Christmas is the time of year when families come together to spend time together, share the festive spirit and of course, eat and drink to their contents. By and large it’s one of the more enjoyable times of the year, and certainly one that people of all ages look forward to.
However, this is not the case for everyone and in many places across the world people continue to live in appalling living conditions all year round, often in conditions of real misery and desperation. Just before Christmas, our very own Ryan Sheppeck and two members of the 1st Security Solutions Ltd staff decided to contribute in what way they could by visiting Calais to see refugees at the infamous “Jungle” refugee camp, to witness for themselves the conditions there and to distribute essential aid.
Today “The Jungle” is home to some 7000 displaced peoples coming from all over the world, many of them fleeing from war-torn areas of the Middle East like Syria and all of them seeking asylum in a safe haven many miles away from their homes.
With no one taking real responsibility for these people it falls on the shoulders of aid organisations like Aid Calais to provide essential resources like food, water, sanitation and shelter. Conditions here are often likened to a jail, with refugees living in temporary accommodation, unprotected from the elements and largely dependent on food aid to survive.
Having raised aid through local sources, including aid donated by 1st Security Solutions Ltd, Ryan and his colleagues joined up with the Aid Calais staff and were given the task of distributing aid to the refugees, allowing them the opportunity to move around the camp and talk to the residents. Needless to say this was an eye-opening experience for all concerned, speaking to many people who lack even the most basic of human necessities.
Ryan and his colleagues were able to staff distributed what aid they could provide during what was truly a challenging and thought provoking experience, and one that none of the 1st Security Solutions team present will forget.