Helping Afghans in Manchester
Yesterday was a busy day delivering emergency supplies to Manchester airport where they were given to Afghan refugees as they arrived. Many of these refugees were caught in the horrific bombings so our help has never felt more important. We received a call from Border Force at around 12, asking if we could help with supplies of essentials. Our volunteers went into action immediately, using the donations we’ve received this week to order what was needed from wholesalers. By mid-afternoon a hired van was speeding its way to the airport loaded with boxes of baby food, toiletries, colouring books …
Meet Miriam, part-Syrian, part-Palestinian volunteer
My dad is Syrian and my mom is Palestinian, but I was born in America. Coming from countries with two of the world’s biggest refugee populations, I think I’ve always been aware of how life can turn upside down and anyone can suddenly become a refugee. It’s a lesson that has surely been brought home to all of us by recent events in Afghanistan. For my part, I could be living in Palestine or Syria right now; it’s just by winning the geographic lottery that I’m not. But coming to Calais and seeing the situation first-hand has only made this …
Scenes from Hell
We are now watching scenes beamed not from another country, but from Hell. Babies thrown over razor wire in a desperate attempt to get them to safety. Bodies tumbling from planes in the sky. And thousands upon thousands of people gripped with primal, panicking fear as they frantically run from one place to another seeking escape. I would say that it’s like watching people about to be murdered, but that’s wrong. The awful, unacceptable fact is that we literally are watching people about to be murdered. Without our help, many of those people – mums and dads, sisters and …
Attack causes, not symptoms!
We now know what made the young Eritrean man who died in the sea off Calais yesterday so desperate to leave France. The 27-year-old had been staying in camp near Calais. In recent days the police were aggressive and violent, taking tents and belongings and harassing people so they could no longer stay even in this rough camp. In the police’s wake came the smugglers, offering the only way out – a dangerous trip in a small, overloaded boat across the world’s busiest shipping channel. It takes a lot of luck to make that journey. The Eritrean couple’s luck …
Safe Routes Now
UPDATE 6pm – French media are reporting the tragic news that the person who was airlifted off the boat has now died. Our hearts go out to their family and friends. We are deeply shocked and distressed. This appalling death will be seen as a tragic accident but the truth is that it was both predictable and avoidable. #SafeRoutesNow 4pm – Today a rescue operation has taken place in the Channel after a boat with 40 people on board began to sink. We have been told that one person was taken to hospital in a helicopter and others had …
Volunteer stories: Zeynab
The house they gave them was infested with cockroaches, it was leaking and damp all the way through. Plaster was falling off the wall and it looked like no-one had lived there for years and years. It was just in an appalling condition and this family, new to the UK was supposed to sign a 12 months lease. The family had a small baby and a two year old son. Mum was very strong, surprisingly so, given what they had been through and they refused to sign the tenancy. But to their horror they were not offered another hotel or …
Volunteer stories: Calais Light
“I’ve been going to Calais for about five and a half years now, first on my own, but I felt I had to do more. I run my own business with some large and demanding clients, so I didn’t want a huge commitment. So I thought, let’s try to set up something that suits people with my kind of lifestyle. So That’s why it’s Calais Light, a light touch organisation with a big impact. Before Covid we had been to Calais 15 times, during the pandemic we’ve still been raising cash and have given Care4Calais around £8,500 in 2020 alone. …
Volunteer Stories: Claire
I love it when the refugees start dancing at the end of a distribution, they always invite the volunteers to join them. It’s almost like they are saying to the police, “you will not beat us, see our spirit and our courage, we will survive.” I haven’t been brave enough to join them yet, but I really hope I will soon. I’m Claire from the Netherlands and I’ve been volunteering with Care4Calais for a while now. What really sets C4C apart from the other NGOs is the services. The organisation doesn’t just drop off items of clothing, food, toiletries, but …
Gamar’s story
“In the death boats the troughs and crests of the waves we faced in the Mediterranean mirrored the highs and lows of my journey to the UK. Every time you overcame one challenge, another one, higher and faster, came at you, and you just had to hunch down and face it.” Gamar’s journey from Darfur in Sudan to Birmingham in the UK has been arduous and horrific. Once a teacher in Sudan, he first made his escape across the Sahara, where he saw grotesque sights including dead bodies scattered and decomposing in the sun. Then he crossed Libya, where …
A’s story
When I get refugee status, I want to study to be a lawyer, like Hannah, and help people like me. So many people from my country need help. Well, first I have to learn English better, I’ve been learning eight months now but it’s still a bit hard. Hannah works for Care4Calais and helped me find a lawyer when I first got to the UK, when I was in a hostel in London. She also took me to a church to help me find things that Care4Calais were giving out. After that I went back to help with the distributions. …