In the trenches of Grande-Synthe camp
Global migration is a worldwide phenomenon, with more than 60 million people forcibly displaced from their homes and now on the move, according to the UN. But what can one person do about the problem?
Plenty, as I found out by attending a talk entitled “Life in a Migrant Camp, La Grande-Synthe,” by volunteer, writer and film producer Audrey O'Reilly.
The talk took place Oct. 5 at the WICE (Woman's Institute of Continuing Education) office located at 10 rue Tiphaine, in the 15th arrondissement of Paris.
O’Reilly, 40, spent a year working in the Grande-Synthe refugee camp, located 40 kilometers from Calais.
It was a dark and cold day in January 2016 when O’Reilly arrived at Grande-Synthe. The first thing she saw was a boy pushing a load of firewood through the mud. Hearing the squeaky sound of the dolls’ pram, O’Reilly felt bad for the boy.
Her first job at the camp was working in the distribution center. While others sorted through items, O’Reilly had the responsibility of handing out items. The distribution center didn’t have much to offer; police often stopped donations from coming in. According to O’Reilly, the police hoped to discourage the refugees by allowing only small quantities of basic items.
O’Reilly’s second job in the camp was shovelling. With only a few bathrooms in the camp, many of the refugees were forced to squat in the mud to relieve themselves. O’Reilly said that she was “literally shovelling shit.” Conditions were very bad.
The kitchen at the camp was run by German volunteers. They cooked for two to three thousand people a day. According to O’Reilly, they made good food but many of the refugees wouldn’t eat it.
“I thought it was so strange that the people made such fantastic food but the refugees wouldn’t eat it,” she said. But “we realized the refugees weren’t eating the food because it wasn’t familiar with their taste palates.” O'Reilly realized that they needed to do something about this so they invited refugees to help make meals in the kitchen. Many refugees felt helpless about their situation, she added, so a choice as small as picking a meal became very important to them.
When asked what the hardest thing was about working with refugees, O'Reilly said that the language was a huge issue. Also, the camp was constantly running out of supplies and there was a constant stream of people needing basic things.
O’Reilly told a story about seven male refugees who were standing outside the distribution tent and she had nothing to give them except for small night lights. She gave each man four night lights but felt bad because it was all she had to offer. The men were miserable and obviously very angry, upset, and cold, but they still appreciated what she gave them.
Even though supplies were short, O’Reilly said that volunteers had to reject some donations because they were in bad condition.
"I find it really upsetting when people donate their clothes in bad conditions," O'Reilly said. "They (refugees) don't deserve it. They are people just like us and when people donate tattered clothes, it is as if we think that the refugees are at a lower level than us."
—Photos: Scenes of life in the Grande-Synthe migrant camp in January 2016. Photos by Audrey O'Reilly/used with permission.
