The journey is hard, but we’re there for them
Yesterday 116 refugees in three three boats came ashore at Dungeness. We understand that that everyone on the first two boats was from Syria, and the people in the the third were from Kurdistan and Afghanistan. There were a lot of women and children on the first two boats, including some children who were unaccompanied. Many people looked cold and exhausted, and some were upset and confused – some much that it tore at your heart to see them. There was one family with a small boy and a lady who was just crying uncontrollably. She was obviously in shock, …
Ukranian refugees turned back from UK now in Calais
Britain has turned back nine Ukrainian refugees at the border because they didn’t have visas, according to reports in the French press. The two families from Odessa in southern Ukraine had travelled four days to escape the Russian attack. Having been rejected by the UK, they are reportedly staying in hotel accommodation in Calais. Véronique Deprez-Boudier, sub-prefect of Calais, said that the British consul was now helping them to obtain visas that would allow them entry to the UK. She hoped that the process would be completed by the end of this week. While no one can fail to be …
A moment of understanding with the CRS
Something rather special happened today. We have been looking for new places to distribute food to people. In much of Calais there is a food ban and unbelievably giving food to hungry people is against the law. So we are continually looking for new places where it is allowed. Having studied the map carefully we thought we found the perfect place, but only half an hour into our distribution the CRS police came and closed us down. This was a blow, as the refugees are having to walk further and further to get to us and to food. We went …
Dealing with the Calais food ban
One of the scariest things I’ve noticed about volunteering in Calais this time is here is how badly the refugees want our food packs. They don’t mind a long walk to the places where we’re giving them out, and they are willing to wait for a long time in the freezing cold to collect them. Seeing people that hungry is not good. To a large extent, the problem is down to action taken by the authorities. There’s been a “food ban” in Calais for more than a year now. The ban originally made it illegal to give people food …
How the Government misleads the public about refugees
One of the worst and most dangerous mistruths that this Government peddles is that refugee Channel crossings are “illegal”. As they know very well, the law allows refugees to come to the UK to claim asylum. A recent court of appeal ruling has shown that refugees coming to the UK on small boats are not arriving “illegally” if they intend to arrive at a port and claim asylum – which almost all of them do. In a court case on Thursday, Sir James Eadie QC, representing the home secretary, admitted to court that there had been a “misunderstanding” that …
The photography of former refugee Abdul Saboor
I left Afghanistan because they shot me. Not once, but three times. I don’t know who shot me or why, they were too far away to see. Afghanistan is a dangerous country – people do not follow rules, they do what they like. The first time I was shot, it was was in my arm, and I treated the wound myself. The next time it was my leg, and the doctors wanted me to stay in hospital, but I wouldn’t stay. The last time was in my back, and that was bad; I stayed in the hospital for 10 days …