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Essex: Basildon parish appeals for aid for refugees in Calais


Chapel in the Jungle - image courtesy Seeking Sanctuary

Chapel in the Jungle - image courtesy Seeking Sanctuary

Basildon Catholics are appealing for aid for the migrants suffering in Calais. Parish priest of Our Lady & All Saints in Basildon, Fr Dominic Howarth, said: "Our sisters and brothers of all faiths living in the Calais 'jungle' need urgent help: this week Secours Catholique - a charity supporting the migrants - ran out of blankets."

The appeal comes in a month which saw Bishop Lynch, Bishop for Migrants in England & Wales, express great concern for the deepening humanitarian crisis in Calais and call for a coordinated and compassionate international response to the challenge of migration. He acknowledged "the work done by faith organisations in France and the UK together with charities, agencies and the great generosity of families and individuals to the relief efforts. The task is immense and their contributions are most valued."

In Basildon, Fr Dominic is asking members of the parish to donate blankets and sleeping bags, jeans, trainers, underwear, toiletries, cooking utensils and books, including the Bible or The Qu'ran. These will be passed to Seeking Sanctuary, a small Kent charity which supports Secours Catholique.

Ben Bano, who runs the charity with his wife Marie-Claude, says: "We so often use the term 'migrant' to typecast a whole group of people, when in reality they are individual human beings like you and me: people who search for a minimum of dignity in their lives which have often been torn apart by events beyond their control. People like the young Syrian dentist who had to flee with his family when faced with the conflicting demands of Assad's army and ISIL. People like the young engineer from Eritrea who faced up to 30 years of compulsory military service if he stayed in his country. People like the Ethiopian migrants who built a makeshift Church before considering their own needs."

These are people not in search of Eldorado, he says, but a modicum of dignity and decent living conditions for themselves and their families.

And living conditions for Calais migrants are grim, even though Secours Catholique and other agencies have provided materials to build more durable shacks. Says Ben: "For you and me, rainfall means a little inconvenience - but for migrants in Calais it means sodden blankets and sleeping bags which are often hard to replace. And when the cold weather comes later in the year, there are no sources of heat other than open fires."

Ben concludes: "We are grateful that the narrative here in the UK appears to be changing. In spite of the 'official' line that migrants are 'marauders' and the efforts of some parts of the popular press, we are gratified by the messages of support and offers of help we have received and the messages from social media which focus on understanding rather than condemnation."

In the Basildon parish, donations are being welcomed up to and including the weekend of 5/6 September - and can be left at the altar in each church in the Basildon joint ministry: St Basil's in Luncies Road, The Most Holy Trinity, Wickhay and St Therese of Lisieux, Florence Way. There will also be a second collection on the weekend of 22/23 August, which will be used to buy jeans and trainers, at the request of the Seeking Sanctuary charity.

Other parishes which may want to support the initiative can contact Ben at: migrantsupport@aol.com

Please donate new or nearly new, and clean:
• Blankets and sleeping bags
• Jeans, especially waist size 30, 32 or 34
• Trainers, especially size 8-11
• Pants and socks
• Soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste
• Cooking utensils
• Books, including the Bible or The Qu'ran

(For more reports on this subject click on Calais in the tags below.)

Source: Brentwood Diocese

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