Aid worker: 'Being inside a refugee camp is like living in a World War Two documentary'
Aid worker Libby Freeman is the founder of Calais Action and has travelled across Europe bringing aid to refugees.
She describes her experience in a blog for ITV News.
After I returned from my first trip to Calais I created a Facebook group to plan further trips and raise awareness of what was happening.
Only three months ago things were different and there was no big movement to support refugees.
The government was still doing as little as possible and I felt there was no real hope of anything changing.
I received a lot of abuse on the internet for what I had done.
But I was also receiving none stop messages of support from people I had never met.
Within a couple of weeks the group had a backing of a few thousand people and I had to bring in friends to help manage everything.
We set up an online system where people could open drop off points for donations to be taken.
Before we knew it there were people collecting all over the country for us.
Many of those had to branch out from their own homes into church halls, pub basements and offices.
We had all types of large corporate businesses getting in touch to offer what they could.
Before we knew it we had to secure large warehouse spaces in London, Brighton and Nottingham.
At the same time the tragic photo of Aylan Kurdi became a focal point for global media.
That week a petition urging the government to take in more refuges hit 100,000 signatures - the number required to ensure a debate in parliament.
A movement was born.
The small warehouse in Calais became overwhelmed by all the donations pouring in from the UK and had to temporarily stop accepting donations.
There were a lot of incorrect, unsorted items being driven there and also lots of uncoordinated aid convoys arriving straight into camp.
We decided while this was happening we would send an artic lorry over to Eastern Europe with the help of the National Police Aid Convoy.
It was important the aid went out as quickly as possible.
At the time, thousands of refugees were attempting to reach Germany and Sweden.
The situation was so transient and it was very difficult to coordinate a lorry drop with such a large delivery.
Eventually the mayor of a small town near the Hungarian-Croatian border gave us a barn space to rent.
We partnered with a long established Hungarian refugee charity and a small team flew out to meet the lorry a few days later.
At the time there was an urgent need for help on the trains in a Hungarian town called Zakany.
A handful of volunteers were already on the ground supplying food and water to the refugees crossing the border.
We spent a few hundred pounds of donation money on buying as much cheese and bread from the supermarket as we could.
Trains arrive late into the night where the police take them from Croatia and walk them a few hundred metres straight onto trains bound for Austria.
The police do not allow refugees off the trains and we were not able to board.
Volunteers were given between five and 15 minutes to run up and down, handing food and water to them through the windows.
With the refugees often being numbered and the police wearing masks, it felt as if we were living inside a World War II documentary.
Mothers cried for milk for their children, while pleas and grasping hands for food came from all directions.
We were aware the police could stop us at any moment so we wanted to get as much as possible through the windows.
Three thousand blankets donated by British Airways were also on our lorry, so we were able to pass those to people as well.
Unlike the refugees in Calais, those in transit often only have the clothes on their backs and their smart phone.
A common misconception is that if a refugee has a smart phone, they cannot be poor and therefore do not need help.
Many fleeing war and persecution are the middle classes, and a phone is an essential tool in mapping routes and keeping in contact with family.
We continue to work closely with refugees and other NGO’s in Calais and around Europe.
As winter sets in there is a desperate need to build more effective shelters, provide warm clothing and ensure living conditions are safe.
High levels of E. Coli and coliform bacteria are present in the water supply while scabies and Tuberculosis are rife.
The conditions are far below the minimum UN standards for refugee camps.
All the time I am forming friendships with those in the camp, learning their stories and developing a deeper understanding of why they are there.
I have yet to meet anyone who has not fled to save their own life or those of their families.
We must continue to help them and fight for them until a change is made.
Libby Freeman is the founder of Calais Action and her views do not necessarily reflect those of ITV News.