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Issue 97

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I I interviewed volunteers at the warehouse on 21st February 2017 to try and capture an idea of what it is like to make the trip. Some people I met had made the trip alone, some as a groups of friends, and some as couples, like Tansy Grant and Nathan Nuck. Starting a European travelling adventure with a stint in Calais, the pair ended up postponing plans to help out for longer. Tim, a 45-year-old handyman from Worcester is a Chronic Fatigue Syndrome sufferer and was worried about whether he would manage the trip. He said coming with a group had given him the confidence he needed: "I wanted to come and support the refugees. It has been a lovely experience with some very friendly people. I have every intention of coming back again." Sue Corrigan, a teacher working in Amsterdam who schedules her volunteer trips around her term timetable, is a great example of a single person motivated by the political changes in 2016. "I love it, I don't mind what I do – I'll do anything just to be useful. If they need people then I'll come back, and let's hope they don't." Long term volunteer Renke Meuwese from the Netherlands originally meant to volunteer for two weeks but ended up staying for over a year and a half. He is the veritable father figure of the warehouse whose hilarious and heartbreaking songs about the crisis and life in Calais have a legendary status among volunteers. "Really the media made me volunteer … the news I'd gotten from the Mediterranean for a couple of months really created an urge to do something, and then the reports out of Calais from the Guardian – the videos in particular – made me realise there was an urgent need too big for a city to handle." For long-termers like Renke, home-life is a trailer park down the road from the Warehouse. This is provided by Help Refugees as cheap accommodation. It is not a glamorous existence; it is simply sufficient to facilitate their work. But the volunteers make the most of their time off, playing board games, making music and cooking for each other. Bonfires on the beach are an example of a regular social event. Time off is prioritised, and even enforced where necessary, to make sure volunteers don't burn out. One or two days off a week is encouraged. These are loving reminders that people can get tunnel vision here, constantly aware of the nearly 2,000 adults and minors living in shacks, on the streets and in hedgerows nearby. Speaking to Renke, the thing he impressed upon me the most was that volunteering itself has an intrinsically motivating quality. "[Volunteering] leads to less self pity, to less grumpiness about how things happen … Charles Howe, in his late 20's from Cornwall, told me how volunteering 3 months here has sharpened his sense of agency and broadened his perspective in life. "Back home you can get trapped in your own bubble and that's quite unhealthy. It is incredibly eye-opening here. It's given me a whole new perspective on why people are fleeing their countries and what sort of sacrifices they're making and what they're leaving behind. It's just incredibly humbling." This agency seems to affect the strength of relationships established between colleagues as well: "With the people here you go through so much … you become close to the people here really quickly." Renke continues: "If you can come for 3 days, you can already make a difference; if you can come for two weeks, you can get to understand the department and help to make some improvements in it. Be careful though if you come for two weeks; the odds are you are going to come back". If you would like to volunteer for Help Refugees just send an email to calaisvolunteers@helprefugees. org.uk 8 ISSUE 97 / 2017 REAL MEDIA There is a regular flow of volunteers to Calais to help with the refugee crisis, but what is it really like to go? VOLUNTEERING IN CALAIS: PERSPECTIVES FROM THE HELP REFUGEES WAREHOUSE By Blythe Pepino

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