Charlotte’s heartfelt plea
This week I sat holding the hand of a terrified young man. I’ve known him since he first arrived in the UK as an asylum seeker nearly two years ago. I’ve watched him gain confidence as his English improved and he made friends. And, although he’s been waiting in limbo for his application to progress, I’ve seen him slowly start to feel safe. He has learned to trust us, and is now a dedicated student at our weekly English class. This week, though, something was up. His usual keen laugh was replaced with a shrug. Those mischievous eyes looked …
Soon appearing on a billboard near you !
Amazing news! This photograph of refugees and Care4Calais volunteers has been chosen for a government ad campaign that shows what makes Britain Great – and will soon be prominently displayed at Heathrow Airport. The picture was taken by photographer Frederic Aranda, who works with a group based at an East London hotel. Frederic loves the way volunteers and refugees come together as a big family, and tried to get that across in his pictures. He certainly succeeded in this one, shot in London’s Smithfield market. “The image is a tribute to Care4Calais, an organisation that helps refugees whose immigration …
Government backs down on pushbacks
We are proud and delighted that the Home Secretary has abandoned the controversial Pushbacks policy just over a week before our case was due to be heard in the High Court. Care4Calais joined forces with the Public and Commercial Services Union, Channel Rescue and Freedom from Torture to challenge the proposed Home Office policy to forcibly push back small refugee boats in the English Channel. The hearing was set for May 3rd. On Sunday night the Home Office wrote to confirm the policy has been withdrawn. Before today, Priti Patel had repeatedly insisted that the pushback policy would …
The horror of a Mediterranean shipwreck
I’ve been on a search and rescue mission for the last few weeks with Sea-Watch, in the central Mediterranean Sea, just north or Libya. I drive one of the two speedboats. We’d not long got back to the ship from rescuing boat three. Phil, head of mission told us that there’d been a mayday call. A plane had spotted a rubber boat which was sinking, with over fifty people in the water. It was over ten miles away. The briefing was short. What equipment to take, the location for the chart plotter, good luck, go. It was that kind of …
The journey is hard, but we’re there for them
Yesterday 116 refugees in three three boats came ashore at Dungeness. We understand that that everyone on the first two boats was from Syria, and the people in the the third were from Kurdistan and Afghanistan. There were a lot of women and children on the first two boats, including some children who were unaccompanied. Many people looked cold and exhausted, and some were upset and confused – some much that it tore at your heart to see them. There was one family with a small boy and a lady who was just crying uncontrollably. She was obviously in shock, …
Ramadan Mubarak
In Calais, many refugees are observing Ramadan now, and it’s not easy for them. Abdul, a refugee from Sudan, told me that back at home, it was hard to fast all day too. But he loved food and eating, and when the sun went down, it was good to choose what he would break his fast with. In France, that was different. For one thing, the sun goes down later, so the days are longer. But worse than that, it’s difficult to make sure there is anything at all to eat at night. He just tries to get through …
Our volunteers helping amid terrible conditions
In the last 24 hours our volunteers in Calais have made us so proud with their incredible hard work to help refugees in a desperate situation. It has been literally freezing in Calais and Dunkirk, with snow on the ground and a wind chill lowering temperatures to minus five. Human beings should not be outside at all in such conditions, let alone sleeping rough and living in tents, as refugees are. A large gym in Dunkirk has been opened to provide shelter for about 200 refugees, but that is not nearly enough. And as if this were not bad …
Zoran’s story
When Zoran was a young boy growing up in Iran, his mum and dad were murdered by the government for their political views. His grandfather raised him in a small, remote village where Zoran got no schooling. Bring Kurdish, Zoran was part of a persecuted minority with little chance of a job. His parents’ deaths marked the start of years of unhappiness and depression for Zoran, and being isolated and persecuted in the village only made things worse. He knew he had to escape. Aged just 16 he left home to search for a safe future with the chance …
This is Why Phones Are So Important to Refugees
“There are two ways to get to the UK, by lorry or boat. Both ways, you could be killed. I don’t want to take either, because I am so afraid of losing my life. But my family spent all their money to get me to safety. So what I can do? I must go on.” This is how Osama from Sudan described his life in Calais to me. I was sitting at Osama’s campfire after distribution one evening with some of his friends. They’d built the fire where they were living, in some scrub land in the hope the police …
Welcoming Refugees in Kent
On Thursday about 60 people arrived together on two dinghies on the shore at Dungeness. Most were from Syria, Kuwait and Iran. There was a woman with a young child aged between one and two years old among them, and everyone looked so cold and exhausted by the journey it was painful to see. Most of their shoes and socks were ruined, all wet and sandy, so I gave out sliders. The Dungeness beach is rocky, and painful on feet, so they make a big difference. I couldn’t believe how polite and kind they were even in this situation. …