Month: April 2016

Today tired tears flow
I must not forget, I must
Hold the images

A day with my grandchild
With this view.
Innocent learning of 16 months
Unfettered joy and humour
She sits on the beach and the sand
Falls from her hand
She laughs and we share
Sea shells and seaweed smells.

I remember the 2 Iraqi children
Playing in the litter ridden sand
Outside the caravan whose roof I had fixed.
They had the same innocence,
The same hopes and joy in simplicity.

I would love for them to meet

Distribution seems to be the key.
Of energy, toothbrushes, bags of rice
Tarpaulins, padlocks, blankets.
Trainers size 43, underpants, socks
Small track suit bottoms, tins of chickpeas
Bags of sugar, saucepans, sleeping bags.

From the back of a transit or a container.
In organised drops to areas of the site.
Responsive or reactive.
To people in need, of course.
We are also scared that what is donated
Ends up in shops for profit.
So many, so needy.
Who are we to control the donations.
This is the issue, worldwide.

I fix a hasp and staple and give a padlock.
The man is so happy.

We offer to buy a generator to Jungle Books
Where everyday Kathryn has been teaching.
They can print, offer wifi and maintain a service.

I graffiti a mans wall – he shares his story
Of hope and sadness.
We laugh, he brings sweet tea.

I share tunes with a man from Eritrea
Whose smile will remain etched in my mind.

As we watch the sun set
Kathryn says to me.
‘What you do, you do with the right intention.
Don’t question’

Share.

We came here to work
Quite quickly we have found purpose
In a self directed community

At the end of this day
My body feels battered and tired.
I have been digging ditches
To let waste water drain away
Directed by Steve,
Who is creating a space of permaculture
By the Ashram kitchen, where everyday at 4
They serve free food.
He is planting willow and buying reed plants.
The long view.

At the end of this day
My hands are bruised and hurt.
We have made another 5 homes safe from rain
With tarps and rope and wood scavenged from
Broken down shelters.
Grateful smiles from men from Iraq, Afghanistan
From the Sudan and Syria.
What have we done to allow this to happen?

Kathryn tells me
From her conversations with people
Who she is teaching English
That every night some manage to get over.
Every night they try.
There is a mafia that helps – they tell her.
She says to one
‘I hope I don’t see you tomorrow’ thinking that
Maybe this is his time.

In a strange way
It is also ours.

Soft sand underfoot
Bright new faces all around
Learning never stops

Today I covered three leaky homes
With tarpaulins and nails donated from who knows where
With sawn up pallets to stop tearing.
And grateful people offered sweet tea and cake.

Later I went to the youth club with instruments
A wood hut on the wasteland that was south camp
Where teenagers played pool and table football
Then joined me in a long session of beats
With tunes. Some moments that were beautiful.
One boy engaged actively for the first time in weeks
Said one of the workers.
Where have I heard that before. Music the gateway.

Meanwhile Kathryn sat outside
Teaching English to young men from
Afghanistan, Sudan, Iran.
Conversations with a smile that start to connect
People with possibility.
What is that possibility?

As I drove in and out of the site today
I learnt from Claire and Joe.
Stories of the camp here and in Dunkirk
Distribution, support, escape, distraction.
And how the charities operate
Together…..