What food donations do for Calais refugees
Today in Calais I met a refugee who’d just been through a terrifying and harrowing ordeal. His face was very badly sunburned, he was stiff and limping, and he seemed exhausted. He told me that the day before he’d tried to cross the channel in a small boat with some other people. Out at sea he had called the UK coastguard, but they had not sent anyone to help them. In the end they had drifted for seven hours before making it back to France. The poor man – he looked about 30, and I’ll him Asem – asked me …
Sharing solidarity, friendship and flatbreads in Leeds
We had the loveliest time at our distribution in Leeds this weekend, with so much going on! It was great to see the lads from the nearby hotel. Many of them have been there at least a year, and they’ve all recently endured racist abuse from far right groups. However, they do tell us that our friendly and consistent presence goes a long way to making them feel safe. This weekend we were giving out clothes – the t-shirts were very popular because it’s been so sunny in Yorkshire lately. But also the great thing about the brilliant space that …
Meet Pavel and Monir, our farmer-refugees
The Sutton Community Farm in south London is incredibly kind to the refugees we support, donating baskets of delicious fresh fruit and vegetables for us to distribute in hotels. This is great as there is often a shortage of wholesome fresh food provided. Sometimes refugees go down to the farm with Seema, our South West London volunteer, to help carry the baskets of goods. The farm volunteers are so friendly, and at the weekend one of them, Sonia, noticed that Pavel and Monir were interested in the work that was going on. She downed tools to give them a guided …
Emergency appeal for Calais – please share
This is today’s shopping list. Each week, to feed every site in Calais and Dunkirk, we need to make 330 food parcels at a cost of approximately €4,450. This is incredibly hard to sustain, but right now we have no choice. We can no longer buy in bulk from the UK and we are clearing shelves at three Lidls in Calais every other day. Our volunteers are working long hours to make up hundreds of nutritious packs each morning. Refugees and migrants in Dunkirk and Calais are under threat from coronavirus (COVID-19) and also from lack of food. Please support …