Packing up a van and heading to Calais

A growing number of Britons with no previous aid experience are travelling to France, moved by the plight of refugees. Libby Freeman, a 33-year-old set designer from London, is one of a growing number of people from the UK who are sick of waiting for a political solution to the plight of migrants in Calais, France.

“I’ve no idea what to expect, but what I do know is that I have to do something. I can’t sit here and just watch,” says Freeman as she finishes filling her two white vans with donated tents – collected from a music festival this summer – shoes, winter clothing and a second-hand bicycle.

“The government aren’t looking at it as a humanitarian issue, they’re looking at it as a political issue. I find it unbelievable, it’s all about keeping them out, it’s so brazen, the government aren’t even pretending to help,” Freeman said.

Over the last week, Freeman raised £500 through her Crowdfunder page to buy sanitary items and toiletries that she made up into 50 wash bags to distribute at the camp. She set up collection points in several warehouses around east London.

“You don’t need humanitarian training to show support. If everyone saw stuff like I did in Calais, the world would be a better place.”

[The Guardian]

This entry was posted in Humanitarian Aid, International Cooperation by Grant Montgomery.