'It is graphic, reflective and important, a needed challenge to the anti-immigrant times in which we live.' Photo: Detail of bookcover for How Long, How Long Must We Wait?, by Anne M Jones
How Long, How Long Must We Wait?, by Anne M Jones
Author: Anne M Jones. Review by Hugh Dennis
Six years ago there was a lot of publicity about ‘The Jungle’ refugee camp near Calais. It was home to over a thousand people, all wanting to come to Britain. Anne Jones worked there for several years and has written-up her absorbing book of reflections in diary format.
This is not happy subject matter, but the book is readable and not generally depressing. It is occasionally funny and describes the great variety of people Anne met. In classic Quaker fashion she focuses on the positive humanity she experienced. The book reflects the active spirit of most folk there.
Anne did a variety of tasks: initially lots of vegetable peeling, then some counselling. But after the first year she spent most of her time sewing: repairing sleeping bags that the police had half destroyed, and reducing the size of innumerable pairs of donated jeans (most refugees at the camps need a much smaller size than the average pair donated by people like you and me).
So many of the refugees think that once they get to the UK it will be a paradise. Anne describes meeting young men who, despite injuries from previous attempts, would try again that night. Most of the time she never sees them again. This lends a sense of impermanence and lack of community within the camps.
More space is given to Anne’s fellow volunteers. Many are young enough to be her grandchildren, and have a mix of motives. For some it is ‘anarchism at its purest’. For others being there is a form of ‘grief tourism’ – a chance to observe people in distress, hoping to help maybe, but not actually able to cope with the mud, the chaos and the rats for more than a few hours. But Anne also puts on record some of the firm friendships she makes, often with people her age with similar motivation.
Anne does reflect on her own motivation. She describes her comfortable house in South London, a place of solace but also boredom, far away from the real action. She has a Christian commitment to ‘share what we can when faced by other people in need’ but also expresses her anger at governments in the UK and in France that do not comply with international and national accords. She also touches on her own guilt and unease at the creation of dependency, which most refugees do not want, but about which they have little choice.
She includes some of her encounters with local people: the restauranteur who by the end treated her as a long-lost friend; the posh man in a posh car who wanted sex. And she explains the division about ‘les migrants’ throughout the Par de Calais region. Locals want the camps gone and support the police harassment. A few are more understanding and compassionate.
In places the book feels a little chaotic – maybe a reflection of the chaos within the camps. But overall this is a refreshing account of one retired person’s work to take action. It is graphic, reflective and important, a needed challenge to the anti-immigrant times in which we live.
For copies of the book email anne.150@phonecoop.coop.
