"CONVERSATIONS FROM CALAIS": A DISCUSSION WE SHOULD ALL HAVE

Written by Leah S, 5ème

On Friday 2nd June, Mathilda della Torre came to the school to share her experience as a volunteer in the sadly notorious refugee camp in Calais where many of the migrants who hope to access England are settled. There are around 3700 people in these camps; some stay two months, others two years

Mathilda Della Torre initially went there to understand what was happening but, after realising that something had to be done for these people being treated poorly, she decided to raise awareness and published a book titled Conversations from Calais which garners personal recounts and thoughts from anonymous migrants.

Before the book was made, she started this campaign by pasting quotations across London. When asked why they were so plain, she explained she wanted not only to leave room for the imagination of the reader but also so that when these people came to England they could start afresh and not have the label of immigrant, refugee, migrant or asylum seeker attached to them forever.

It was both insightful and humbling to hear about the migrant crisis from someone who has seen it firsthand It was an opportunity to discuss an important issue that is often difficult to fathom from newspaper articles.

It was a very powerful experience It was humbling to stand in front of so many children who were genuinely interested, curious and aware about the topic.

Mathilda Della Torre