Tag Archives: migrants

On the beach at Gravelines – a migrant’s story

On a beach at Gravelines,

the dawn sunlight touching the waves with gold

so beautiful.

I shiver, not from fear,

my jacket’s worn and thin. I’m cold.

The boat’s in the water, the waves not too high.

The traffickers are shouting, come on, get in, this is it, no more chances.

I know that. My money’s gone. This is my third try.

If I look hard, I think I see the cliffs of white

the slightest glimpse of freedom in the early morning light.

Will I drown on the crossing,

will I make it over?

I’ve faced fear before, my home was bombed, my father killed,

my twin brother left for dead

in the street,

I see the blood on his head

on his hands, on his feet.

We survived, we three,

my mother, baby sister Rana, and me.

They cried a lot, but I did not.

We fled our country with other families,

found a damp basement to share,

we were refugees.

I scavenged in the gutters for anything to sell

picked up old cabbage leaves in the market for Mum to cook

took any sort of work, exploited, hardly paid, look

this is no life, she said.

You have to go, for a better future,

but standing on this shore I don’t know anymore.

Sara runs past me, she’s preganant 8 months gone,

her husband follows quickly, he’s sure it will be a son.

They’re clutching bags, a blue blanket, a plastic sack.

All they’ve got now after months of walking and waiting and trying to get a visa.

Their home and shop were destroyed, they won’t go back.

They’re from Syria, I am too.

We didn’t know each other then

but I shared my tent in Calais with them

so now I do.

They’ve got in the boat, they’re smiling with hope.

I feel numb and lost, but I jump in too

with 19 others from Sudan and Yemen Iraq and Syria.

The men we paid laugh, shrug and fling us the rope.

We’re on the sea now and this dinghy is deflating

I can hear the air hissing out but I don’t say anything.

I miss my Mum. she told me to go, it seemed right at the time but now I don’t know.

Will I make it to the UK, will I be safe?

will I get an education, be a doctor, that’s my dream,

will my Mum and sister be able to come,

will I ever be happy again,

will I get a welcome?

I’m freezing, wet through, we’re all frightened,

this rubber boat is sinking fast,

will this day be my last?

Then on the horizon a UK ship appears.

Everyone sees it, everyone cheers.

There are tears

of relief.

We’re rescued, given a strange sandwich, taken to Dover

and processed.

My name’s Khalid. I’m fourteen.

This nightmare isn’t over.

Dangerous Channel hopping

180 migrants crossed the Channel in small boats on Sunday 12th July (Home Office figures). This is more people than ever in one day making the dangerous crossing from France across the world’s busiest shipping lane. And these are just the ones who were rescued by the UK Border Force or made it to the UK’s beaches and were picked up there by the authorities. Who knows how many others landed elsewhere and slipped away undetected?

Another 200 people attempting the sea voyage were intercepted by French patrols and returned to France. It is thought that the good weather and the lack of lorry traffic due to the Coronavirus situation has encouraged migrants to risk the Channel crossing. Home Office Minister Priti Patel is keen to ensure that this surge in illegal crossings is stopped and the ruthless exploitation of vulnerable displaced people by smugglers is tackled. She is demanding that France takes fresh action to stop the crossings and take back those who have succeeded in reaching the UK illegally.

The risk to life of these crossings is immense. Boats are inadequate, leaky and dangerously overcrowded. Often there are not enough lifejackets. It is reported that the people smugglers always cynically insist on including one woman and child on each boat so that rescue is more likely.

On Saturday (11th July), 21 migrants in three boats were returned to France. Their boat had capsized and four people were suffering from severe hypothermia as a result.

In August Iranian migrant Mitra Mehrad, 31, tragically lost her life when she and three others fell from a dinghy off the coast of Kent. There were twenty migrants on board the flimsy boat, mostly from Iran and a few from Iraq. Four of them were children. Two survivors were pulled from the water but sadly Mitra Mehrad was lost. The remaining 19 people were taken to Ramsgate. A survivor said later that Ms Mehrad had dived into the water to try and save the two who had fallen overboard.

Mitra
Mitra Mehrad had a masters degree in psychology

Every person who gets on a small boat to cross the Channel has a story of a life left behind, of a desperate hope and need to find a better future for themselves and their families. Yes, many have made a choice to leave their home but it has been forced upon them by war, persecution, discrimination, hunger, extreme poverty. Many have been terrified into leaving their homes because of threats to their lives and their children’s safety and future. They are all our neighbours.

A prayer for refugees

Lord Help us to see beyond statistics to the courageous people who are refugees, all with stories of tragedy to tell yet who are still determined to chase the rainbow of hope and life.

Help us to change so that refugees are not seen as problems but as valued people with rich experiences to contribute and who should be treasured as our neighbours, to be loved as we love ourselves.

In Jesus’ name

Amen.

(references : BBC News; Migrant Watch UK; The Independent; the Home Office.)

(original material Reverend Claire Hargreaves)