Her husband, who was with her, told French reporters that the woman was trampled while in the boat. While unconscious, she was lifted out of the boat and dropped in the sea. Her husband leapt in after her, and brought her back to the beach. However emergency services were unable to revive her.

Another refugee who can come ashore was also treated.

Recently boats attempting to cross the Channel have been filled far beyond their capacity, with some veteran commentators suggesting the overcrowding has now reached levels previously unseen.

The overcrowding and increasingly dangerous risk taking is thought to be partly driven by refugee’s fear and uncertainty about EU and UK refugee policies.

This young woman’s agonising death on the Britain’s border follows the deaths of six Afghans in the Channel on August 12.

The suffering of this woman, and of her husband, is unimaginable.

For it to come on the same day that the UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman made a speech vilifying and demonising refugees makes it all the worse.

Let us not forget, this awful death of a young woman on a French beach in the early hours of an autumn morning was entirely preventable. A modern, sensible system of safe passage would have meant she didn’t have to get in the boat in the first place.

If Suella Braverman really wishes to reform refugee law for the better, she could begin there.

The post Female refugee tragically dies on Calais beach appeared first on Care4Calais.

The 25-year-old Sudanese man died after falling under the wheels of a lorry after being hit by a lorry in the early hours of this morning, French newspapers report.

According to other refugees interviewed at the scene, the man had run behind the vehicle as it left the parking lot, hoping to get into it somehow. When it came to a halt, he tried to climb between the trailer and the cab when it stopped.

When it began to move again he slipped, and fell beneath the wheels as his friends watched in horror.

The lorry drove on, apparently unaware of the accident. At the time of writing, the driver had not yet been traced.

Emergency services attended, but were unable to save the man.

Many refugees, particularly those unable to secure a crossing by boat, try to reach the UK by climbing aboard lorries, risking their lives in the process. This latest tragedy demonstrates yet again the risks and perils refugees face every day. The man was the third Sudanese refugee killed in Calais this year – the third young man to have escaped threats at home and travelled thousands of miles, only to die a horrific and lonely death at the border of his destination. Three more have broken limbs this month alone. No one can record or imagine the trauma suffered by friends forced to witness these tragic accidents.

By any measure these deaths and this suffering on our border ought to be universally regarded as unacceptable. Perhaps it would be if it were not for the rhetoric of some politicians that makes it easier to see refugees here as somehow less than human.

For the sake of young men like today’s victim, we must make sure people know of these dangers, and continue to fight for humanbe border policies. A system of #SafePassage for victims of war and persecution would end these deaths and injuries. Let us keep campaigning for it, and treat life as precious, rather than something to be risked in desperation in the Calais night.

The post Another refugee tragically killed in Calais appeared first on Care4Calais.

“Even in cities where there is no fighting, the war makes people desperate because there is no food, no resources of any kind. Yesterday I called my mum and said I would send money for her and my father. She said, ‘What use would money be to us? How can we use it? There is nothing to buy in the shops.’

“I can’t sleep at night. I just stare at the news day and night trying to find out what’s happening, and check friends’ social media. You see a different picture there to the mass media. People running away with their children and a suitcase. Mothers screaming because their whole families have been killed. Hospital floors covered in blood. And thousands and thousands of people fleeing.

The atrocities are horrific, Khalid says, because of the sophistication and power of the weapons. “The weapons, and the training to use them, come from outside countries. We all know this.

“But no-one wants to help us. If you have a European passport, many politicians think you are worth saving. But if you don’t, you will be left to be killed. It’s as simple as that.”

Towards the end of Ramadan this year, fighting broke out across Sudan between the forces of the military government, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces organisation. The two had previously worked together. The result has been violent, bloody carnage with hundreds of men, women and children killed and thousands displaced. At the time of writing a ceasefire is force, but it is due to expire at midnight. No one seriously expects it to be extended in the long term.

Last year we issued 220,000 visas to Ukrainians and 140,000 to people from Hong Kong. Suella Braverman has ruled out creating a safe and legal route to UK asylum for Sudanese refugees.

The post Refugees flee war in Sudan appeared first on Care4Calais.

But then the threats got more serious.

I was arrested and imprisoned for doing my job.

Two years later, they came to my home and set it on fire. I was not home but my wife and daughters were. They only survived because our neighbours saved them.

After a further attack on our family home in 2019, when my family and I were all inside, I knew I had to leave; they had made it clear they wanted to kill me.

My name is Alaz, and I’m a Kurdish refugee from Iraq. I’ve been a journalist for 30 years. Today I have been thinking about the American war on Iraq, which started 20 years ago this month. That war was a disaster for the whole region, because the US and UK governments had no plan for what happened afterwards.

Because of that, it was easier for people who wanted power to grab it. Those kinds of people hold onto power by silencing and persecuting their critics, so the situation created more refugees.

I am an example of that.

The bombing made people fear for their lives every day, and so many ordinary people were killed. It was horrific. But it was a strange conflict because its consequences were in many ways worse than the war itself – afterwards it was worse than under Saddam, because instead of one dictator we had lots of them, each with their own areas. We all saw what was happening with our local leaders as they made sure all the money and work went to them, their family, their friends and anyone willing to follow them, and as a journalist I spoke out on behalf of my people.

But those new dictators made it clear I’d be murdered, and now there was no US or UK to protect me. The US had said they wanted to bring freedom to the region, but you have to protect freedom. We were told we would have it, but we had no protection.

It was my wife who told me I should go. I know sometimes people say, why are the wives not with the refugee men? But if the husband is in danger as I was, the only chance of him staying alive for his wife and children is to flee. My wife, daughter and son are still there, and they are not safe because of me. I miss and worry about them so much it’s painful for me; I hope badly that I will be given asylum so they can join me.

It took me 48 days to get to the UK. I almost died on the boat crossing to Turkey, and crossing the Channel was almost as frightening. I came with 12 others in a lorry carrying vegetables. That was more than two years ago now, and I have still not had my interview. Being stuck here and unable to work is so frustrating; I feel like someone who has been imprisoned, unable to contribute to my new community.

– Alaz, refugee

Many refugees like Alaz have to make these heartbreaking decisions all the time, and when they arrive in Calais or the UK we are there to give them as much support as we can to make them feel safe and to help them regain their hope for a brighter future. That wouldn’t be possible without our hundreds of volunteers. Join us today to support refugees like Alaz: care4calais.org/get-involved/

#RefugeesWelcome #Refugees #Volunteers #KurdishLivesMatter #JournalismIsNotACrime

Names and images have been changed.

The post Alaz’s story appeared first on Care4Calais.

And so he packed his dreams and a few possessions, and set off to make the long journey to Europe, where he believed he would be able to lead the life he wished for.

I met him in Calais when he settled with a few others around the “English Learning station I was running on a distribution.

Picking up books from the pile, they enthusiastically ran their fingers over English words that accompanied pictures and spelt out what they saw. 

Faisal pointed to his elbow and asked me hopefully, “Eyebrow?” 

“Elbow”, I said. 

“I learn, but I forget. English not easy”. 

He spent two hours sitting next to me, spelling out words, and reading out sentences. I downloaded an English-Pashto translator on my phone and we made some progress in learning sentences like, “My English is not very good”, “I need to see a doctor”, “I want to call my family”. 

Sentences he would need to use most frequently so he could survive in this new world.

He told me the story of how he had left home overnight, and made his way from Taliban-occupied Afghanistan to Calais, via Iran, Turkey and Greece. It had been hard: once, he pointed to a big open wound on his right leg and to a few boys at the other end of park playing football. “I like football,” he said, “but no play now”.

I had organised donations for Care4Calais over the past few years, but this was my first time at the camp and I was keen to make it count. Nothing could have prepared me for the faces, stories and lives that I saw at the make-shift camp in Calais that day. Young boys from Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Eritrea and Sudan – their full, normal lives as students, workers, part of happy families ravaged by war, famine, and takeover by the Taliban and so many other dangers.

Over six hours at make-shift camps at Calais and Dunkirk that day and the next, my friend Aji and I must have met several hundred people. As we began packing up to get back to the warehouse on our lost day, it suddenly hit me that the semblance of a normal life the refugees had had over those few hours was on borrowed time. 

It me determined to go back again next year for a longer period. We must keep on trying, for the sake of Faisal and all those like him.

The post Meet Faisal, refugee and aspiring journalist appeared first on Care4Calais.

She helps many of the refugees we support here get access to computers, which can make a huge difference to them.

We always want to help when people ask us for tablets, laptops and computers, and one of our volunteers, Sarah, noticed that Elizabeth had donated some to Care4Calais. Sarah got in touch, and now we have a great relationship with a rather remarkable woman.

Elizabeth runs a computer repair and assistance service, and is often asked by customers if she wants their old machines. She decided to start passing them on to Care4Calais because she “feels great sympathy for refugees, and I knew these were the people I wanted to help.”

Elizabeth’s sympathy dates back to her childhood. Now 84, she was born two years before the start of World War 2, and when she was a baby, her parents shared their home with a Jewish refugee from Germany. He was a photographer, and took a picture of her for her parents. “My parents thought what was happening in Germany was terrible, and so they wanted to help. The photo their guest took is one of the first anyone took of me, so it always seems like a reminder in a way.”

“It’s horrible to see what the refugees in Calais have to go through, and how they’re demonised. I don’t believe the majority of people feel hostile to them. I live near a beach on the south coast, and one day a refugee boat landed near us. I took my grandchildren down to see what was happening, and there were lots of local people on the beach. All of them were cheering the refugees.”

Elizabeth started working with computers when a family member bought her a Mac Classic in 1995. “He said he thought I might enjoy it. It came with lots of thick manuals, and I loved working through a manual, and I gradually taught myself how to use it. I really enjoyed it, and from there it’s been a natural progression to helping other people.

“I know IT equipment can mean that people can stay in touch with their families, and for people with families here it means their children can do homework from school, so I feel happy to know I’m helping.”

“I think the refugees could be a great asset to our country helping to work in the industry care and hospitality, where we need more people. I also think we’re so fortunate to live in a safe and prosperous country, and we need to share this with people fleeing from repression, torture, famine and poverty.”

Elizabeth, volunteer

To contribute to our work with refugees in the north east of England, go to peoplesfundraising.com/fundraising/care4calais-north-east

The post Meet Elizabeth, a hero changing refugee lives with tech appeared first on Care4Calais.

Quite a few pulled them on straight away, and were asking what we thought of the colours. One guy with a football scarf was asking “What is Bradford City?” laughing and pretending he had to know before he could wear the scarf. Luckily we had some football fans who could put him straight, and he seemed happy!

Despite the chill there was a wonderful atmosphere, with music playing and stories being told, and I felt happy just seeing people smiling, joking and getting on as the afternoon went on.

And then at the end, a small thing happened that I don’t think I’ll ever forget. I was helping to pack our things away when I caught my thumb against something sharp, and cut it. It really hurt, and when I looked down I saw that there was rather a lot of blood.

I was still trying to wipe some blood away and wondering what to do when I saw one of the guys, I think his name was Omar, rushing over to me. He reached into his bumbag and took out a clean dressing. He must have kept it there as injuries are so common here when people are trying to hide in lorries. Such things are not always easily available to refugees, but nevertheless he calmly and quietly wiped my thumb, and then neatly dressed it.

Once it had stopped bleeding so much he bandaged it carefully and gently. I felt so well looked after that my thumb immediately felt much better.

This is someone who will have had an incredibly hard time even getting to Calais, and will be now sleeping in a makeshift tent, knowing that the police may come at any moment to destroy the camp and move them elsewhere. But he was still not only ready to help me, but also to give me something that was important to him.

I have so much respect for the people we meet here, who are so resilient and kind. It is so  far from the ridiculous stereotype of refugees as people who want to take things from us.  Any country should be begging them to come as they will be an asset to any society.

A, volunteer

The post In Calais, refugees help volunteers too appeared first on Care4Calais.

Those authorities face countless questions about what happened that fateful night, but a year on the victims’ families are still waiting for answers. They have been let down appallingly by the British and the French states, and at the very least they deserve explanations about what happened their loved ones.

For the victims and their families, we demand justice, and we will never let the lives lost on 24 November 2021 be forgotten.

Stand Up To Racism, Care4Calais and the TUC are organising a vigil to take place at 6pm on 24 November outside Westminster Abbey in London. We will say the names of those lost, and gather to condemn the hostile environment that allowed this tragedy to happen in the first place, and is now being intensified by Home Secretary Suella Braverman and the current government.

Please join us there if you can.

https://www.facebook.com/events/429947779349503/?ref=newsfeed

The post Never forget: A vigil for the Channel drownings appeared first on Care4Calais.

The boy, who I’ll call Tariq, suddenly disappeared, only to reappear a few moments later with a sticking plaster. It was such a moving thing to do – he had been through so much, but he could still notice and help with my little problem. I have only been in Calais for a week but I’ve already learned that the refugees here often have big hearts.

We talked some more, and he told me that a few days ago he had tried to cross to the UK in a boat, but but the engine had failed. They had been stranded on the sea among high waves, and terrified until they were rescued.

But still, he said, he would be trying again tomorrow (that’s now today). It was a chilling reminder of their situation; even that terrifying risk is better than what they have left behind.

I’ve met a lot of Afghan people in my time here so far. There are many in Dunkirk – in fact there are so many, and they like making friendship bracelets so much that we buy big reels of thread in green, black and red, the colours of there Afghan flag! Small things like that are so important when they’re this far from home. Like Tariq, they all just want to get and job and work, to have a normal life, and most feel sure the British Government would welcome them.

Their faith in us is so at odds with what some of our politicians say, it’s heartbreaking sometimes. I know Tariq has left now, and he must be either still at sea or in the UK. I really hope he gets the welcome he deserves in the end.

The post Tariq’s story appeared first on Care4Calais.

The beating caused so much pain and noise in my head. It has never away. When I finally got out I decided I had to leave Sudan, because I thought the next time they would kill me. I didn’t tell anyone at all I was going. I just ran.

My name is Sadam and I class myself as Sudanese, from the capital Khartoum, although I was born in Tripoli, Libya and grew up there. I had a good childhood, got a good education, and in 2010 I went to do a banking and finance degree at university in Khartoum. That was just before the fall of Gaddafi and Libya’s disintegration. After university I did the mandatory year’s national service, but when I went back to Khartoum I was shocked that I couldn’t get a job related to my study, because I wasn’t a part of the ruling political party.

I couldn’t go back to Libya either as the country had changed and I was no longer welcome, so life became difficult. I had to do lots of different jobs like repairing mobile phones and working in a restaurant, but then in 2018 the revolution against Bashir started. I joined the protests everyday and I was detained and beaten up many times – every time I ran away and they’d catch me again. But then I had the serious beating, and I knew I had to leave.

My only choice was to go to Chad and then Libya. I couldn’t go to Egypt because you need money to get over the border, but I thought I’d be OK in Libya because after all I’d grown up there. But the country had changed so much.

It was a very scary place. In south Libya there are many tribes who catch refugees coming over the border, and if the refugees can’t pay a ransom, their captors put them in a big warehouse and sell them to whoever needs workers. I was in this system over a year, I worked on a farm and carrying bricks. When you had finished work they sold you on to another person.

Finally I escaped and I made it to Tripoli where I met someone who could get me to Europe, where I my brother lived. I paid the smuggler, and I went to the boats.

It took five nightmare days to cross. After two days we ran out of petrol and no one could get a phone signal so we just floated for two and a half days more. In the day you could just see sea and sky and where they joined it was the same colour. At night the waves were high and threw the boat around, we were waiting to die.

On the fifth day we must have floated into a network range as someone got a phone signal. The red cross came and rescued us and took us to Italy.

After being in quarantine for 10 days in Italy we were told to walk to the train and get out of the country. With some others I went from train to train, sometimes sleeping on the train and sometimes in the station; finally we got to Ventimiglia in and stayed in a camp there.

Many times I tried to cross the mountains and forests on foot, but everytime the police caught me and sent me back. Then one day I met you someone who would get me over the border for money.

He had the keys to some lorries and one night he got me onto one. The lorry stopped in Marseille, and I got out there and stayed for a long time, living in the station. Eventually I went to Paris but that was worse, and I had to survive on the streets. Then I heard that in Calais there were organizations that would help me, and so headed off to northern France.

I met Care4Calais there. They allowed me to survive.

They gave me clothes and food and some shelter. I really would not have minded staying in France, but there was no help from the state, no one to help me understand what I needed to do to be able to stay in France. So that left the UK.

I hated the thought of getting on a boat and travelling on the sea again. I tried the lorries but they are so hard to get on and dangerous, you have to run behind them to try to find one you can get on. One of the refugees I was with fell from the lorry he was on and he was trapped under the wheels, he died that way, it was horrible.

So I ended up getting a boat. I said it was better to die in the sea than stay in France and live like a beggar being chased from place to place.

On the 12th of June I got to the UK. I was sent to a hotel in Bristol after Dover. I was happy to be here, straight away I felt safe in the hotel. I was thinking I could have a future and maybe have help for my head injuries. Josie, a Care4Calais volunteer said she would help me find a doctor to treat them.

But then I got the letter that said I had to go to Rwanda. This was not a good day. In my hotel so many people have mental health problems, from their journey or from their injuries or what they have seen. Getting the Rwanda letters has made it worse, people are cutting themselves and having nightmares. Someone through himself at a glass door and broke it. People try to commit suicide. Often the police are here. We do not feel safe, the letter makes us feel we will be removed at any moment. It is the worst feeling, it is like being back in Sudan waiting for the executioner.

Rwanda is not safe, and I’m scared all the time, I don’t eat or sleep, and I just think all my journey was for nothing. Three years of hell for nothing.

The thing that helps me feel better is Josie calling me everyday. She is so good; everyday she tells me, you are not alone, we are here for you, we will fight for you,

And everytime she says it, I feel a bit better.

The post Sadam’s Story appeared first on Care4Calais.