Hassoun’s story
Being a refugee in Calais has shocked me. I don’t understand why some people here hate us so much. I didn’t expect the people here to be like this, chasing us away and shouting horrible things at us. The police are the worst – it’s almost like they are the Janjaweed militia I was running away from. My name is Hassoun. I’m 21 and I live in an area of Calais they call Old Lidl. I’m just trying to get to the UK to join my uncle and cousins who are there. It’s mostly Sudanese where I live and, as …
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. …