“Wet, cold and forgotten by the world.”
This week we visited the Port of Ouistreham which is near to the French town of Cean. Here a group of Sudanese refugees sleep outside under sparse trees near to a holiday camp.
It is a nice place to visit. The refugees are friendly, welcoming and always pleased to see us. There are local French people who provide food in the evening. The atmosphere is more relaxed than Calais.
As we only visit once a month we packed as much stuff into the van as possible. We took shoes, coats, tents, backpacks, and bags of dates as it is Ramadan. Everything was very popular except for the tents. I guess the police won’t allow them, the same as in Calais.
We also took our phone charging and wifi, hair dressing kits and first aid bag. Probably because our visits there are rare, the hairdressing was very popular with a great many haircuts being crammed into the day.
One of the most important things we did was to connect people to Phone Credit For Refugees Facebook group. Many were not aware of this service but it is truly essential. Connecting with family they have not seen for months or even years; finding out if their family is safe in a war zone – this is more necessary than food to the people we meet. Thank you so much Jape JP
As we drove away at the end of a long but good day it started to rain, and when we hit the motorway it began to pour. All I could think of was those gentle people sitting on the dirt under the sparse trees with no cover and a whole night ahead of them – wet, cold and forgotten by the world.
To volunteer or donate go to www.care4calais.org
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