Trying to do our bit

Tomorrow we're going to be very busy helping to sort donations to a Facebook group that helps refugees. A refugee camp nicknamed "The Jungle" is being dismantled as I write this. Thousands of families that lived there were fleeing war zones, hoping to get to England (not a welcoming place). They are being dispersed around the whole of France. Two families from Afghanistan were housed about two hours away from here, in very precarious conditions, with only the clothes on their backs.

This woman and her wife started the Facebook group and now have a hub to receive and deliver donations they store in their barn. They also coordinate mini hubs throughout the region. We had some surplus items and were just going to drop them, but ended up volunteering to do more stuff. It will be good to meet these Facebook people in person, have lunch together and have a laugh, all for a good cause.

The situation in Calais has been going on for many years. Conditions in The Jungle were far from ideal and the area around Calais was becoming very unsafe. The locals were unhappy with it and some bright spark in the UK came up with an original idea: build a 14ft wall to keep the refugees in! The French government decided to address the problem by dispersing the families throughout France.

There are immigration officers from the UK on this side of the channel, but the number of refugees concentrated in the area poses a problem for the French. Brexit didn't help at all, because the UK government is being very arrogant and the French have had enough of it.

The Jungle:

   We all have to learn to live together like brothers, otherwise we'll all die together like idiots

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I mentioned Brexit, which is my latest bugbear. Thanks for the "likes" and comments on my two Facebook posts. I've been contacted by some people to help coordinate a media strategy. We need to get the message across to the people who regret voting to leave the EU and also reach put to the elected officials who will ultimately decide the fate of some 65 million people. I love the internet!