On May 5th Student Stand Up to Racism organised a student convoy to Calais to deliver goods and donations. Shokraneh from Southampton Stand Up to Racism reports.
It was my first time in Calais, and having already heard and seen footage of the Calais Jungle (now non-existent) I was somewhat prepared to witness unforgiving living standards. Upon arrival, it was clear that Care4Calais were hard at work, yet we were warmly welcomed and briefed about the day head.
After being split into group, my group jumped into a van to deliver trousers and hot drinks and snacks to a remote area in Calais. When we arrived, it was clear that the refugees were in desperate need of new clothes, as many had several rips and holes in their trousers However, before I continue, it’s important to point out that our journey wasn’t plain sailing. Before we even left the warehouse, we pulled over as one of the vans wasn’t working, a few of the volunteers (including my dad who came with me!) tirelessly pushed the van, but unfortunately we were out of luck- the van wasn’t going anywhere.
In the short time we were at the warehouse, it was clear that more help and donations and van drivers and vans are desperately needed, because without them I’m not sure how anything would operate. Once we got going and parked up, we started to hand out trousers and got the chance to meet other volunteers and the refugees. Something that really stood out to me was how polite and respectful the refugees were, every time they came up they shook our hands and smiled, and even in our broken English, we all communicated and shared many laughs. Whilst making tea, I also realised that the refugees were very skinny, nearly (I’d say 99%) of refugees appeared underweight, and kept asking for heaped teaspoons of sugar with their drinks. They also loved drinking milk – though on reflection, they probably didn’t “love” drinking milk, most likely struggling with nutritional deficiency – this made me think of the little things that we take for granted back in the UK (as cliché as this sounds, it’s very true and relevant). Though on the surface everyone seemed happy and cheerful, underneath was a different story. This was revealed when we met a group of brave refugees who agreed to speak to us at a nearby hostel.
During the talks at the hostel, we found out that the refugees can often go for as long as 8 weeks without showers, clean clothes or underwear, which ultimately results to infections and skin problems. This was awful to hear, and, again, made me think about everyday privileges back in the UK. The brave speakers continued to tell us about their stories and struggles travelling to Calais – some had been sold into the slave trade, and some experienced a lifetime of life-threatening oppression and injustice – all this followed by being mentally and physically tortured by the French Police. They told us about how the police brutally take away their tents (their only form of shelter), how they are awakened in the middle of the night, faced with vicious acts of violence and constantly pulled over and questioned. They very much despised the French Police for treating them so inhumanly.
Listening to these stories was heart-breaking to say the least and if I’m being honest, my words don’t do the pain I witnessed any justice. Three of the males had to pause and leave the room due to too much distress and tears running down their faces- tears of pain and years of injustice and discrimination, yet I wished they all knew how strong they truly are, they have lived through these experiences and will live on to tell their stories.
To sit there and listen to these stories was not easy – it was easy for me to close my eyes and put myself in their shoes and vision what they had experienced, from being physically and mentally tortured- by those who were meant to support and protect them (e.g., French state) – to being sold to “owners”, as if life or existence can be quantified into materialistic value- how daunting to imagine this, let alone live it. Upon leaving we said our farewells and reflected on how we could help put an end to this crisis. Thinking back, what we experienced on our convoy was a very small glimpse of the hard work that goes on at Care4Calais, I have the upmost respect for all the amazing volunteers out there! We also witnessed a very small glimpse of the refugee’s stories (majority from Eritrea) – imagine how many more are currently stranded in and around Calais and France, let alone globally. This led me to think about a few fundamental points.
It is evident that the world right now is in the grip of one of the worst displacement crisis’s ever- yet some fail to perhaps accept this, or they simply think if the UK helped refugees then the country will become “rammed”. Let’s speak facts to clear up some of these assumptions – according to the Refugee Council, over 65 million people around the planet have been forced to leave their homes- they have been forced, forced means they didn’t voluntary choose to leave, it was a requisite for survival- this requisite could be due to many reasons, from being target of political or social victimisation to war and conflict on your doorstep – so fleeing your home country is a hard choice, you leave your childhood, your favourite toys, you leave friends and family (who you might not see again), you risk ostracisation, isolation, more discrimination and violation, you risk everything basically – because simply, it is the unknown that you risk, you don’t know what’s going to happen, you don’t even know if you’re going to make it alive. So why is it then, with all this said and done, that it is poorer, not richer, countries who take in the majority of the world’s refugees- according to the UN’s refugee agency approx 86% of the world’s refugees are sheltered by developing countries (i.e., not rich western ones). An example of this is the summer of 2016, where over 80K refugees from South Sudan fled to Uganda. Along with this, it is also important to think about those migrants who are told to “go back” to where they came from- I’m not talking about the mindless “go back to where you came from, you immigrant” kind of comment, but the one that Italy, Libya and the UK have agreed to. Imagine leaving everything- as described above- reaching a shore where you think you can finally give life a go – to only be forcefully sent back.
This is happening, in this day and age, where immigrant fleeing Libya are sent back by Italy and risk inhumane conditions, such as being sold, electrocuted, set on fire, rape and starvation. The UK’s part in this includes approving the Italy/Libya agreement, and in 2016/17 contributing over £8m to Libya to support it. A quote, taken from the Guardian, from one of the migrants, reveals how unimaginable this experience can be:
“…Libya is the worst place on earth. If you are a black African in Libya, they automatically consider you a slave…There are cities like Sabha or Zawiyah that are made for slaves. Prisons and detention camps one after the other. I would rather die than go back to Libya”
What else is also clear is that the UK government have actually, hand in hand, helped keep refugees in France. This was evident on our travels, as we drove past the port in Calais, I saw very noticeable barriers constructed out of, what appeared to be, razor wire coils (definitely no getting out!). Yet the refugees weren’t aware of this harmonious relationship between the French and UK authorities. If that’s not enough, the refugees could still face more discrimination when they are in the UK- a country that is now forcefully deporting a generation of hard working individuals (Windrush) , whose immigration documents have been destroyed (what?!!).
Another concerning issue is that the UK government has failed (on several occasions) to help refugees- in 2016, the UN accused the Eritrean regime of committing many crimes against humanity, such as enslavement and human rights violations, the UN stated that Eritreans who fled their country SHOULD be granted international protection- international– this includes every country on this planet, preferably developed ones, obviously. Yet, the UK government still failed to recognise Eritreans as people in need- as they were forced to rely on the courts (!) to provide them protection, not the government. So it is clear that the UK government have not been very helpful in this crisis and that, amongst all the inaccurate noise, they are not a top recipient of refugees.
To conclude, it is evident that the refugee crisis is happening right now, and many are being treated inhumanly, whilst richer and more developed countries are not effectively helping this crisis. What is not being communicated fairly in the UK (due to bias media platforms) is that the UK is NOT EUs top recipient of asylum applications. Predominantly, EU countries such as Germany, Greece, and non EU countries such as Australia have received significantly MORE application than the UK- yet again , mindless comments like “too many of them are taking our jobs” are made – again, due to miseducation.
I could keep on talking about how many lives , including infants and children, have been lost due to war and conflict, I could keep talking about how this approach allows “richer” countries to make profit out of war and death – and I could go on about how we need to treat global inequality, security, financial, and health issues with more respect and fairness- but with all this said and done, we need to know this- it is the few in power who are extremists and enjoy thriving in an unfair and hostile environment, who lack empathy and understanding, but even in them, in their hearts (if they can find it), love exists, so let’s not become divided but united, let’s not forget that humanity can win and prevail hatred, let’s remember to do our own research, to have empathy and love for all (especially those less fortunate than us), and importantly (!) let’s not become desensitised to what’s going on around us, let’s live life consciously and be aware, and use our words mindfully and help spread love and knowledge.
We are all one, we are all human, let’s create a world where we see humanity flourish and hatred and injustice discouraged.