‘That could be us’ — a refugee volunteer’s story
By: Beatrice Motamedi
Tags: Afghanistan, Calais, Refugeeswelcome, Migrants, Refugees

What happened after you left?

I was hoping to go back at some point after I left (in January 2016). But the French police tore down the camp in October. Most of the refugees scattered. The warehouse and the kitchens still helped out but now they had to look for people to help. Many went to Dunkirk. I heard that camp grew.

A fellow volunteer sent me photos and videos of the bulldozing and it made me sick to my stomach, because it was just so pointless. It was not like the people there wanted to set up shop and live the rest of their lives in the camp. They were living in tents on dirt, on snow, on mud. After the police came, they scattered, but some remained in Calais. Further displacing people who were already displaced — what is the point of that?

Save the Children raised concerns about “hundreds” of unaccompanied minors who were unable to register for shelters and were left behind after the Jungle was bulldozed. Given your experience there, did that concern you?

Without the safety of people looking after them, even in the limited capacity we could handle, I worry that they were picked up by the human traffickers and could disappear for good. Those who weren’t picked up by the traffickers were bullied and beaten up by the locals or the gendarme. These kids were naive and easily manipulated — I worry for their safety.

Prior to the camp being destroyed, I heard that minors there were getting help from a group called Phone Credit for Refugees and Displaced People that provides phone credits so people can call home, call a lawyer. They prioritize vulnerable people — women and children —first. I believe at least some of the minors were able to find a shelter or find a family member who could help them.

Reuters reported in June that “migrants have begun to flock to Calais again” with the easing of COVID lockdowns, and that French police dismantled another camp with several hundred refugees including children. How does this make you feel?

As long as Britain has a zero tolerance policy, there will be people stuck in the Calais area trying to get to the UK. It’s frustrating that they took what little comfort the refugees had and destroyed it. It breaks my heart to see them so demonized in the media; if they could speak to even some of them, they’d know how much they’d been through and how amazing they are. Not all were good people; there were some bad people hiding in the camps. But they were the exception.

Instead of destroying the camps, how about providing them temporary shelters, a community, some dignity? The general lack of compassion infuriates me.

An Afghan child sleeps on the cargo floor of a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III, kept warm by the uniform of Airman First Class Nicolas Baron, C-17 loadmaster, during an evacuation flight from Kabul, Afghanistan, on Aug. 18, 2021. Photo by 1st Lt. Mark Lawson, U.S. Central Command Public Affairs, U.S. Air Force/public domain.

What advice would you have for others who want to volunteer with refugees?

Physically, you need to be in good shape and to be able to stand for 14 hours. There is never a place to sit and you are standing, lifting, walking around doing clean-up. If you need refrigerated medications during your stay, volunteer with one of the larger aid organizations or fundraise from home.

Mentally, it’s hard to prepare. There’s a lot of trauma among refugees so you need to think before you speak. Sometimes innocuous comments, such as, “Where do you live?” — which could mean, which part of a camp are you staying in — are not well-received and in some cases hurtful. To a refugee, the comment is cruel because they don’t have a place to “live.” Be prepared to listen, really listen and let them talk. No one wants to hear from them, so when someone asks how they are doing, they want to tell their story — and it’s an honor to hear it.

Also, be prepared to be scrutinized by parents; they are dealing with human traffickers and that can be quite tense, until they see you really are there to help. When I worked at the daycare center in Athens, it took the better part of a day for the mothers to allow me to help with the kids. You can’t be upset by this; they are protecting their family.

If you do volunteer, make sure it’s for the right reasons. If you want to get more likes on FB or Instagram, don’t bother coming. If you aren’t there because you want to help, you will be miserable.

Lastly, make sure you’re with a reputable group. In Greece and France, the groups with boots on the ground making a difference were small Facebook groups. Unfortunately, sometimes those are hard to fully vet before going. But those are the best ones because you get to do so much more than a large NGO will allow.

You’ve told me volunteers need a skill set to be effective. What could that include?

It could be teaching a language, or providing first aid in the medical tent. There’s a lot of substance abuse. There are a lot of medical and mental health services that need to be done if you have the skills to do them.

It doesn’t take much to read a book to a child, so for the little kids, I could help out. But for the older kids who really needed more formal training or more formal studies, they needed a teacher.

Most camps needed carpenters to build play structures, or people who are handy with tools. Donations come in and then you need people with good organizational skills to organize them.

As long as people are flexible in what they are assigned to do, it’s a good experience. Sometimes, they just need another set of hands so if you are willing to pitch in, they will need you.

Describe your skill set.

I’ve been training to work with Sonoma County Animal Response Team, which includes human and animal CPR, pet first aid, fire and hazard training, and (Federal Emergency Management Agency) Incident Command System training so that you know the hierarchy and how to obey orders. I have a certificate in CPR and I did a 40-hour certification program in rape crisis counseling, which also teaches you to be an active listener, something that I think is very hard for a lot of people.

I’ve also taken some psychology classes on trauma so that when I’m talking to people, I don’t make their situation worse. Another thing I learned, especially doing work in Africa, is that you don’t want to come across as the Great White Hope, you know, like you’re being benevolent and the power dynamic favors you. You always want to make sure that you’re giving people something useful and that you’re on an equal footing. Also, I come into these situations with no expectations and work in whatever area they send me — you can’t be picky. There is no task too small.

What’s your next step?

I was burned out three years ago so I quit my job and took a year off. I saved up, moved my belongings into storage and headed to Africa, India and Greece. The next plan is to save up and do the same thing so I can do a two-year stint with Doctors Without Borders. Meanwhile, I’ll keep volunteering with Shanti Project in San Francisco and the Sonoma County Animal Response Team.

I do donate to relief organizations, but volunteering is what I like to do. It’s got to be something you feel compelled to do.

—Thanks to Robert Crews, professor of history at Stanford University, and Admir Skodo, migration scholar and Afghan expert, for teaching a class on refugee issues for Stanford Continuing Studies, where Eileen and I met.