"Those of us who leave our homes in the morning and expect to find them when we go back - it's hard for us to understand what the experience of a refugee is like.”
-NAOMI SHIHAB NYE
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You may be wondering why Calais? The truth is that although the Calais authorities and French government moved all the refugees to registration centres elsewhere in France and cleared the whole area a certain number have returned. They are living rough where ever they can find shelter and keep away from the police. Some collect during the day in centres set up by local organisations such as Secours Catholique where they can get a hot meal, a shower and shelter. They are not allowed to stay after 8pm under local planning rules.
On this trip eight of us went and worked with care4calais. Care4calais were desperate for volunteers in fact for two days if we had not been there they would have only had two volunteers. We went each day to different day centres delivering aid and sharing time with many of the refugees helping with their English and generally helping them to feel valued. We also went to the local Bus and Train Stations to meet refugees as they arrived to welcome them and as many were arrested by the local Police to check their registrations by being around we felt we made a difference in the way they were treated by the Police. In addition to working in the Calais area we took aid to the Dunkirk camp and into Paris.
Many felt that although the work was different from when the Jungle existed it was very necessary and worthwhile.
We are hoping to organize another trip to work with Care4calais and take over aid in the near future, May time, so if you would like to be part of that please get in touch and have a chat.
On this trip eight of us went and worked with care4calais. Care4calais were desperate for volunteers in fact for two days if we had not been there they would have only had two volunteers. We went each day to different day centres delivering aid and sharing time with many of the refugees helping with their English and generally helping them to feel valued. We also went to the local Bus and Train Stations to meet refugees as they arrived to welcome them and as many were arrested by the local Police to check their registrations by being around we felt we made a difference in the way they were treated by the Police. In addition to working in the Calais area we took aid to the Dunkirk camp and into Paris.
Many felt that although the work was different from when the Jungle existed it was very necessary and worthwhile.
We are hoping to organize another trip to work with Care4calais and take over aid in the near future, May time, so if you would like to be part of that please get in touch and have a chat.
It was great to have an opportunity to go and give some practical help to the refugees in Calais. I was surprised at quite how large the warehouses were, full of donations from the UK, which were being used and restocked regularly.
Clare, the organiser of Care for Calais, who set it up a couple of years ago when she saw with despair how little was being done by the 'authorities' is an amazing, determined and resourceful woman, I was full of admiration for her efforts.
The refugees we met, wandering around the town, or getting off the trains from the south, or passing time in the small charitable day centre, were the ' brightest and best'- charming, polite, grateful for any help, and mainly full of confidence that one day.. (Inshallah) they would reach their aim- to be re-united with their families or friends in England. Most of the lads we met were aged 15-30 and spoke several languages, and just wanted to get a job and send money back to their families back home. They spoke of how their mothers had sent them off, with tears and hope, to find a way to live normal lives, free of fear of wars, torture, imprisonment or forced conscription. I would have done the same myself , for my sons, and that's what still brings tears to my eyes.
Clare, the organiser of Care for Calais, who set it up a couple of years ago when she saw with despair how little was being done by the 'authorities' is an amazing, determined and resourceful woman, I was full of admiration for her efforts.
The refugees we met, wandering around the town, or getting off the trains from the south, or passing time in the small charitable day centre, were the ' brightest and best'- charming, polite, grateful for any help, and mainly full of confidence that one day.. (Inshallah) they would reach their aim- to be re-united with their families or friends in England. Most of the lads we met were aged 15-30 and spoke several languages, and just wanted to get a job and send money back to their families back home. They spoke of how their mothers had sent them off, with tears and hope, to find a way to live normal lives, free of fear of wars, torture, imprisonment or forced conscription. I would have done the same myself , for my sons, and that's what still brings tears to my eyes.
My main impression of the trip was the extraordinary feeling of being faced straight up against all the best and the worst of human nature. The fantastic volunteers, the people running the day centres, and the people dedicating their lives to running the charities. This contrasted so starkly with the attitude of the authorities in Calais, with the action of the Gendarmerie and most especially with the horror of the people smugglers and gangsters running the camp at Dunkirk, preying on their own species for profit. This is of course the reality of humans, we have the capacity for boundless love and brutal evil.
It was a complete delight to meet and talk with the young men in the day centres who have made this extraordinary journey from their African nations, only to be halted in a static bottleneck at Calais. I felt they were the brightest and most determined of their generation, exactly the type of people we should be welcoming to our nation. Imagine anyone of us deciding, 'this life in Cornwall is no good for me, I’ll walk to Eritrea, or Yemen” how would that really be? what extraordinary bravery they have to face that journey with no certain outcome.
It was a complete delight to meet and talk with the young men in the day centres who have made this extraordinary journey from their African nations, only to be halted in a static bottleneck at Calais. I felt they were the brightest and most determined of their generation, exactly the type of people we should be welcoming to our nation. Imagine anyone of us deciding, 'this life in Cornwall is no good for me, I’ll walk to Eritrea, or Yemen” how would that really be? what extraordinary bravery they have to face that journey with no certain outcome.
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Refugee Support Q&A
"You have to understand, that no one puts their children in a boat unless water is safer than the land. No one chooses refugee camps, no one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark. You only run for the border when you see the whole city running as well"
What are the main concerns at the moment?
France – although the Jungle has been disbanded the problem has actually been driven underground, it is estimated that about a quarter of the peak population of the jungle (about 2,000), have disappeared into the countryside around Northern France and the streets of Paris. The remainder of the jungle population were transferred to processing centres, with a view to allowing them to register for French citizenship within a month although the total time taken for their application to be processed could be up to nine months. Included in this number were about 900 minors, with a view to allowing them, under the 'Dubs bill', to apply to come to Britain. (Section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016 named after Lord Dubs and not to be confused with the 'Dublin Regulation'). According to this legislation minors with relatives in the UK can apply for UK citizenship. The length of this process was intended to take 6 weeks. At the time of writing we have just received news of a 17 year old Sudanese man with relatives in the UK dying of a heart attack in a reception centre due to inadequate medical support.
The rest of Europe and The Middle East – In camps in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey refugees are trying to live in freezing temperatures. There is little being reported in the news although there has been some media coverage (last week) of the plight of refugees living rough among the snow in Greece.
Current UNHCR stats are as follows:
The rest of Europe and The Middle East – In camps in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey refugees are trying to live in freezing temperatures. There is little being reported in the news although there has been some media coverage (last week) of the plight of refugees living rough among the snow in Greece.
Current UNHCR stats are as follows:
How is All Saints Church helping?
ASHT (All Saints Church Highertown) is acting as a collection centre for aid which will be taken by vans to France or shipped in containers to the Middle East. Items we are in urgent need of at the moment are warm clothes, particularly jackets, thick socks, hats, scarves gloves and waterproof sleeping bag or sleeping bag with a bivi bag which is waterproof and breathable.
We are organising as many groups of volunteers as possible to go to work with the charities in France under their direction. For more information on this volunteer work or to volunteer with the charities directly please see their websites below. Alternatively, to speak to someone from ASHT who has already worked as a volunteer in France or to enquire about joining a group from ASHT please contact Rowley Surridge or Laura Allsworth through the church website [here].
As you may have heard in the news a number of Syrian families are being resettled in Cornwall and we support them in any way that we can such as supplying household appliances and contacts in the community. The church building is also used as a liaison point with for a network of local charities and people also involved in this support work.
We are organising as many groups of volunteers as possible to go to work with the charities in France under their direction. For more information on this volunteer work or to volunteer with the charities directly please see their websites below. Alternatively, to speak to someone from ASHT who has already worked as a volunteer in France or to enquire about joining a group from ASHT please contact Rowley Surridge or Laura Allsworth through the church website [here].
As you may have heard in the news a number of Syrian families are being resettled in Cornwall and we support them in any way that we can such as supplying household appliances and contacts in the community. The church building is also used as a liaison point with for a network of local charities and people also involved in this support work.
How can I help?
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We urgently require donations of warm clothing, sleeping bags and financial donations. Financial donations are often preferable to food when transporting over distances so that agencies working on the ground can purchase locally, supporting local businesses, reducing carbon footprint and ensuring that resources are used most effectively. There is one poignant anecdote being passed around recently of a donation of a supply of oil-filled plug-in electric radiators from UNCHR being used by refugees to sit on - not having any electric supply in their camps to connect them to!
Donations to this work can be made via justgiving by clicking on the button below. |
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Are you sending aid to syria?
If you drop donations into any of the collection points these are then transported to a warehouse in Wadebridge for sorting into sizes and types and the donations are then sent to the charities that we are involved in depending on what they are asking for at the time.
We work together with a number of organisations, one of which is 'Open Hearts Open Borders' at Saltash where the container is sited. It is then transported to the Syrian border in Turkey where it is unloaded into smaller vehicles and distributed to various camps across the border by a Muslim charity. It is anticipated that the next delivery will leave about the end of February or begging of March.
We work together with a number of organisations, one of which is 'Open Hearts Open Borders' at Saltash where the container is sited. It is then transported to the Syrian border in Turkey where it is unloaded into smaller vehicles and distributed to various camps across the border by a Muslim charity. It is anticipated that the next delivery will leave about the end of February or begging of March.
Who will receive the items that I donate?
We cannot vouch for the end recipients in the Middle East however the charities are carefully selected and we are confident that very little is wasted. Regarding distribution in France, our volunteers have often witnessed and been involved in the passage of specific donations from collection to delivery in the hands of a grateful recipient and this has been enormously rewarding.
Why are you still sending aid to Calais?
The key charities that we have been supporting, Care4Calais and L'Auberge de Migrants, are working as hard as they were before the Jungle was disbanded delivering aid to the various dispersed pockets of smaller illegal camps and also to other camps both legal and not recognised around Paris.. The French authorities are reported to be taking a harsh line with the refugees in the City of Paris such as taking away tents from them and moving them on.
Which other groups is ASHT working with?
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Aid deliveries :
CORNWALL CreationFest Wadebridge Cornish Refugee Aid Project Open Hearts Open Borders Refugee Aid FRANCE Care4Calais www.care4calais.org L'Auberge des Migrants www.laubergedesmigrants.fr MIDDLE EAST One Nation charity www.onenationuk.org |
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can i volunteer, if so what sort of work is needed?
You can help by collecting aid local to you and possibly acting as a collection centre. Help is always needed at the sorting centre at Wadebridge.
For volunteering to go on one of the aid trips a competent level of French is useful but not essential. If you have skills in any of the following these will be a great asset: Dari, Arabic, Punjabi, Pashto, Kurdish, Tigrinya or Farsi. Confident van or SPV drivers or owners/drivers to transport aid and volunteers are always needed. Volunteers must have a team member attitude and be capable of long hours of physical work; you could be working from 9am in the morning to 6pm at night with a half-an-hour break sorting, packing, stacking and distributing items of aid. Journalism/film-making skills have been an asset in the past although there are strict regulations concerning the confidentiality of refugees and treating them with respect.
If you are interested contact Rowley on 07713 113459.
For volunteering to go on one of the aid trips a competent level of French is useful but not essential. If you have skills in any of the following these will be a great asset: Dari, Arabic, Punjabi, Pashto, Kurdish, Tigrinya or Farsi. Confident van or SPV drivers or owners/drivers to transport aid and volunteers are always needed. Volunteers must have a team member attitude and be capable of long hours of physical work; you could be working from 9am in the morning to 6pm at night with a half-an-hour break sorting, packing, stacking and distributing items of aid. Journalism/film-making skills have been an asset in the past although there are strict regulations concerning the confidentiality of refugees and treating them with respect.
If you are interested contact Rowley on 07713 113459.
what message do you have for me?
Thank you to you all for supporting us here at All Saints in our refugee aid work.
The situation is changing daily so whilst we aim to have the latest information for you, sometimes we need to check with our aid partners to see what is happening. There are still refugee camps in France so we continue to make trips to help people there.
The situation is changing daily so whilst we aim to have the latest information for you, sometimes we need to check with our aid partners to see what is happening. There are still refugee camps in France so we continue to make trips to help people there.
All Saints
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Other Contacts
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The Refugee Crisis - A Christian Understanding
Matthew 25:35-40 Luke 3:11 Matthew 8:20 During his ministry, Jesus was forced to wander from place to place, as King of a world hostile to him. He was ejected from the Holy City, the place his own Heavenly Father was said to inhabit, and crucified on a rubbish dump. Christians find solidarity with refugees since their own identity is inextricably linked to Jesus. |
Jesus, and therefore Christians too, belong to a people indelibly marked by stories of Exodus and exile. Like the millions of Syrians today, Jesus and his family were forced to flee their home and find refuge. In Jesus’ case the destination was Egypt, the very place that his family’s ancestors fled in the time of Moses.
Deuteronomy 10:18-19 Leviticus 19:33-34; 24:22 |
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