The Refugee Crisis In Calais: Forgotten But Not Gone

It had been about five months since my last visit to Calais, volunteering in the warehouse and visiting the ‘Jungle’ camp. Hundreds of volunteers lined the warehouse in September 2016 sorting the generous donations that had been sent to aid refugees in Calais. The mood in the camp was tense, the refugees very aware of […]

The Dubs Amendment: what’s the situation?

After 2015 saw the biggest movement of people since the Second World War, desperate people have continued to seek refuge in Europe in the subsequent months. In 2016 alone, over 5,000 unaccompanied children arrived by sea in Greece, and in Italy it was 5 times that, with over 25,000 arriving by sea. The Calais ‘Jungle’ […]

After Calais – what’s the situation?

The way that the ‘jungle’ Calais refugee camp was demolished and dismantled can only be characterised as messy and poorly executed. Hundreds of unaccompanied and vulnerable children were left without any information from British and French authorities, and any information that was given, was often complex, incorrect or poorly relayed. 1,500 Children were forced to […]

The importance of celebrity advocacy

For my second piece, I would like to focus on an incredible advocate for the refugee crisis in the mainstream media. When I was growing up, Lily Allen was referred to by my parents as ‘the London girl who would wear Nike Air Max with a prom dress’. I remember quite noticeably on one occasion […]

Britain must be a land of compassion

after calais

The so-called Calais Jungle has now been cleared of refugees – many of whom have nowhere to go I recently received an anonymous letter: “That’s how you repay us for letting your parents in, by campaigning for more refugees to come here?” the writer asked rhetorically, before explaining that Jews know “how to play the […]

In Calais, A Possible End to The British Dream

The 33-kilometre distance between the French port city of Calais and the English port of Dover seems miniscule, but to refugees stranded in Northern France, the shores of Britain could not be any further away. Barely escaping with their lives from their war-torn homelands, thousands of unaccompanied minors embark on journeys through the Levant and […]

Rehumanising the situation

We live in a society caught with the factors and figures and it is relatable to every aspect of our lives. The idea now that we decide to buy a iPhone or visit a restaurant based on the rating given by someone over the internet. This is also relevant when we talk about the refugee […]

Not Your Average Greek Package Holiday

My wife Nicola and I had a week or so free from our children for the first time since 1993.  Having sat and watched helplessly as people – the seeming flotsam and jetsam of the war in Syria – floated in and out of view over the past years, washed up on beaches and rocks […]

Let all who are hungry come and eat

The refugee “crisis” in Europe has spurred many into action and there are plenty of people in our own Jewish community are eager to help those in need. JVN Director Leonie Lewis here gives her perspective on the situation and sees how now, when Passover is upon us, we should be even more aware of the […]

A Key on the Seder Plate

Rabbi Sylvia Rothschild is a member of Tzelem, the Rabbinic call for Social and Economic Justice in the UK, and is campaigning to end indefinite detention. This article first appeared on her blog and can be read here. A Key on the Seder Plate: Remembering those who are detained indefinitely while their applications for asylum are being processed. […]