John Coleby, Director of Caritas Westminster, recounts his recent trip to the Calais Jungle with Westminster Justice and Peace and St John Vianney Parish. To see more photos of the trip, click here.
Early on the morning of Tuesday 29 March, I joined parishioners from St John Vianney and members of the Westminster Justice and Peace on their trip to the Calais Jungle. We set off for the Eurotunnel with two vans, one filled with volunteers, the other with food, clothing and toiletries.
Our destination was a house for volunteers with Caritas France, run 
by Brother Johannes of the Catholic Worker, who would distribute our donations to people living in the camp. At the end of a long journey, we received a warm welcome from Brother Johannes, and after the requisite cup of tea, we set off for the Jungle.
My first impression of the camp was of horrifying desolation. The part of the Jungle that was recently bulldozed is a bleak wasteland of churned-up mud, strewn with the remnants of makeshift homes. The only structures that remain standing are the places of worship, the spotlessly clean interiors of which amplify their sordid surroundings. The people who were evicted from this part of the camp are now housed in rows of numbered containers surrounded by high fencing.
Despite the shocking conditions in which the camp’s residents live, my experience of the Jungle was one of kindness and dignity. The
people we met were welcoming and friendly, and it soon became clear that beneath the appearance of 
chaos, the camp is run on thebasis of order and mutual respect. The paradox of the Calais Jungle is that it is a place of hope and aspiration. In the face of the French and British authorities’ hostility, the desperate living conditions, and the uncertainty of the camp’s future, the people here have found a way to live together whilst they wait for what they hope will be a better future.
Some people have been waiting for that future for a long time. Although there are those who arrive in the camp with money and resources, the longer they wait, the more desperate their situation becomes. The demolition of part of the camp has not ended the problem of survival for the people who live there. It falls to those of us who are able to extend the hand of friendship.
To find out more about the situation in Calais, read the latest news from Seeking Sanctuary.
If you would like to send donations to people living in the Jungle, go to Calaid-ipedia to find out which items are urgently needed.
