Helping rough sleepers in Calais stay dry
There’s an old canal that runs through the town of Calais and some people live under the bridges that cross it. The bridges offer some very basic shelter at a time when it’s become hard to find anywhere to sleep in Calais. The authorities are putting boulders on some areas of open land to stop refugees from sleeping there. This is a terrible way for people to live, cold and damp and constantly in fear of being moved on, so they were really pleased to see our volunteers who came to distribute boots and socks. “Thank you,” one man …
This is why we need coats in Calais
If you want to know how badly refugees in Calais need coats right now, just take a look at the queues for our coat distributions. People will stand in line for as long as it takes to have a chance of staying warmer and drier in the cold weather. The other day it was so chilly and miserable, but one guy in the line made me smile. I asked how he was. “I am COLD!” he said laughing. “Why do you think I’m here?” It never ceases to amaze me how people hang onto their sense of humour. This …
Refugees crossing the Channel have no other choice
When I was in Dunkirk last week, I talked to a Kurdish guy called Destan. He was hoping to cross by boat to the UK. He had tried to cross a few weeks ago, but the boat had got into trouble just off the French coast and he had been rescued. Naively, I asked if he wasn’t now afraid to try. “Yes of course,” he said. “I am scared. We are all scared. But what else can we do?” He indicated a friend a few metres away and told me that he had been in three boats that had …
Speak up for the Greek aid workers
© Private, 2018 The trial of NGO workers involved in rescuing refugees from the Mediterranean continues in Greece today, and all of us at Care4Calais stand in solidarity with the defendants. One defendant, Sarah Mardini, originally from Syria, and arriving as a refugee in 2015, is the inspiration behind the Netflix film ‘The Swimmers’. After the engine failed on the boat she was travelling on, Sarah and her sister Yusra saved 18 fellow passengers by pulling the sinking boat to safety. Yusra went on to swim for ‘Team Refugees’ in the Olympics. Sarah returned to Greece in 2016 and went …
Meet Elizabeth, our angel of the north!
If the dictionary had an entry for ‘quietly inspirational’ it would use a picture of Elizabeth. She is our team leader in the North East and she’s hugely respected by everyone who knows her at Care4Calais. Elizabeth is a true superhero without a cape. She’s incredibly dedicated, unbelievably organised, and just lovely with it. Her volunteers call her a brilliant team leader, who is empathetic and compassionate but also very disciplined with tons of stamina. You can see why her ability to galvanise a team is awe-inspiring. Although she says she’s not a rebellious type, she fiercely and furiously hates …
This Calais Light volunteer loves our warehouse!
When I go to volunteer in Calais, I’m always amazed by the system that Care4Calais have set up there. The warehouse is so cleverly organised, with all kinds donations stored and sorted in a systematic way. This makes life easier for the team leaders and volunteers, who work incredibly hard to keep things in order. But it also ensures that the refugees get the food, clothes and other things that they really need. I go over to Calais as a volunteer with the wonderful charity group, @calaislight, which organises weekend convoys of volunteers travelling to Calais from all over …
Meet Faisal, refugee and aspiring journalist
When he lived in Afghanistan, Faisal dreamed of becoming a journalist, but boys his age were being forcibly recruited by the Taliban and similar outfits. Although he held out, keeping his head down and hanging onto his ambition as long as he could, he knew thart if he didn’t leave, he would eventually be forced to join “them”. 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 …
This wonderful gift brightened our day in Calais
Yesterday we were going through our mail at the Calais warehouse when we noticed a mysterious, lumpy package from the UK. Opening it, we found dozens of EU-plug phone chargers, a power bank and a bag of Euros and cents – and a note explaining where it had come from. It turned out they were from some young refugees – all under 18 and travelling by themselves – who had crossed the Channel. Realising the stuff was unusable in the UK, they had saved it all so they could send it back for refugees in France. Connie, a former C4C …
The facts about refugees
Why do refugees come to the UK? Why don’t they stay in the first safe country? How much do they cost us? Our founder Clare Moseley gives the real answers. …
Vigil for refugee who took his own life
Yesterday at around 10.50 am, a young male refugee from Sudan died after being hit by a train in Calais. The death appears to have been a suicide. Witnesses report the man stepping out in front of the train and the driver sounding the horn but being unable to stop. The emergency services attended but were unable to save the victim, who was reported to be in his thirties. The incident happened on a level crossing on the outskirts of Calais near a place where refugees stay, and where we distribute food. The man who died was well known to …
