Over the weekend, temperatures dropped to the lowest they have this winter. The temperature is set to stay at around -1° to -4° Celsius this entire week. Every day as we arrive on-site, we are greeted by groups of people huddled around numerous fires burning across the camp.
These low temperatures have smothered people’s tents and makeshift shelters in a layer of snow and have also frozen the flooding that plagued the site for weeks into a thick sheet of ice. The water point has also entirely frozen over, meaning that there is no longer access to fresh, clean water outside of distributions.
While we are on-site with our usual targeted distributions of sleeping items and clothing, we have also been packing sleeping bags and 100 extra thick blankets each day, as well as additional hats, gloves, snoods and thermals. This is, of course, with our usual provision of phone charging and Wi-Fi, as well as the return of charged power-banks from the day before.
Our unique distribution systems allow people to request items at any time of day so we can ensure they receive them as soon as possible. Over this period of extreme weather, our teams will continue to provide extra distributions of the most vital equipment.
We'd like to thank all of our partner organisations for their support in these rough times. While the conditions continue to be so dangerous, organisations operating in the Dunkirk area will be present more than ever to support the communities living here. Refugee Community Kitchen, Refugee Women's Centre, First Aid Support Team - FAST, Project Play, Utopia 56 Grande-Synthe, Solidarity Border, Collective Aid, Roots, Human Rights Observers (L'Auberge des Migrants.)
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