At the end of November, a group of young people from two parishes in London, along with our catechists, set off to volunteer at the 'Jungle' migrant camp in Calais for the weekend.
We went to Calais because we had been moved by the news and images that we have seen about the crisis all over Europe. We spent a month fundraising and making the preparations necessary, but since the Paris attacks happened only the weekend before we left, there was much apprehension about what we would find there.
We slept in our mini-vans overnight and arrived at the warehouse of the local charity, L’Auberge des Migrants, early in the morning. From there we split into groups. Some who had skills or experience as builders helped to build shelters which could withstand the winter weather, whilst others helped sorting the huge amounts of donated goods that continued to arrive throughout the day. In the afternoon, we went to the camp to help set up tents for new arrivals and replace those which had blown down in a storm the night before.
When inside the camp we worked alongside groups of the migrants, figuring out how to put together tents which were often missing poles or parts. Amid all the apprehension and fear about being in the camp, we were received with great friendship by the migrants – some of them made us tea in their tents while we worked, and others offered us raincoats to keep us dry, even though they had very little themselves. Among the desolation and chaos of the muddy and dirty camp, there were lots of smiles and laughter as we muddled through, trying to communicate through the language barrier and help as many people as we could.
In the evening, we returned to a church hall, exhausted. Together we celebrated a beautiful mass, full of communion with one another after working together all day, and then slept on the floor of the hall.
In the morning, the Christian migrants in the camp invited us to attend their service in the camp, so we joined them in the church they had built there. We were struck by the reverence and respect to be found in the middle of so much suffering.
We returned home later that afternoon, full of joy! The conditions in the camp had been incredibly difficult to see and be a part of, and any help we could give only formed a small drop in the ocean of the problems, but we had certainly received so much more than we had given. Hopefully we will return again soon!
- Michaela Costello, Guardian Angels parish
Hear Michaela speaking about her experiences in Calais at our Refugee Volunteer Evening, Tuesday 26 January. Everyone is welcome! Click here to find out more.
