ELMBRIDGE CAN TEAM MEMBERS TAKE AID TO CALAIS

21 October 2016
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​Elmbridge CAN team members, Verity Wislocki and Jeannie Tweedie, delivered donations of food, warm clothing and tents to the Calais refugee camp last weekend.
Their trip fell on the weekend when French border officials refused entry to many people travelling with aid for the camp. But fortunately our team made it through.
 
We would like to thank everyone who donated – from local businesses and food banks to individuals.
 
Elmbridge CAN co-founder, Jeannie Tweedie, shares a few reflections from her time in the camp:
 
“Thanks for all the kind comments about our trip. But chopping vegetable for a couple of days and going out for a nice meal afterwards isn’t hard. I know many people who do so much more. And I have friends who have lived in the camps as refugees, whose amazingness I can't even begin to quantify.
 
There are a few memories from our trip that I’d like to share:
  • The number of people in the camp, in October, in the mud, wearing flip-flops. It’s not a cultural preference. They just don’t have proper shoes.
  • The lone child, just a few years older than my son, playing cricket. He was full of bravado but still so achingly vulnerable.
  • The Afghan guy who served us dinner from his restaurant for 5 euros each. Surely this is the sort of work ethic and entrepreneurial spirit we need in this country?
  • A fleeting glance of a mum, headscarf on, face down, pushing her toddler back into the camp. A mum driven by the same desperate desire to protect her child that we all have. How do you do that in the Jungle?
  • And finally, the desperate traumatised young man who wanted us to help him find his brother. We couldn’t.”
 
The Calais refugee camp is due to be demolished in the next few days.
 
If you would like to help before the camp is demolished you can donate to Phone Credit for Refugees. The group is working to ensure that all minors have phone credit before people are dispersed.
 
More than a hundred children went missing during the last eviction. Being able to stay in touch with volunteers and phone for help could save their lives.

Notes:
Businesses who donated include: Bookers Wholesale, Kendall Car Hire and Paul's Fruit and Veg Thames Ditton. Verity and Jeannie were joined on the trip by several volunteers: Remus Bugariu, Jennifer Condell, Daniel Garland, Harry Ownsworth and Cristian Purcil. And film-makers: Reuben Woodin Deschamps, Leo Smith, Orban Wallace and Jamie Wolfeld.
Image: Christian Payne / Flickr
Read Jeannie's full article about the Calais trip
 
Phone Credit for Refugees
 
Get the latest news on the Calais camp

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