EXCLUSIVE: Herts charity festivals salvage to support hundreds of asylum seekers
Herts for Refugees spent the summer collecting tents and sleeping bags, to be distributed to displaced people in Calais and Dunkirk
A festival salvage operation, led by a Hertfordshire refugee charity, is proving vital in supporting displaced people in Calais and Dunkirk, in Northern France.
Herts for Refugees spent the summer sweeping up UK festivals upon festival goers’ departure, in search of items to be repurposed.
Formed in 2015 during a peak in the refugee crisis, it is the 9th year the charity carries out salvages.
Angus Clark, CEO of Herts for Refugees, said: “It's quite a contrast, and it shows the difference in our society.
“People go to the festival, they're there for a good time, they're not thinking about what happens next. They wake up in the morning and they just want to get out of there, so this stuff is left behind. We are repurposing what they've left behind.
“It goes from being something that was there for the weekend, part of the built-in cost of going to the festival, to actually being life-saving aid. It's providing shelter and warmth for some of the most vulnerable people on the planet.”
With a team of dedicated volunteers, and support from partner organisations, they were able to collect a total of around 2,470 tents and 1,750 sleeping bags.
Those came from the Isle of Wight Festival, Glastonbury Festival, Boomtown Fair, and Reading Festival.
The charity also regularly receives items from a festival in Cornwall, Bloodstock Heavy Metal Festival in the Midlands, and the Green Man Festival in Wales.
After each, items are stored into garages rented by the charity, until they are ready to depart.
Another organisation, Hope and Aid Direct, which runs humanitarian convoys, then packs them into several vehicles. This year, they included two 7.5 ton trucks and a 40-feet-long articulated lorry, in addition to a van load, in which the CEO and one of the trustees of Herts for Refugees travelled across the Channel.
An additional 15 camping chairs, two bags of toiletries, seven boxes of shoes and 25 tarpaulins collected this year travelled in the van.
Upon their arrival, the donations are split between several organisation working across Calais and Dunkirk, who will distribute items to asylum seekers sleeping rough.
Remaining stock will be stored for use throughout the winter.
French authorities regularly dismantle camps, which increases the need for charities to support asylum seekers all year round.
New camps then emerge the following day in several different locations, and the cycle continues.
Mr Clark added: “The refugees get these items from our partners that we deliver to, but they'll be lucky to have them for more than a week sometimes before the authorities come and destroy everything and they're left standing with nothing again.
“So this is why we need such a huge volume and stuff. It's exceptionally wasteful, but at the same time, from our point of view, it's been a really successful year and we're really happy to be able to deliver this stuff to our partners. We now provide the bulk of the winter stock for the organisations to give out to people throughout the colder months of the year.”
The UK festival salvage operation is the primary source of tents and sleeping bags, which support men, women, children and families.
Charities benefiting from the salvage include Refugee Mobile Support in Dunkirk, and Care 4 Calais, Refugee Women’s Centre and Utopia 56 in Calais.
While it is impossible to put an exact figure on how many individuals currently live in the two towns, awaiting to attempt a small boat crossing, it is estimated there could be up to two thousand.
What does the government say?
Asked about the scheme, Dan Tomlinson, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, said:
“This government has to do all it can to make sure that we can control our border. It was left totally uncontrolled by the previous government and we have to make sure that we have security at the border.
“That's why I'm really happy that we have a new Home Secretary who's going to bring energy and ideas to making sure that we can make progress there. We've got to see the number of crossings come down and we also have to reduce the number of hotels.
“But at the same time, you're mentioning charities. We want to do all we can to support charities and the voluntary sector.”
While the festival salvages provide life-saving items for asylum seekers across the channel, the message remains not to leave anything behind on festival sites.
Ticketmaster report a rise in eco-consciousness at festivals, with 67% of fans saying sustainability impacts their ticket choices, while 77% want less waste, and 66% want low-carbon travel options.
This is reflected in this year’s salvage, which has allowed Herts for Refugees to collect a considerable number of items, but who reported a decrease in festival waste.