I entered the Jungle camp in Calais knowing very little about the place. I leave with my eyes wide open.

Whatever people think of this place and the reasons behind it being there, these are human beings living here.

I saw conditions that I have never in my life seen before, but despite all the difficulties each person has in their own lives everyone was so welcoming towards us.

We arrived at the aid warehouse a short drive from the camp itself at about 10.30am.

It was clear from being shown around here that the support has been overwhelming.

Sleeping bags, blankets, shoes and clothes are stacked up to the roof.

Volunteers rush around waiting for the next van load of donations so they can get to work sorting out the items.

From the outskirts of the camp there is about a 100-yard flat area from the camp itself to the road.

As we moved deeper and deeper into the camp, I was simply amazed at what I was seeing.

From wooden huts to a two-man tent or a caravan, everyone’s home was different.

There were young and old Brits who have gone over to help out.

Many are helping as they were frustrated with the lack of response to help these people.

After lunch we visited ‘The Dome’, which is basically the camp theatre.

Actor Jude Law was among other celebrities who were reading letters from people from the camp to David Cameron.

They want him to do more to stop the French authorities from bulldozing another major section of the camp – containing a school, church, shops and many homes.

My feeling here is that people aren’t listening to them and the French government aren’t helping things.

After a long walk through the rest of the camp, we were on our way to meet a Syrian refugee called Ali who has been there for six months.

We sat in his home, which was no more than a wooden hut about 6ft by 6ft.

He kindly made us a cup of tea and talked to us about the trouble in Syria, from which he fled.

I was surprised to hear him say his family were still there, but it was clear he was here to get into the UK and to then hopefully bring his family over.

Since arriving in Calais, the Government has announced that we would only be taking refugees from camps bordering Syria.

For Ali, that is no good now.

Never in my life have I had someone stare so deeply into my eyes and ask for help and I’ve felt so helpless.

Just as we left the camp, we bumped into Jude Law, which gave us time to have a chat about his thoughts.

He was also surprised at the conditions people were living in and wanted to highlight exactly what devastation the proposed bulldozing would have on the camp.

I went to Calais to get a better understanding of the problem.

It’s not more aid they need, it’s not volunteers they need and it’s not bulldozed homes they need.

It’s support. No one is listening to them. We should do more. We can do more.

A warm welcome and practical advice

Oxford Mail:

  • Asylum Welcome director Kate Smart, left, and supporters’ co-ordinator Beverly Sharma with some donated children’s clothes

Refugees who get to Oxfordshire, whether officially housed by Oxford City Council or not, almost always need advice and help.

Charity Asylum Welcome works with them to provide advice and practical help, teach English and provide legal services.

The charity’s centre in Magdalen Road also opens three days a week and provides breakfast and the opportunity for refugees to register a postal address.

Director Kate Smart said they expected to have dealt with about 1,000 refugees by the end of this financial year, on top of 850 in the last financial year.

She said: “Often people have come with qualifications and they want to know how to get them registered in this country. People can use our computers so they can Skype people back in the countries they have come from.

“We have an arrangement with an organisation that does recycled bikes because they are a free way to get around.

“Once people have the right to remain here the most important thing is housing because Oxford is such an expensive place.

“It is extremely difficult to get a foot on the ladder.”

Dunkirk squalor is a major concern

Oxford Mail:

  • Vanessa Porter and Sammi Newman

Mother-of-two Vanessa Porter has been doing her bit to help refugees in Europe since last summer. 

The 44-year-old, from Hook Norton, set up Hooky Refugee Action, formerly known as CalAid OX15 with her friend Sammi Newman.

Together, the pair helped send four caravans across the English channel to be used as temporary medical units.

They have also collected DIY products for the Jungle in Calais and have organised for clothing to be sent to the Greek island of Lesbos, where many refugees arrive from Turkey by boat.

Software consultant Mrs Porter said her efforts were now focused on Dunkirk, where a refugee camp similar to the Jungle is based.

She said: “The site in Dunkirk is much, much worse.

“Calais, as far as slums go, has got infrastructure. They have got a warehouse there and caravans and that sort of thing.

“In Dunkirk there are 3,000 people but only two toilets.

“We have also been doing a lot more case management with refugees here in the United Kingdom, for example refugees in houses who have no heating.”

Mrs Porter, who has been to the camp in Dunkirk twice, said she was worried the Government was denying there was a problem.

She said: “I would set up somewhere in the camps in France where people can claim asylum and stop them living in squalor.

“You would not let an animal live in those sort of conditions, it is horrendous.”

City assists in accommodating 10 syrian families  

Oxford Mail:

In December the first cohort of Syrian refugees arrived in Oxford after the city agreed to house 10 families from the war-torn country.

Two families are currently housed here, with four more expected by Easter and the rest due by the end of the summer.

But Oxford City Council leader Bob Price, pictured, said the Home Office, which is organising refugee resettlement, had been slow in rehoming the families.

He said: “We will start to see some more coming before Easter.

“Once we have got ten we will assess how it has gone and any problems, as well as the good things that have happened.

“The real constraint is accommodation because we have a limited number of places where we can house them.

“It is proving quite tricky but we have made it so far. We are confident we can deal with ten.”

Mr Price said many of the adults who had come so far had no grasp of the English language, and so had to be given help to learn it and help with translating when they visited hospital.

He said: “That has been more expensive than we had expected, but nevertheless it is in the budget so it is not a problem.

“We have to think about that for the future.

“There are very obvious problems in terms of health because many come with very significant health problems so that has to be tackled quite sensitively.”