Amin’s story
Trigger warning: The following story is one of the most brutal we have ever told. It is upsetting, but highlights the need for urgent access to mental health facilities for refugees. Death can have many different shapes. The worst one is when you are alive. My name is Amin and I am from Darfur. The war in Darfur has been raging since 2003, even with President Bashir’s removal from power, the Janjaweed militia are still destroying villages and lives. My village is small, and in a rural area. When I lived there, my daily concern was my cattle: how they …
The real reason for refugee pushbacks at sea
Last night Priti Patel announced perhaps the most inhuman act of all this Government’s many inhuman acts against innocent refugees. Border Force, she said, will in future be using ‘pushbacks’ against refugees at sea in the English Channel. That means they will have the right to use their ships to force people in small boats and dinghies to turn back towards France. This morning, a Conservative MP even suggested the Royal Navy might be deployed. These small boats are overloaded with men, women and children, and not infrequently in danger of sinking. Simply rescuing them can be risky; to use …
Volunteer stories: Sarah
My name is Sarah. I live in Germany and I’ve just returned from three weeks volunteering with Care4Calais. When I went there, I was expecting the refugees I met to be people in need. Instead I met the bravest, strongest and most impressive people you can ever imagine. My reasons for volunteering in Calais this summer were many, but they come down to one simple fact: it is nothing but a coincidence where, and under which circumstances, someone is born. And since the European Union is failing completely in regard to the interaction with refugees, I felt it …
Khalid’s story
I buried my heart in the sands of Sudan when I left. We all do; the war has touched everybody, and no family is whole. My heart will not be whole again, but it will mend in time, when I can bring my children to be with me in England. This is the reality of being a refugee. I’m from Darfur, and it was a long journey from there to Calais. I was working as a dental technician, but I left home because I was from the wrong tribe, and born in the wrong place. In Khartoum, where …
Volunteering: the inspiration’s mutual
At the Care4Calais warehouse in Stockport where I’ve been volunteering, there’s one little particular corner that really moves me. It’s the bit where people come to pick up the boxes of hand-picked clothes, toiletries and essentials for each destination. A box for four men, three women and a child in a hotel in East Manchester, perhaps; or one for two women, a man and three kids in the north part of the city. These boxes get taken away and delivered by ordinary people who have vans, and who have volunteered to help. There are old vans and …
Akain’s story
“I live in a bit of forest now, it’s at the back of a supermarket in northern France. It’s not really a forest, just a few bushes and trees. But it’s the only shelter we have. We can’t keep tents, because the police just take them and our blankets. So we have nothing.” Akain told me this in the soft voice that the people of Sudan often have, smiling as he spoke. He has a big smile, one that must hide a lot of pain from too many years spent looking for a life to call his own. When I …
Volunteer stories: Lesley
Today in Calais I had an amazing and moving conversation with a refugee. He reminded me of why we do what we do with Care4Calais – and how much I admire the people we help. It was just after we had done the daily distribution of food and clothing. A Sudanese guy called Sajone came over and sat with me, and together we untangled jumbled reels of cotton, and then he helped me with the sewing. I mended a torn coat while he repaired his only pair of shoes. And as we sewed we chatted. It was a normal, everyday …
Volunteer stories: Katie
I’m passionate about helping people. I always have been. I believe that every person has a right to safety, and I find helping people is rewarding in itself. Once I started to help with refugees in Calais, I got caught up in it and now I find that it’s impossible to give up. I’ve been to Calais many times in the last few years and when the pandemic started, I wanted to continue helping Care4Calais here in the UK. I’d no idea you could help here, but it was easy to sign up and get started. I’ve volunteering for about …
A tale of heartbeak from Kabul
When the British soldiers came to Afghanistan it was such a time of hope for us. We thought we would be free of the Taliban and that our country would have freedom once again. They needed people who spoke English so I signed up as an interpreter for the army and also the special forces. It was a good job, I could look after my family on this. Before, if you did not join the Taliban you could not work. I worked as an interpreter for four years and I made some really good friends with the British soldiers, …
Today we’ve been shocked to read about “Operation Warm Welcome”. If you don’t know already, this is our Government’s plan to ensure that Afghan refugees “get the vital health, education, support into employment and accommodation they need to fully integrate into society.” This seems unbelievably crass and hypocritical, given the Government’s aggressive hostility to refugees and asylum seekers over the last few years. Remember the hostile environment? The denunciation of people in Napier Barracks? The harshness of Home Office Facebook ads telling refugees and asylum seekers to go home? Not to mention the attempt to criminalise ordinary refugees made …