News / Refugee group evades ban to reach Calais
THE SHETLAND Solidarity with Refugees group successfully delivered a van-load of supplies to the Calais refugee camp on Saturday – but only after undertaking a covert mission via Belgium to evade a ban by the French authorities.
The team – Jeanette Nowak, Rita Smith, Kaila McCulloch and Bruce McCulloch – set off on the NorthLink ferry on Thursday night and had intended to join a peaceful demonstration against the UK Government on Saturday before joining a Convoy to Calais.
But when they heard that the French authorities had decided – partly due to the trouble caused by football hooligans at Euro 2016 diverting police resources and a fear of major disruption in Dover and Calais – to ban the convoy, the Shetland group vowed to “do our own thing”.
In all they spent the equivalent two days at sea and drove over 1,000 miles before arriving back in the islands on Monday morning.
Rita said: “We originally were going to join the convoy but were well on our way into the trip when we got news of the ban and pending disruption.
“We decided unanimously while having a coffee and a leg stretch at a roadside café in Kendall that we must get our aid to where it belonged and if this meant doing our ‘own thing’ that’s just what we would do.
“We headed for Hull and caught the next ferry to Zeebrugge and were determined as ever not to be thwarted by unfortunate political decision making.”
A beautiful day in Belgium allowed the group to make a swift drive down to the French border and then up to Calais.
Upon their arrival at the migrant camp – where more than 5,000 refugees are living – a “surprised and delighted” team from the volunteer charity Care 4 Calais greeted the Shetland group.
“Their warehouses are busy and orderly,” said Rita. “It’s clear a lot of hard work goes into running this charity.
“The scale of donations needed never diminishes and although we only had a transit van full at least we got through and the generosity of the Shetland people was very much appreciated and gratefully received.
“The next couple of hours was spent unpacking the van, sorting and helping in the warehouses.
“The Care 4 Calais team had been extra busy the previous days making room for the expected loads coming in from Britain with the convoy so were obviously very disappointed with the ban – though we believe one lorry got through the Channel Tunnel later in the day.”
The Shetland group didn’t go into the fenced-off camp area itself, where Rita said refugees were “herded in like prisoned animals”.
“The authorities had forbidden entry – not sure what they thought we were going to do, pass out a few chick peas?”
Driving off having had a glimpse of the camp, Rita said her heart sank.
“I for one don’t know just how I would have reacted had I been allowed in to meet these brave, desperate people, hanging onto the belief that somehow life might just get better for them even if it is in a prison-like compound.
“I felt so disappointed that men, women, children and many orphans can be treated in such an inhumane way. It’s made me all the more determined to do more to help and I hope this story encourages a few more to think about it and do the same.”
She added that the trip would not have been possible without the generosity of people in Shetland and help from Graham Henderson of Star Rent-a-Car, NorthLink Ferries, Jonny Polson at Art Machine, Unison Scotland, Unison Shetland and Martin Watt of Breiwick Properties for giving them use of Breivik House to collect donations – along with “anyone else who helped and donated in any way – thank you all”.
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