Emergency Appeal: Snow in Calais

Today Calais woke up with snow covering the frozen ground, and bitter gales hammering the sites where refugees are living in flimsy tents. The conditions are horrific and likely to get worse.

Right now there are nearly 2,000 women, men and children sleeping rough here in northern France, many of them without adequate clothing, footwear or shelter. The nights are cold, and the days little better. The ground is heavy, wet mud, and to make things worse, unexpected police evictions have forced people to flee some sites, leaving tents and possessions behind.

When it’s this cold it takes clothes days to dry, so if you get wet you stay wet. Today we met young Afghan boys wearing plastic bags inside their shoes: ‘It keeps the water out,’ one said. ‘Well, a little bit.’ To see them suffering like that was heartbreaking.

We’re working hard to distribute clothes and other supplies, and our volunteers are doing an incredible job. But we need your help.

Please donate now to help refugees in Calais get through this winter. No amount is too small to help someone survive.

You can donate here