Tragedy in Calais
We are heartbroken to hear reports that a Sudanese man in his 30s has died after being hit by a lorry in Calais on Thursday. Mohammed had fled from Sudan hoping to reach the UK. His friends in Calais say he was hit by a lorry near the settlement known as the Hospital. It is not clear whether he was struck in a nearby lorry park or on the motorway. He was taken to hospital in Calais but died in the afternoon. A memorial service was held at Richelieu Park for him yesterday evening. Mohammed’s tragic death comes less …
Omar’s Story
Omar left his home, friends and family, and fled from the Gambia a few months ago. He is 17 years old but when he arrived in the U.K the Home Office decided he looked older so they put him in accommodation with adults. He doesn’t speak much English, he was alone and scared of what might happen to him. Omar did know someone in the UK – a family friend in Liverpool. After a few weeks he made his way there to visit his friend for a few days. But when he came back to London, he found someone …
Esfandiar’s story
My name is Esfandiar. I’m from Iran, but I’m also a Kurd, so life in Iran was never easy for me. I’m a teacher, but I couldn’t get a regular teaching job in Iran because I didn’t fit the government’s ideas of what a good Iranian should be and do. I wouldn’t spy on my fellow teachers or my students, but the Iranian government tried to pressurise me into doing so by making my life as hard as possible. Because I did not give in, they made it impossible for me to teach in regular schools, so I had to …
The anxiety of an Afghan refugee
“It’s my family I am frightened for now. On the phone, my father told me the Taliban had been for him. They came into his home, they tied his hands and put a bag over his head, they took him away to question him about me. They brought him back, but when they don’t find me they will take him again. “He and my mother now move from house to house, hiding. It is the same for my brother. I don’t know what to do. I am sorry… ” As Abdul, a young Afghan father in his early thirties told …
Getting help to Afghan refugees
My volunteer group distributed clothes to new Afghan refugees for first time a couple of weeks ago, and it was heartbreakingly upsetting in many ways. Two hundred people came along, many in flip flops and T-shirts, and with lots of mums carrying little ones along the half-hour walk from their hotel. We knew the need was great, but this really brought home how great it was. And with such numbers, it was a struggle to get everyone the things they needed – nevertheless, they were incredibly calm and understanding. Their dignity in these most trying of circumstances constantly impresses …
From Kabul with Love: Max’s Incredible Story
I will never forget the moment I looked over at the sea of humanity trying to escape Afghanistan. I was one of the many Royal Air Force personnel who airlifted refugees from Kabul last summer, and the images of scared, exhausted and desperate families bring up emotions in me that will be with me for the rest of my life. The whole experience is full of powerful moments that resonated through every single member of our crew. Our loadmaster “Hops” counted everyone on board, and informed us that we had a three-day-old baby on the plane. At that stage, …
More Refugees Missing in English Channel
ANOTHER three refugees are missing in the English Channel. According to reports, the three men set off to try to cross the Channel in a kayak on Thursday. You have to be pretty desperate to try that. A kayak. They were with two other men, in separate kayaks, who were rescued by the French police when they got into difficulties. The two rescued men reported the other three missing. The French coastguard used boats and a helicopter to search for the missing men, but the search was halted at nightfall, before being resumed on Friday morning. This means at …
Sayed
Yesterday, at a clothes distribution for Afghan refugees, I met a young family whose suffering and dignity I will never, ever forget. The quiet young husband, Sayed, and his wife, Fatima, had three young children aged between 6 months and five years old. They had came at the end of the afternoon, when there were fewer people around; Sayed shyly admitted they felt uncomfortable asking for help, but having left Afghanistan with only the clothes they we wearing, they found they had little choice. It made me realise once more how vital it is to make our distributions calm, …
New report damns police
I’m writing this post with a feeling of enraged shock at the cruelty that some human beings are capable of inflicting on others. Having been through a week in northern France that saw brutal evictions of refugees in Dunkirk and Calais, I thought I was pretty familiar with the harshness refugees suffer at the hands (and boots) of police and governments. But today I’ve been reading a new Human Rights Watch report on the abuse of adult and child refugees in France, and somehow seeing it catalogued in print over 70 pages really brings home the atrocity. It certainly …
Volunteer stories: Toni
As I got back to the van after the distribution today, I burst into tears. I couldn’t hold them back any longer. I guess all the pent-up emotions of the last week here in Calais caught up with me, and they came bursting out. Earlier I’d met a guy called Ahmed at one of the distribution sites. I was helping on one of the game stations, and when Ahmed came over we played ping pong for an hour while getting to know each other. He’s a huge fan of movies and TV shows, and was very excited when I told …