the Christmas lights in Wembley! The light display and costumes were amazing, and we all really enjoyed each other’s company as we walked around drinking our hot chocolates in the wintry evening. It means a lot to all of us to enjoy our friendship together on nights like this, and it’s wonderful for refugees who have so little to share the fun. Thanks as always to all our volunteers who make it happen …
Another tragic incident on the UK border
As the weekend ended, somewhere on the coast of northern France, three Somalian refugees climbed into a small dinghy and set off to cross the English Channel. Their boat was notably smaller than dinghies often seen being used to cross the channel, and was certainly not suitable for one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes. The men will most likely have been aiming for the Kent coast, but the tides bore their tiny vessel far off course, out beyond the eastern tip of Kent. Around midday they would have been drifting on past the mouth of the Thames and on …
The trauma of Afghan children
Some of the little Afghan girls and boys I see at our distributions seem so sad it’s unbearable. They’re so quiet and withdrawn, and while some just want to be with their mums, others seem quite detached from everything. At our last distribution, a little boy of about six came along with his mum, but then just found a child’s chair, sat down facing the wall, and stayed like that. He didn’t want to move, or talk, or interact with the other children at all. We tried very gently to encourage him to join in the playing, but he …