Newcross News Issue 10

HEALTHCARE HEROES | HEALTHCARE ON THE FRONTLINE
the emotions I had, I think mostly because they vary
so wildly. I experienced some wonderful things and
saw real beauty in humanity, but at the same time,
almost hand-in-hand, I saw some of the worst also.
How does the level of healthcare differ from what
people receive here?
It is so vastly different! Firstly, ambulances couldn’t
enter the camp, under any circumstances. I have
witnessed children who had been stabbed, women
giving birth, a man with an appendix on the point of
bursting, someone who’d had their throat cut – the
list goes on – and all having to be transported out of
the camp to the ambulance waiting on the outskirts
of the camp boundary.
However, once those patients did eventually get
to hospital, the care they received was pretty good,
if not slightly cold sometimes. A woman who nearly
gave birth to twins in the back of my van was able to
stay for over three weeks so that she and the babies
could recover in the sanitary, safe conditions of the
hospital rather than at the camp.
There was also a first aid caravan set up and run
by some very hardworking medics, and covered by
a rota of people with all levels of training. They would
come and volunteer for a few days, weeks or months.
But by September with the number of people living
within the camp pushing 10,000, this service was
pushed and couldn’t possibly cover the massive need.
Can you tell us about the conditions?
The conditions were shocking, with nowhere near
enough toilet facilities and running water points.
However, I was amazed by people’s resourcefulness.
Many created communities of homes that they kept
clean and treated with respect, despite their
circumstances, and with very little.
The most extreme conditions I saw were after
the camp had burnt to the ground. All that remained
were a few metal containers that were situated in
what would have been the middle of the camp. These
containers housed around 1,500 children. They were
left without any community, running water or adult
supervision and protection. As a result, a handful of
volunteers worked around the clock to support them
as best they could.
How did you help – what was your role?
I worked for the Refugee Community Kitchen (RCK),
“After the camp burned
down there were
containers housing
1,500 children ”
a group set up by some of the hardest-working
and most wonderful people I met while I was there.
RCK distributed hot food to both the Calais camp
and also Dunkirk, a smaller camp 30 minutes away.
Our peak, ironically enough, and probably to most
people’s amazement, was during the week of and
post-eviction of the camp, during which we were
serving over 3,000 meals a day. I was part of the
distribution team, coordinating the delivery of food
into the camp and to the people who needed it.
Would you return and do it all again?
I’m hoping to go to Paris next to help out there with
Paris Refugee Ground Support. They support the
thousands of refugees now living on the streets of
Paris after the closure of the Calais camp and others
around France.
Did your experience change your views?
Without a doubt I became a lot more educated with
the situation after being in Calais. But no, my view
has always remained the same: I think now there’s
just more fuel to fire it.
The camp suffered from arson
attacks and police clearances
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