Never forget: A vigil for the Channel drownings
On 24 November last year, 32 men, women and children died in the English Channel when their flimsy boat sank in the freezing cold sea, and British and French authorities ignored their desperate calls for help.. Those authorities face countless questions about what happened that fateful night, but a year on the victims’ families are still waiting for answers. They have been let down appallingly by the British and the French states, and at the very least they deserve explanations about what happened their loved ones. For the victims and their families, we demand justice, and we will never let …
A game with the kind cricketers of Dunkirk
Today I was watching a highly competitive cricket match between Afghan refugees in Dunkirk. It’s getting quite muddy now so I suppose their matches are going to become more difficult, but today they were doing ok. Some of them are really good players. I got talking to a young Afghan refugee called Ali about the T20 Cricket World Cup, which is is being played in Australia at the moment. He explained they were all following Afghanistan’s progress, “because for us, cricket is like football for you. It is everything to us. “That is why it’s good Care4Calais brings the ball, …
For the Love of Bikes
Today I was helping on the cycle repair station at our distribution in Calais when a young Sudanese guy called Abu rode up on a distinctly battered, wonky-looking bike. He must have noticed me looking because he said, “You like it? I bought it today. One thousand Euro!” I must have looked surprised because he burst out laughing. “Tour de France bike! But now I just fix,” he said. Of course he hadn’t paid for the bike at all. As I helped him straighten the spokes, he explained that he had found it as a wreck weeks ago, and …
Helping new arrivals as the weather worsens
Last night, in my home on the south coast of England, I listened to the sounds of the search and rescue helicopter circling overhead. As I looked out into the darkness, I couldn’t help but think of the men, women and children that could be out in the sea, exhausted and terrified in tiny boats, a short distance away. It was an utterly helpless feeling. As autumn has drawn in sea conditions have become worse, and the risks greater. September was a very busy month for our ERT, and October is proving to be just as busy. Last week …
Home Office gives pregnant refugee Rwanda letter
Delina, a Eritrean refugee who fled to the UK, is 37 weeks pregnant. Despite this the UK Home Office is, shockingly, trying to force her onto a plane so they can deport her to Rwanda. The Home Office has previously said that it would not send pregnant women to Rwanda under its new scheme. However, we have seen paperwork that shows they knew Delina was pregnant, but still served her with a letter saying she would sent to Rwanda. This is an incredibly brutal example of the carelessness of the Rwanda plan, and the horrific human suffering that it causes. …