Volunteers help with train pain

Volunteers help with train pain

D, a young refugee, was travelling to London by train for his main interview with the Home Office when he got pulled up by a ticket inspector.

D had thought his Great Northern & Thameslink ticket would let him travel on London North Eastern trains – an easy enough mistake for anyone to make, let alone a refugee on the way to one of the most nerve-racking experiences of his life. The inspector refused to let him off though, and D found himself landed with a £62.90 fine.

That’s £62.90 for a journey that should only have cost about £20. On the meagre amount an asylum seeker receives in the UK, it just wouldn’t be possible to pay the fine, so you can imagine the anxiety D must have felt. Kirstie, one of our brilliant volunteers tried to appeal for him, explaining it had been an innocent mistake, but the cold-hearted authorities still refused to budge.

So this young refugee could have been caused serious problems by his innocent mistake over a train ticket. But then our volunteers stepped in

Kirstie appealed to our Care4Calais volunteer group on Facebook – and it took just 20 minutes to raise the money. This was a brilliant demonstration of how amazing our volunteers are, and of how powerful they are as a group of compassionate people working together. A big festive thank you to all those who helped.

To volunteer or donate go to care4calais.org

About Care4Calais

Care4Calais was founded by a group of volunteers with the sole aim of supporting the people of the Calais refugee camps, providing fresh meals, warm clothing, heating and important legal and medical support.

We are not politicians – we are people like you who simply believe that every human has the right to be treated in a fair and dignified way.

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