In Winter 2021 our main donor announced they would be stopping their funding of operations in Northern France. This put many essential services at risk and threatened to tear away food and shelter during the depths of winter.

Calais Appeal emerged to meet this gap. We are an umbrella for 7 grassroots organisations providing crucial support to displaced people in Calais and Dunkirk. Between them, our members & partners provide:

- Dry food, fresh fruit and vegetables, cooking equipment, pots pans, and safe drinking water

- Clothing, tents, chopped wood for heating or cooking & hygiene items such as soap, toothpaste and maternity products

- Psycho-social support to families, particularly children, through activities and games

- Protection for women experiencing violence or harassment through access to safe spaces

- A mobile charging station, with access to wifi and sim cards for people to stay in touch with their families, as well as translated information about medical and legal services available to them

- Monthly reports by human rights observers on state violence and forcible evictions perpetrated against displaced people

A donation to Calais Appeal will help sustain several organisations, not just one, fulfilling different needs. We are in urgent need of support to continue our work and keep fostering dignity for displaced communities. As long as there are people on the move forced to sleep outside, with no rights guaranteed, suffering as a result of unfair and inhumane European migration policies, we will continue to support them.

Calais Appeal members include Calais Food Collective, Refugee Women's Centre, Refugee Info Bus, Collective Aid and Project Play. All funds raised are split between our members.

Our partners include Auberge Des Migrants, and their two main projects Calais WoodYard and Human Rights' Observers. Between them, all these organisations help hundreds of displaced people daily with a tight and efficient budget. Whilst costs are higher due to the pandemic and rising inflation, we channel donations directly into the projects where they are most needed. Please visit calaisappeal.com to read more about the situation in Calais and support our work.

What's happening in Calais?

Since the notorious eviction of the informal Jungle camp in 2016, Calais has only occasionally featured in the media, but the reality on the ground remains dangerous for thousands of people seeking safety. With the UK Government doubling down on the hostile environment with the Rwanda scheme, the situation is increasingly uncertain and we are seeing a stark worsening of peoples living conditions and mental health.

Although numbers fluctuate, there are an estimated 1,500 - 2000 displaced people in 12 unofficial living sites across Calais and Dunkirk. Conditions are extremely unsafe, lacking access to water or sanitation services. Many people also sleep rough in Calais city centre under bridges and in parks.

We know that evictions are carried out by the French police every 36 / 48 hours, during which peoples limited personal belongings - tents, blankets, bags, identity papers, mobile phones, medicines & clothes - are often destroyed on the spot or thrown into skips. Groups delivering aid are often obstructed and harassed by police and are sometimes presented with fines.

The success of the visa scheme for Ukrainian refugees shows that the UK & France are able to collaborate on providing safe passages to people seeking safety. We exist because they are failing to fulfil this responsibility to people of other nationalities facing equally threatening persecution. Around 80 to 90% of all asylum applications in the UK succeed either at the initial stage or on appeal - these are people who deserve protection.

Your support

We exist through your generosity. Every donation makes a huge difference, for example:

- £5 would provide a phone charger for somebody to remain connected with family, friends and support services.

- £15 would provide a tent to keep sheltered from extreme sun, rain and snow.

- £20 would buy a weeks worth of nappies and milk to a newborn baby.

Thank you for supporting people seeking safety and those standing in solidarity with them.

Donations received as unrestricted funds.