Author Archives: fvrsg

Seasonal Protection with Seasonal Cheer

Christmas Face Masks

Celia Mothes is  making face masks for Christmas. All the money from these cheerful masks will be donated to FVRSG’s funds.

These seasonal masks will make ideal stocking fillers.

In the past few months Celia’s face masks have raised almost £2,000, some of which has been sent to Care4Calais, People2People Solidarity, an organisation supporting refugees on the streets around Paris, and PhoneCredit4Refugees.

All masks are 100% cotton and made to WHO recommended standards of 3 layers, with a flexible nose bridge and adjustable elastic for added comfort. You can place a folded tissue inside the mask for even greater protection. Celia’s masks can be washed at a high temperature and can be used repeatedly.

Polar bears
To order, simply choose your fabric from the photographs on the next page. You will also see a range of fabrics for children, although Celia asks that for children’s masks, that you receive whichever of those she has immediately available.
jolly reindeer

Supporters have been more than happy to donate a minimum of £10 per face mask and as it is Christmas you may be happy to donate a little more.

To place your order please send an email to

Clarissa.hanna@hotmail.com

and whether any are especially for children.

Then go to the FVRSG web site – https://fvrsg.wordpress.com/

Children’s mask fabric

Specify the number required – and pay your donation via the Donate Button, which will take you to our GoldenGiving website.

You can pay via credit card there, so it is quick and easy.

You can also pay directly into our bank account:

Payee:                             FVRSG (Faversham & Villages Refugee Solidarity Group)

Account number: 00032736

Sort code:                        405240

In any case, please quote Christmas masks and your name as your reference please!

Once your order is complete, Clarissa will contact you to arrange delivery to your home (wearing a Christmas mask, of course!).

Annual Report of Faversham and Villages Refugee Solidarity Group (FVRSG) 2020

FVRSG’s AGM was held via Zoom on 3 November 2020. 15 people attended, with apologies from 3.

Following a welcome & the mission statement, Janice Lowe, our chair, presented the Annual Report. Accounts for the last business year, 4/2019 to 4/2020, were presented by J Christopherson, supplemented by results for this business year so far, from 6 April 2020 to 2 November.

Election of officers and trustees followed; the chair, Janice Lowe, and Tony Cartwright will step down.

Newly elected chair is Pauline Philips, newly elected trustees are Gillian Wilce (secretary), Clarissa Hanna, Celia Mothes, Peter Colmer, Phoebe Marsh, Steph Youle, Valerie Jeffries and Judith Christopherson (treasurer).

FVRSG managed to raise app. £ 7,500.00 last business year; because we had a surplus balance from the year before, app. £ 9,100.00 were passed on to charities supporting refugees and migrants in need, in Calais, Dunkirk and also Greece.

In spite of the dire circumstances from March 2020 onwards, crafty, and inventive activities by members and supporters, such as mask making, marmalade cooking etc., enabled us to raise in excess of £ 6,500.00 between April and November 2020.

During this time, we supported charities such as Care4Calais, Donate4Refugees, Khora in Greece, PhoneCredit4Refugees, and People2PeopleSolidarity with app. £ 5,000.00.

Please get in touch (see contact page) if you would like to see the full minutes of our AGM or if you require more information about the charity.

A trustees’ meeting next week, as well as a general meeting with all interested members in 3 weeks, will provide an opportunity to discuss FVRSG’s future path, especially in view of the present limited fundraising opportunities, and the ongoing political indifference to the plight of displaced and desperate people seeking a safe heaven.

Please contact us if you wish to participate in the members’ meeting – all welcome.

This will be a zoom event and a link will be sent to you a few days before the meeting.

Hope and Despair

Only 3 weeks ago, more than 200 people gathered at former barracks in Folkestone, which now houses refugees who managed the dangerous journey from the Continent to the UK.  The Pro-migrant demonstrators gathered to show support and to welcome migrants to the area, and to make aware of rising incidents of far-right groups against migrants.

In a heart-warming display of solidarity, the new arrivals were shown messages of support and solidarity, such as “Refugees are welcome here”. One sign, in a reminder that, way down our own family tree, our forefathers came from foreign places once, read:

 “The story of humanity is a story of Migration”.

Photograph: Andrew Aitchison/In Pictures/Getty Images

KRAN’S Bridget Chapman believes the vast majority of locals being supportive of migrants, but that their voices are regularly drowned out by a significant, anti-immigration minority. Indeed, it appears that some residents meet up at the site of the refugee centre regularly to harass asylum seekers and shout abuse.

Kay Marsh, from the migrant charity Samphire, confirms that the deteriorating economic situation is not helping but rather fuelling anti-immigrant notions. “When you are poor, unemployed, and struggling, immigrants as the enemy are an easy target.”

BUT ONLY 10 DAYS after this encouraging display of human solidarity, a boat capsized near France, and a family of 5 people died.

The Iranian-Kurdish couple had made their way across the Channel to reach the shores of this country. The husband, a low paid labourer, and his wife, both 35 years old, and their 2 children died as a result of the boat capsizing. The baby of the family is also feared dead.

A very moving report about the encounter of a volunteer, Alleemal Mensen, with the family and little Artin, just before they set off, can be found here:

https://freedomnews.org.uk/artin-little-man-i-remember-you/?fbclid=IwAR3WsHWYJlfLH2mo7DEvmNeeGnoJjFdi-4d8JaJOu7_hx11JuWpvzj3tePM

Two quite different stories of human hope and tragedy – just 10 days apart.

The struggle of migrants is set to intensify, as shorter days and colder weather will make their living conditions, out of doors, near Calais, Dunkirk but also Paris and other larger cities, near impossible.

Charities are already warning of bitter winter conditions and the looming hardship of these people, who often have no support or network to fall back on, outside of the attempts of indefatigable and committed volunteers who are trying to get the odd warm meal, some clothing, sleeping bags and occasionally medical help to them.

Please continue to support us, and them.

Donate to FVRSG:

Payee:                                            FVRSG

Account Number:                      00032736

Sort Code:                                    405240

Or use our GoldenGiving Donation Site:

https://www.goldengiving.com/wall/fvrsg

You can arrange for one-off payments and/or regular donations.

Thank you for your continued support!

It’s all in the Numbers

Do you love it, when somebody qualified does a lot of work on numbers and hands out conclusions from proper research that we’ve not had to attempt? A frequent source is the BBC Radio 4 programme “More or Less”, which has a bit of a cult following these COVID-obsessed days.

On Sunday 20th Sept. 2020, presenter Tim Harford plus guests kindly provided the rebuttal to the “Britain’s already taken more refugees than the rest of the EU”- theme – which is sometimes accompanied by Home Office claims about the supremacy of 23,000 Syrians resettled in the UK.   

However, it depends on what you mean by “resettled”. The H.O. means resettled under a UN programme, and yes, Britain resettled almost 23,000 that way during 2016 – 2019, ahead of other EU countries. These were mostly people fleeing the brutal violence in Syria and given safe transport to Britain, under David Cameron’s Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme, begun 2014.  

But UN programmes are just one narrow route to resettlement in the EU, and they make up just 6% in terms of the number of refugees who are offered some sort of protection in the EU. 

But that good contribution to just 6% of the refugees gaining protection EU-wide 2016-2019 accounted for a whole third of the UK’s total refugee settlement activity.  

What about the refugees who form the UK’s other two-thirds, not picked for UN resettlement scheme, arriving by their own efforts? 

They must be so desperate, as Britain has made it as hard as possible for them to achieve asylum, before, during and after their journey. 

There is no ‘asylum visa’, so to request asylum independently, you have to be in the UK already. You can’t apply from abroad, not even from Calais, where effectively the border is located – by Britain’s request. Without UN help and without safe passage provided by Britain, ‘unauthorised means’ are the only option. Many of those who arrive are rigorously proved ‘genuine’ and do achieve UK grants of protection. 55% of asylum applicants from 2012 to 2016 had eventually received a grant of protection by May 2019, despite our long-standing hostile environment policy. 

To compare with Europe as a whole, the figures need to be added up to include all routes to arrival. Then, for number of grants of asylum, Britain comes 6th, behind Germany at 1st (13 times as many as the UK), France 2nd (twice as many), with Sweden, Austria, and Italy also ahead.   

More meaningful perhaps are the figures for refugees given asylum per head of existing population. 

Here they are: 

Sweden 1st at 12 refugees per 1000 people; Germany 2nd at 10, and Britain at 20th, at 1.

So, does Britain’s take more refugees than the rest of the EU (based on 2019 figures, hence ‘rest’ of)? 

Looks like a clear ‘NO’!

Many people still think Britain is the favourite destination. 

In 2019, applicants for asylum in the EU were actually distributed like this (UNHCR figures): Most were sent to Germany (23.3 %), thereafter to France (19.6%), Spain (18.8 %), Greece (12.2 %) and Italy (5.7 %).   

With Britain at less than 5.7%, the answer to “Why do they all want to come here?” is clear. 

They don’t. 

Cover up in style!

New face mask fabric just in – exotic birds, African or Maori inspired textiles or the cutie Scottish dog –

these are superior quality masks with emphasis on comfortable fit and washable cotton fabric in original designs.

All masks are doubly layered with enough inner space for additional protection by a tissue. Each mask is comfortable to wear and washable too. We ask for a donation of £ 9.00, and for those who are happy to pay £1 more the mask can be ordered with an extra breathable layer and nose bridge insert.

Contact Celia Mothes on 07710-928882 for your bespoke mask.

Lesbos is burning…!

You may have followed the news in the press –

the refugee camp in Lesbos burnt down to the ground earlier this week and about 13,000 people from the camp had to disburse and find shelter elsewhere.

A child walks among destroyed shelters following a fire at the Moria camp for refugees and migrants on the Island of Lesbos, Greece 9 September 2020

You can find more news on BBC:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-54082201

and in all major newspapers.

FVRSG reacted quickly and we will send GBP 1,000 to an organization which has been particularly active in this region, Donate4Refugees:

https://www.donate4refugees.org/what-we-do-2020

Fundraising activities are at an all-time low of course, and so we are happy and very relieved we had some funds available to provide desperately needed and immediate support.

Donate to FVRSG – reference *Moria*

direct payment into our account:

Payee:                                            FVRSG

Account Number:                      00032736

Sort Code:                                    405240

or via GoldenGiving:

https://www.goldengiving.com/wall/fvrsg –

or support Donate4Refugee or other organizations directly.

Many thanks!

FVRSG & supporters go „under cover”…in support of refugees!

All seems quiet around FVRSG; but don’t be fooled, we have been working away, busily, in support of not only refugees but also our friends and relations, in times of Covid.

Talented and committed members of the group started sewing face masks as soon as the “M” word was out – doing “double-good” in the process!

Multi-patterned masks of highest specifications and following WHO guidelines, providing real protection especially for people whose health might already be compromised, were passed on to family, friends, supporters and the general public.  At least 200 masks, all hand-sewn under specific private orders, have been places so far.

In addition, mum of four Stephanie, from Faversham, whose daughter Becky is coordinator for the mobile Echo library bus in Greece, has been cooking up a marmalade storm, and we sold all the jars in aid of refugees.

 face mask

The resulting sales/donations enabled us to contribute to various very efficient organizations, who are often the first port of call at a time when refugees and displaced people face particularly severe challenges.

FVRSG was able to send donations to the value of GBP 5,250.00 to: Care4Calais; Help Refugees; Refugee Kitchen, Calais; the Refugee Council; PhoneCredit4Refugees; Echo Library, Greece and People to People Solidarity/Refugees in Paris, since early March 2020!

The latter Charity is a group we newly support; following please read a statement from one of the immensely grateful organisers, who is describing how funds are used.

It makes for humbling reading!

“ We had recently organised a massive distribution of socks and underwear on the camps located in north parts of Paris, a place called Aubervilliers. There are around 800 refugees sleeping in tents or improvised shelter by the canal, in the industrial zone. 

Thanks to you and your group, and help from others, we managed to gather several volunteers and buy, prepare and distribute an amount of 600 pairs of socks and 297 boxers on the camp. It barely covered the need of half of the camp but still, it is quite helpful. Refugees need change of clothes, and they can’t even wash regularly their clothes – hence the scabies.  

Distribution was quite quick and successful; preparations took all morning.

Right after we distributed socks and boxers, we became aware of another problem: a severely ill diabetic guy from Somalia who struggled most of the time to get access to regular meals.

Skipping meals might cause severe issues to his health so we are trying to organize a group of volunteers to bring meals every day to the camp for him. We are also negotiating with several leaders in the camp. There are smaller groups on the go who are well organised and they regularly cook outdoors, in improvised  kitchens,  so we will try to buy them some groceries in exchange for a meal a day for Ali (not his real name), the Somalian refugee with diabetes. I hope that will work.  

Furthermore, we have several families with small children, babies who need diapers. They are housed in hotels provided by social service, but without any financial help, food or even a kitchen to cook in. They desperately need diapers and other necessities for babies/ toddlers.  So, we got more of those and some baby milk. “

Please continue to support FVRSG and hence refugees and displaced people, who are more in need than ever before.

NOTE: Face masks can STILL be ordered from the group – contact Clarissa Hanna on Clarissa.hanna@hotmail.com or call or leave a text message on 07974 929119, or contact Celia Mothes on 07710-928882.