Finally home, feeling very sad that I have left behind so many people, I now call friends and comrades in that hell hole.
Furious because the French state, (with the backing of the British one) didn’t allow solidarity aid (tins of chick pies, clothes, shoes and tents & a couple of boxes of pretty things!) to get across the 22 miles, so many of my old friends and comrades. ended up feeling quite rightly frustrated and angry- so much for freedom of movement (even with one of the magic gets you anywhere UK passports).
Pleased that we managed to sort out everything on “I need/I want” list, including the last one.
Fantastic work Clare and crew. Maybe we should try union sponsored hot air balloons next time. That field would have been perfect -imagine them all flying in and landing one by one- just a thought!!
Thanks to Sara, Becky and Leda of the travelling comradeship and for the latter two -driving!!
Time for bed work in the morning.
Calais refugee camp aka “the jungle”= where you see the best and worst in humanity, lovely people fenced in, with near constant heavy “policing” in one rat infested, chemical dumping ground.
This is just one van worth of aid that wasn’t allowed through to the refugees imagine how much more was blocked by France.
Being redelivered to We are Wakefield to make its way to Calais a different way.
Children know no borders. Messages from uk to the camp and from the camp to the UK
I know lots of you have had a really, crap frustrating day, but can I raise your hopes by telling you another little story from the ‘jungle’, while you were having your passport stamped for attempting to bring revolutionary chick peas to France.
A little group of folks got onto the camp, they didn’t have to break the blockade as they live in France.
They were 5 and 6 year olds French kids who played and drew pictures with their little friends at Marco school in the Jungle. I think there were about 10 of them…It was hoping there would be musicians and entertainers for them, but they were stranded in England, but the kids still had fun anyway.
The daily reality of living and volunteering in ‘jungle’