Tuesday 1 March 2016

Calais - An open letter to Witney

Dear Witney... dear anyone who might read this blog,


after yesterday's and ongoing events at the Calais Refugee Camp, I felt the strong need to write this, because 140 characters on Twitter cannot convey the pain, sadness, frustration, anger and helplessness I have felt following the disastrous "eviction" of the Jungle. A euphemism if there ever was one. I'm sure many of you feel the same, wanting to do something and feeling your hands tied by so many things: commitment to family and work, money, etc etc. Believe me, I myself felt like shutting shop and driving down there to help and express my solidarity, and I am sure my colleagues felt the same, but I have an obligation to our company and you, our customers.

This is why we wanted to help in any way we could.
Waterstones as a company made - I say that as a freethinking individual, not a "company drone" - a decision I admired, to raise a million pounds with the Books for Syria campaign. And all our heartfelt thanks go out to every one of you who bought the books donated by authors and publishers and dropped change into our collection box (which alone came to over £100!).

But we have also offered to be a drop-off point for donations, as you may have seen on the poster in the window, and over the last few months Witney folks generously donated items desperately needed in the camps: sleeping bags, warm coats, blankets, shoes, you name it.

This is something close to our heart not just because we want to do something to help those who have nothing left but the skin on their backs and, if they're lucky, their families. It is also because it has grown out of the fantastic community spirit in Witney, which I have never encountered anywhere else, and which has made me feel at home here ever since I moved here nearly 7 years ago.
Working in this store, you do see a lot of the same faces, and you get to know the people and stories behind them. It's one of my favourite parts of the job. I have met so many fantastic folks and it's awesome to see them in the street and smile and say hello.

Some of you will recall the community meeting that was held in the Como Lounge in September, where a local couple talked about their trip to the Jungle to drop off donations. I recognised many of your faces there and felt something I had never felt before: community pride. So many Witney folks came and asked how they could help the refugees. Even the council got involved.
Since then, a massive group has grown in Witney, out of just 3 or 4 people who started a Facebook page and asked friends to help and donate items Calais desperately needed, to channel them on to bigger, more organised grassroots groups like Calais Action to take to the camp. The response was overwhelming and the group grew and grew, and took on a life of its own. This was all YOU! This was evidence of the big heart that beats in Witney.
Some may be suspicious of a randomly created group collecting donations, but I know every single one of the creators and admins personally and guarantee you they are the kindest and most generous people you will ever meet.

Recently, a bunch of them decided to take trips down to the Jungle to drop off donations - items YOU dropped off in our store and elsewhere - and help out on site, and I am hoping they will soon be able to post stories of their experiences on here as well.
One of them you may even know yourself - Yasmin Mo, daughter of legendary Henry Mo, owner of the town's best sandwich bar Sandwich de Witney. Yasmin used to work for us as a children's bookseller a while back and was nothing but a delight. Always laughing, smiling, great with kids. She was always engaged in humanitarian and environmental matters and just a golden soul through and through. I am so proud of her engagement in this. She has also been updating us a lot on what is going on down in the Jungle, and all the stories filtering back were inspirational, beautiful and heartbreaking.

We all became so personally involved with the lives in Calais, the current events just broke our hearts. These volunteers have build a network, and communicate with each other, and many of them have been sending live updates from the Jungle "eviction" which shocked us.
The media has vilified the refugees' response, depicting them as violent and destructive, and of course, I would not be surprised if any of you now have second thoughts about helping.

But from what we could garner from those volunteers, the picture has been massively distorted. And in the end, rubber bullets and tear gas has still been shot at children - children who have known nothing but trauma in their short lives. I won't go too much into it, as the picture is too complex to be addressed in one blog post, other than to ask you to take media representations with a pinch of salt - and PLEASE don't let it turn off your heart and humanity. This isn't a political issue, it is a humanitarian one.

A recurring question that popped up whenever donations were dropped off was: "Is it too late? Do you still need those? Has the convoy left yet?"

It is never too late to help. And the humanitarian crisis we have is not going away. Yes, they still need help. Cars are still going there with donations. People are still going there to help, to stand in solidarity. The Witney Refugee Action Group on Facebook is an open group anyone can join.

Our little shop may have a brand name on our door, but we are part of your community, it is filled and run by human beings with lives, hearts and opinions who are members of this community and care for it, and I wanted to express this on our behalf.

Thank you Witney!

Lots of love,

Patty