Care4Calais FC’s adventure at the Refugee World Cup
Refugees are often incredibly resourceful and inspiring people, and when you support them as a volunteer with Care4Calais, you can find yourself doing amazing things that you probably wouldn’t have otherwise tried. That’s how our group in Manchester came to set up a football team and enter the Refugee World Cup! It started when we began running social afternoons at a hotel housing asylum seekers in the city. We began supporting a couple of people who were struggling with their mental health, and one Sunday afternoon we decided to take along some footballs and snacks to see if that helped. …
Thanks to Anaëlle, volunteer extraordinaire!
This is Anaëlle. She is amazing, and not just because she is bilingual. She’s only 20 and super bright but also incredibly warm and gentle. When I watch her with the younger refugees she makes my heart melt. She has a special way of making friends with even the most shy ones and making them laugh. Somehow she gets the ones who don’t talk to join in and be part of the group. This really is a special gift as along the refugee routes the quiet ones get pushed aside, often bullied and forgotten until they get used to being …
Abel’s story
Since I was four years old I have been moving from place to place and country to country, just looking for somewhere safe to live. In Africa, where I was born, at first it was a matter of looking for somewhere my mum could get a job, so we could eat. But soon I was completely on my own, and life just got harder and harder; that’s when I decided to try to make it to the UK. My name is Abel, and I was born in Eritrea. I never knew my father; my mum was a Christian, a …
We must keep fighting for people like these
Over the many years I’ve been helping refugees in Calais I’ve seen a lot of awful, heartbreaking scenes. But I’ve never never been left unable to speak to anyone in the way I was today. I was at a big distribution. After we had given power banks and shoes to more than 300 people, we provided our usual services like haircuts, games and books. And as I wandered among the refugees and volunteers in the hot, dusty scrubland, I saw a small group young men – just boys, really – gathered around a table where some of our volunteers were …
Armin’s story
I was out on my morning bike ride when they came to my house. I had left as usual about 6.30 to have a bike ride before I left for my work as a teacher. As I approached the house when I came back, I could see three cars outside, and seven or eight people around the door. I hung back, and then my wife text me not to come home. I didn’t know it then, but when I had left home that morning, it was the last time I would see my children. My name is Armn, and I’m …
When refugee kids play at “Calais”
This morning I had a heart-stopping little moment at the Kids Club that I run for refugees. I was watching some children acting out a game between themselves. Each had taken on a role, and it became clear from their mentions of “Calais” they that they were acting out memories of when they had been in France together a few months ago. Suddenly one of them stood up all alert and with great urgency in her voice went “SHHHHHH” at the others. They all immediately froze, and then another said “Hide, hide!” And they all quickly and silently concealed themselves, …
Meet our intrepid interpreting team!
For refugee week we’d like to introduce you to some of our fabulous interpreters. These guys are all volunteers who give their time freely to help others who would otherwise struggle to make themselves heard. All are asylum seekers or refugees and have come to know Care4Calais in various ways. We have over 40 volunteer interpreters in the group from all over the world, including some of the most dangerous countries on Earth. Together they speak over 17 languages. Many have made their own dangerous journey to safety and so can easily empathise with the new asylum seekers and make …
Ahmed’s story
Ahmed is a young man from a village in the Afghan countryside. His beautiful brown eyes show all the worry of the world. When I met him, his first question was, “ Are they sending me to Rwanda?” He doesn’t speak English so can’t really follow the news. I reassured him the best I could, saying he should be ok he arrived before people were doing detained. I told him Care4Calais was fighting this case, and that no-one had been removed yet. And I said “Our founder Clare Moseley will never stop fighting for what was right. If Priti Patel …
A smart clothes distribution in Calais
This weekend we were able to do a special distribution in Calais. We had 300 new, branded tracksuits to give out. A real treat when many of the clothes we get are second hand so tops and bottoms never match. One of the best bits was seeing people immediately put on the new jackets, and sometimes even the new trousers. A couple of them asked for plastic bags to keep their new clothes clean and one boy said he was going straight back to his tent to put his somewhere safe. Overall it was just great to have something …
How you can help to tell Doro’s story
This is Doro and he is beautiful. Believe me when I say it, he is beautiful. His inner strength is completely humbling and it shines through anything that your eyes may see. Doro is kind, generous, thoughtful and gentle. His story though, should chill us all to our bones, for Doro has suffered for his dreams more than I could possibly describe. His story is compelling and a real and vivid testimony, which shows why no human should be forcibly returned to Libya, or simply trafficked by governments to Rwanda or anywhere else. He should be welcomed and shown kindness. …
