The weather has been beautiful but stark, with vast blue skies and very little wind; cold at night. There was another police eviction this morning. Our outstanding French partner teams continue their robust and patient work, responding to recent tensions with clarity and kindness, learning from experience in this challenging setting.
On Thursday, the sacking of 800 British P&O staff via video message, including on the Dover-Calais route, adding other distress, anger and dislocation on the border.
New people arriving in Calais from far away places, wondering where they are, from Sudan, South Sudan, Chad, Sierra Leone, Yemen.
Refugees around The Community Table expressing concern for Ukraine, wanting to reference the war in their image making. There were many moments of connection, some sad, some funny, some painful. A few vignettes:
- The throwing and catching of a miniature earth - The making and placing of the Ukrainian Flag from coloured bricks - Searching for England through the View Master - The small tea party on the clouds, with requests for tea and several teaspoons of sugar - The urge to type a letter to the President - Creatures created in plasticine - bull, cow, camel, shark, crocodile - The View Master landscapes again capturing imaginations, but where is England?
Miriam Usiskin and Bobby Lloyd