A DROITWICH man who travelled to Calais to help refugees escaping the Syrian crisis has spoken to the Standard about his time at the French port.
Máirtin Ó Grádaigh, 51, was first compelled to volunteer in the summer when he noticed the influx of stories on refugees flocking to Calais.
He said: “I realised big aid agencies were not getting involved because the French government was not recognising Calais as an official refugee camp.
“I do car boot sales at the weekends so decided to pack the car and go.”
His research led him to join the Hereford and Worcester Calais Solidarity Group (HWCS).
More than 200 tonnes in donations were collected by HWCS which is now seeking more volunteers to help sort through supplies for delivery to Calais.
The group are also working with a team in Huddersfield to send donations to Greece and Dunkirk while a van-load is already on its way to Syria.
He said despite media reports inciting fear of refugees, he was surprised at how quickly support for the group has grown.
He added: “People do fear migrants, but what they must realise is they’re fleeing the very terrorists we’re afraid of.”
He said anti-refugee attitudes circulating in the UK were based on ‘misinformation.’
“The over-spend on Trident is £6billion and, as for overcrowding, 80 per cent of Britons use less than seven per cent of urban land so there’s plenty of room and we don’t have a shortage of money.”
Máirtin said refugees were confused for ‘economic migrants’ who ‘sponged off the British welfare system’.
“The UK’s history is strewn with economic migrants from the Indian subcontinent, the Caribbean, Eastern Europe and Ireland who built this country and made it what it is.”
Máirtin has been to Calais twice, driving with supplies in a van donated by Worcester-based Gas Technique.
He returned a fortnight ago, staying five nights to build pre-fabricated shelters on the camp’s outskirts.
Máirtin said he witnessed a ‘mind-blowing’ grass-roots scenario of ‘people helping people’ as more than 100 vehicles piled into Calais to distribute supplies.
He said: “The conditions there were very grim. Sanitation and hygiene are really poor. It’s just desperate people in a desperate situation who feel degraded for having to queue for the very basic things in life we all take for granted.”
He added: “I met volunteers from all walks of life – there were 15-year-old kids, students and people on annual leave.
“There’s people of every possible description from across the UK’s social spectrum who go and help. There’s also people who have been volunteering for months and tirelessly work 18-hour days.
“The camaraderie is something to behold because everybody’s there with a common purpose and a good heart.
“It restored my faith in humanity.”
He said while there are dedicated volunteer teams in Calais, there’s a huge need for carpenters.
He added: “Well-trained chippies are like gold dust over there so anybody with any carpentry skills and the ability to build a structure is very welcome.”
Máirtin said his experience of Delhi slums, Nepal and Thailand prepared him for challenging conditions.
“We got talking to a 20-year-old Sudanese chap who invited us into his shelter, gave us coffee and offered cakes.
“He escaped Sudan three years ago and went to Libya where he was subject to people traffickers so he paid some money to get on a boat to the south-coast of Italy and walked from there to Calais.
“Here was somebody with absolutely nothing yet wanted to give you everything.”
Máirtin said many of the 7,000 in the camp had applied for asylum, but were sent back to the camp, which is ‘like a detention centre.’
He said a recent fire in the Calais camp caused by a candle led to an ’emergency run.’
He added: “Those who already had nothing lost everything again.
“So instead of candles, we’re asking people to donate wind-up torches and solar lights.
He said: “People there are full of hope and resilience because if you didn’t have that, you wouldn’t make the trip.
“It’s a life-changing experience. I can’t see myself stopping – and as long as there’s a need. I won’t.”
Visit: www.facebook.com/groups/solidarity.hereford.worcester for more on volunteering in Calais and go to www.droitwichstandard.co.uk for more on Máirtin’s story.
