The harshness of the approaching winter months is already beginning to be felt in the Calais and Grand-Synthe camps. Abiding by our schedule that we have maintained since early June, our distributions and time spent on-site with our generator are being enveloped in pitch darkness. The difficulties faced while working are only exaggerated in the dark, and it becomes difficult to distribute fairly and maintain everyone’s security when they leave their phones at the generator.
We are already beginning to arrive earlier in the day but still have yet to leave before it gets dark. Even so, when we aren’t present, due to the nature of the camp specifically in Grand-Synthe, there is now less security for the men, women and children who are forced to sleep in the woods there. Their belongings, when not being confiscated by the police, are now being left in the dark where anybody could interfere with their private possessions.
This is not an appeal to make our work easier, nor is it a request for solutions. We and the other organisations will continue to provide aid regardless of these circumstances. We can work in daylight hours, but the people we serve must remain there whatever the weather. The darkness that comes with winter is unavoidable, and soon, as will the cold and the snow be. We simply wish to raise awareness and give further insight into the current situation to those who are not here on the ground.
