Another tragic incident on the UK border
As the weekend ended, somewhere on the coast of northern France, three Somalian refugees climbed into a small dinghy and set off to cross the English Channel. Their boat was notably smaller than dinghies often seen being used to cross the channel, and was certainly not suitable for one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes. The men will most likely have been aiming for the Kent coast, but the tides bore their tiny vessel far off course, out beyond the eastern tip of Kent. Around midday they would have been drifting on past the mouth of the Thames and on …
The trauma of Afghan children
Some of the little Afghan girls and boys I see at our distributions seem so sad it’s unbearable. They’re so quiet and withdrawn, and while some just want to be with their mums, others seem quite detached from everything. At our last distribution, a little boy of about six came along with his mum, but then just found a child’s chair, sat down facing the wall, and stayed like that. He didn’t want to move, or talk, or interact with the other children at all. We tried very gently to encourage him to join in the playing, but he …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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. …
M’s story
Last week, I met M, a Kurdish man from Iran in his early twenties. At college, he studied civil engineering. He was also involved in politics and participated in an anti-government demonstration. M was standing up for what he believed in but was threatened as a result. After the protest, the police demanded that he come to the station for questioning. Fearing the worst, he and his parents knew he could go to prison for a long time. ‘I was terrified and my parents were crying’, he said, describing the moment he knew he had to get out of Iran. …
Mohammed’s story
When you’ve walked from Khartoum to Calais, through Iran and Turkey and most of Europe, Stockton seems a very small place. I’ve been here three months now. It’s OK. I have my own house now, I share it with four friends from Africa, Afghan and Iran. It is better then the hotel in some ways as I have my own space, but in the hotel I had lots of Syrian friends and we would sit and talk so much about everything and nothing at all! I do miss that. I left Syria when I was 19 and I am now …