Wrexham Assembly Member Candidate Visits Calais Refugee Camp

Wrexham’s candidate for the upcoming Welsh Assembly Elections has praised the generosity of local donations and volunteers following a recent trip to a Calais refugee camp.

On Saturday 12th December Andrew Atkinson, Welsh Conservative Party Assembly Candidate for Wrexham, visited ‘The Jungle’ refugee camp in Calais and the neighbouring camp at Dunkirk.

The scenes were described as “a dreadful mess” on both sites, packed with people in makeshift accommodation ranging from tents to temporary wooden structures.

As well as the accommodation the camps house other temporary buildings like Christian Churches, a Women and Children’s centre and places to prepare and distribute food, to name a few.

On the eve of the trip, the Reverend Eric Owen of St Marks Church, Caia Park presented Mr Atkinson with £500 raised from donations to buy necessary supplies once in France.

Rev Owen praised the group, saying: “It’s wonderful that so many donations came in following Andrew’s appeal. The Church was delighted to help and we were overwhelmed with the generosity of local people with donations being sent from as far away as the United States! Well done to the group for going and for their action on this matter.”

Mr Atkinson had previously worked with the Rev Owen and other Church Leaders in Wrexham to collect many van loads of clothes and supplies with one single donation of over £10,000’s worth of clothes.

Mr Atkinson and friends left for Calais at 2am and their first stop in France was a large warehouse that was organising lots of clothes and food, after discussion with the organisers the group set off to buy heaters for the medical and dental tents in the Dunkirk camp.

Mr Atkinson commented: “I spoke with a number of people at the camps and heard some horrendous stories. One man about my age had fled Iraq after his ten year old brother and his father were beheaded by ISIS. Another young man of 23 years cried as he told us how his family had been killed by the Taliban, and he had left Afghanistan 6 years ago to walk across Europe.”

“There are undoubtedly economic migrants as well as refugees but should we feel any less sad for someone who was probably sold a lie about how easy it is to access Britain and is now stuck in a filthy camp with no money or possibility of returning home?”

“I asked many why they didn’t stop in Germany or other countries along the way. A new life in Britain is clearly very attractive and I can only assume the barrier to entry and difficulties ahead are not well known when people make the trip.”

“Meeting people who had suffered such horrors reinforced my view that there are many genuine, refugees in unimaginable living conditions who need help. Even the people you may describe as economic migrants are still victims of circumstance and living very sorry and desperate lives.

“Whatever anyone’s background these people need help and assistance and the people of Wrexham have been extremely generous and it’s made a big difference.”

Mr Atkinson and the group that he travelled with are keeping in touch with some refugees in the camp to co-ordinate future aid.

After the visit Wrexham.com queried with Mr Atkinson (as a local Assembly candidate) on what he saw at the camp which had changed his views, and if any, what political solution there is to help with the situation.

Mr Atkinson added: “I think David Cameron has done the right thing in saying that we will only take refugees from camps in and around Syria as taking them from Europe only encourages people trafficking and risks people’s lives.

“What that doesn’t address though is the ones that are already in Europe, camped in Calais with no chance of entering the UK.

“Here in Britain some people talk about the refugees over here and how easy it is to come here, in the camp the only word I heard over and over again was ‘Impossible’. That it was impossible to enter Britain.

“I don’t know why they have bypassed countries like Germany that opened the doors to refugees or have not claimed asylum in France. When I spoke to refugees they kept saying that Britain was best, so it is obviously very attractive to come here.

“I don’t know of any Governments or NGO’s that are in the camps sorting out people according to need and helping them move on or if need be back to a safe Country if their home is one, they seem stuck and not going anywhere. This part just doesn’t seem to be working at all.

“The camps seemed to have lots of some things and were very short of other things and it was hard to find anyone in charge and overseeing the whole operation. Instead lots of little groups of volunteers seemed to be around helping, I will be looking into why no large charities or NGO’s are taking the lead. The volunteers are amazing but it seems more support is needed.”

Thanks were expressed by Mr Atkinson to Brian Halliwell at Yorke Street Carpets who acted as a drop-off point for supplies, all the churches and individuals who gave aid and to Kate Wilkinson who stepped in to offer space at a warehouse when more supplies were coming in than could ever have been anticipated.

If anyone wants to give any supplies in future they can contact Kate on 07791270027 and make arrangements to take goods to the warehouse at Whitegate Industrial estate.