Calais 12.03.25
On arrival in Calais, we drove directly to the foot of the chalk cliffs known as Cap Blanc-Nez, walking up to the viewing point. Today the view was clear and we could see straight across the English Channel to the white cliffs at Dover. A month earlier, as part of the research stage of a new collaborative art project @claudiajanke we had all stood on those very white cliffs only imagining these cliffs in Calais as that day there had been thick cloud.
Upon reaching @calais.exilessc day centre, we discovered Secours Catholique would be hosting Iftar, the daily evening breaking of the fast of Ramadan. Volunteers from several local groups were busy preparing a beautiful meal for over 500 hundred expected guests. Amid the ongoing violence and complexities of the Calais border area, the gentle rhythms of care and support for people who are displaced continue, heartwarming as ever to witness.
The space where we usually work had been thoughtfully rearranged and set aside for activities - dominoes, cards, reading. The new set up worked well for The Community Table at which we were joined by a group of young Sudanese men for most of the afternoon. The atmosphere felt familial, with laughing, play with words, miming and joint attention. A house was slowly built over the afternoon which became a family home, a roof added and carpet in the lounge.
The table was used as it should be with some people coming and going, and some staying. At the typewriter a man sat for a long time and wordlessly typed poems from our small postcard book on migration.
As we left, chicken and rice steamed away in vast pans, and long white tablecloths were being laid for the breaking of the fast.
Words by Bobby Lloyd, Miriam Usiskin & Claudia Janke.
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