Masorti youth take trip to help refugees in Calais
TEN MEMBERS of Masorti youth group Marom gave hands-on support to refugees over Succot by travelling to Calais to build shelters and sort supplies.
“I watched with horror as images of the refugee crisis began to flood news and social media channels,” explained one of the group, Lily Stein.
“With a bit of research, I found that aid organisations were in desperate need of volunteers to help sort and distribute the donations in Calais, so I had to go. It just makes sense for young people with time to spare to do what they can.”
Harry Kelly, 19, felt it was all very well “sitting in our north-west London homes saying ‘isn’t this bad’? I thought we really need to be doing something.
“Being there over Succot, the symbolism was not lost on me. But I kept thinking: ‘Why are there not more people here helping?’”
The student had been taken aback by the “positive atmosphere” in the camp, even though “it stank, people were living in tents and there were very few temporary shelters”.
Rabbi Oliver Joseph, who travelled with the group, said: “The refugee story is our story, too. As we celebrate Succot, we walk with a sense of how vulnerable our lives are. We are children of refugees and a people who journeyed from Egypt and sought temporary shelter.”
Around 3,000 refugees live in the camp, with more arriving daily. “We built shelters but they were just wooden and on the cold ground,” Mr Kelly said.
“You can’t help thinking about what it is going to be like there as the weather worsens and it gets colder and wetter.”