People said they came just to help fill the gap between the refugee crisis and government inaction as donations of blankets, boots, food and tents piled up on a street in east London.
More than 100 volunteers formed a human chain to sort and collate goods dropped in to a warehouse in Hackney following an appeal by the grassroots refugee charity CalAid.
Asked why she came along Elsie Inglis, a school administrator, said: “Because I’m disgusted by the government’s behaviour. “
As she sorted blankets into huge white skip bags she said she thought David Cameron should resign. If he was unable to see his way to doing that, he should “review the whole asylum system and at the very least do what Germany is doing,” she said.
She said she remembered 1972 when the then Conservative prime minister Ted Heath took in 30,000 Ugandan refugees fleeing persecution under the dictator Idi Amin. “I think the public response has been absolutely fantastic and shows how out of touch Cameron is,” she said.
Hilary Waterfield, who arrived just after 11am with £400 worth of boots and socks said: “I couldn’t repeat what I have been thinking about the Tories. I just can’t believe the Tories these past few days, but in a way it’s been wonderful too because of the response of the people to the crisis.”
Similar collections have been taking place all over the country, but James Fisher, a CalAid organiser , cautioned people against driving to Calais following disturbances on Friday and Saturday when Belgian aid trucks arrived at the camps.
CalAid’s fortnightly collections will be stockpiled in a warehouse in Calais and the organisation is looking for a similar warehouse in southern England to cope with the mountain of donations piling in.
“We want to channel everything through a system. What is not needed in Calais we will get to places like Kos,” he said. “We have been here since 8am and the most extraordinary sight is the human chain from the street up to here. It is like a well-oiled machine and these people met each other two hours ago,” Fisher said.
