In the days before New Year’s eve, one of our main tasks (besides cooking) was preparing for the New Year’s party, which was happening at Africa House, where the migrants who lived there invited all the other migrant communities to come to the “hafla”- a party. We had to collect decorations, build benches and tables out of pallets, wood and bricks, sort out the generator for lighting, and of course make lots of food.

There were some worries about a police raid during the party- a few nights before some police had shown up at Africa house at about 3 in the morning, woken up the migrants who were sleeping there and intimidated them. Rather than arresting anyone, they said “see you on the 31st”, implying that there would be police presence during the party. Events like that are a constant reality for migrants living in Calais- Africa House is raided several times each week, with police storming the squat (a set of derelict university buildings) in the early hours of the morning, waking everyone up and making arrests. During the raids it is normal for phones and cameras to be seized or smashed if they are used to document police brutality, and windows, chairs and tables are also intentionally destroyed by the police. If migrants are arrested-which is a regular occurrence for many- they are put into prison for several hours, and then have to walk back into town. Routine imprisonment, brutality and police intimidation can grind people down- often migrants will describe some individuals as having “been in Calais for too long”- meaning they can be hopeless, erratic or aggressive.

Luckily, the New Year’s party went ahead without the police inviting themselves along. Instead, Africa House was festive- lit up by candles and fairy lights, pumping with music coming out of a car-battery powered sound system, and filled with migrants and activists from all over the world. Different people took turns plugging their phones and mp3 players into the sound system, so the music was an amazing global mix- Egyptian, Afghan, 80’s pop, hip-hop and everything in between. When the Afghan songs were on, a group of Afghan men led dancing where participants dance in a circle, spinning, clapping and jumping. At first only Afghans danced in the circle dance, but they were soon joined by guys from Africa House, as well as No Borders activists.

As midnight approached, we went outside for the climax of the evening- our very own mini fireworks display. As the fireworks rocketed off across the field outside of Africa House, we counted down to the New Year and people wished each other happy new year in at least a dozen different languages. What an amazing way to end one year and begin a new one!

There is a food distribution centre here where many of the migrants normally get food. They run lunch and dinner on most days. Surrounded by metal fencing that gives the impresssion of being caged in the distribution centre could be mistaken for a prison, the migrants have to line up to receive the food and there are no tables or chairs. Two charities take it in turns to provide meals. However, they do not serve food every day, and they don’t reach all of the different migrant communities in Calais.

Last night we served our first meal as the Cambridge kitchen collective in Calais. We were taken to a patch of woods 45 minutes drive outside of Calais where roughly thirty migrants-mostly from Afghanistan- are living. So far outside of Calais, few of the charities who usually serve food to migrant communities reach them. The need for secrecy also increases their isolation, because they are hesitant to reveal the location of their camp – known as a “jungle” – to outsiders.

As we pulled down a muddy lane between a field and the woods, we were welcomed by the migrants who lived in the jungle. They showed us the way into the woods that they had made in their home- tarpaulins stretched over frames made out of branches created dry spaces for eating, talking, a mosque, and several sleeping spaces. Despite the thick mud on the ground, everything was tidy and homely.

We had spent the afternoon cooking a mushroom, cauliflower and chickpea curry, rice, and red lentil daal (which the Afghan migrants we ate with said tasted just like Pakistani lentils- we assumed that was a compliment). The food was served from the makeshift mosque, and we ate together round the fire. The community there – almost all young men – was extremely hospitable. We were promised that after the food there would be singing and dancing, and after a few minutes of teasing each other to see who would start off the singing, they launched into a series of songs accompanied by clapping and drumming on water butts. Some of the songs were traditional Pashtun songs, and others were songs about making the crossing to England. As the evening passed by, the rain came down harder and it became windy, but the atmosphere remained vibrant and warm.

Sat around the fire, a man from Afghanistan told us of his journey. He told us that because of the violence and dire economic situation back home, his family had sent him to Europe in the hope that he would find a better life. He gestured at his surroundings and smiled sadly as he said “but look at how shitty my life is now”. He had been through Italy but left because he could not find work there and wanted to travel to England where he had heard there was work. Another man, from Iran, told us how he had left beacuse he had been burnt, intimidated and put in prison by the state for refusing to join the army, because to join the army would mean fighting his own community.

I have heard many stories like this before, but found it so upsetting to meet these people who had come to be here only because of where they had been born. It made it so clear to me that the systems of asylum and the UK’s supposed commitment to human rights did not apply to the people who need it the most. It seemed like most of the people we met came from areas of the world where UK military, political and economic involvement had a devastating effect on people’s lives- yet the UK does everything it can to stop these people from crossing over the Channel. Because of UK law, crossing illegally into England is the only way to make an asylum claim for the vast majority of asylum seekers. Many of the people we spoke to had been in the UK before, they knew how hard it would be for them there, and yet trying to make the crossing was still their best option.

Each day we are here we discover another hundred lessons that we need to learn, and stories that we want to hear. Being here, in practical solidarity with the migrant communities struggling against state violence, racism and economic oppression, is an incredibly powerful experience. Keep tuned into this blog to get updates about what the rest of our week is like, and come to the next meeting of Cambridge Action Network to hear more and get involved in future projects. The Calais Migrant Solidarity group also welcomes activists year-round to come and help with work in Calais- check out their website to find out more.

Emily James presents large amounts of footage from a wide range of actions over the last three years – the G20, Climate Camp Blackheath, Vestas, Ratcliffe on Soar, Grow Heathrow, and especially impressive footage of the Copenhagen Climate Summit protests. This includes footage of the direct actions themselves, but also of the planning and preparation for these actions. Moreover, she manages to do this while sustaining the narrative and pace of the film. The best thing about this film is its presentation of the emotional and physical realities of taking direct action, so often grossly misrepresented by the short and sensationalists reports of mainstream media.

However, as the title suggests, this film is overwhelmingly about people ‘doing it’, rather than why, when, or how they choose to do it. One of the most pivotal moments in the film is when an activist, Marina, is asked ‘will this really make any difference?’. There is a long silence, and eventually she answers to the effect of, well, probably no. But you have to do it anyway, and hope. This and similar questions are repeatedly asked by the presenter, but Marina’s is the only answer which is given. The political motivations of the activists is only touched upon. While the audience is repeatedly encouraged to ‘just do it’, exactly what they should do, and why, is left unsaid and assumed. Indeed, it is often implied that the activists themselves aren’t quite sure.

This seems part of an intentional media strategy, trying to gain the sympathy and support of the expected audience by presenting activists as well educated, eloquent, middle class and largely depoliticised ‘bright young things’. With the admirable exception of Marina, all of the other main characters fit this model. This is, of course, not an entirely untrue representation of the social make-up of the environmental movement. However, it is interesting to note that the only main character whose background the film explores is the Cambridge student (complete with shots of the old colleges) The squats where a number of other, non-Oxbridge, main characters live are never shown or mentioned.

Nevertheless, those parts of the film which do show the family and background of the activists are very interesting, and the parts showing interaction and co-operation between activists and locals at Vestas and Grow Heathrow even more engaging. Both of these open gripping snapshots on other aspects of activism. They are touched upon rather than fully explored, but in one two hour film it would have been impossible to do much more. Indeed, the scope of the task Emily James has taken on is massive, and it would not be fair to expect her to fully represent every aspect of a diverse movement, over three years, in one film. In Just Do It, she has chosen to focus specifically on the realities and experiences of direct action. And judged according to that she has certainly succeeded.

In response there will be activity weekends every Saturday from 9th July leading up to the setting up of Camp Constant at the site on Sat 27th August. The camp will house legal and human rights observers, media activists, and people willing to engage in civil disobedience to help protect the site. People from Cambridge will be involved over the next two months in various capacities, including setting up kitchens and site. Come and join in…!

For more info about Dale Farm see http://dalefarm.wordpress.com/

Police blocked the entrance to the site, making it difficult for the noise to be heard. However, resourceful protesters contacted one of the hunger strikers by phone who was able to pass on the message. She also talked of her and other inmates distress at being imprisoned indefinitely and the disdainful treatment they are being subjected to by Serco and UKBA. She strongly refuted claims that hunger strikers were smuggling in food, and said that the medical effects they are suffering were being ignored.

The hunger strike, which began on 5th February with 84 women involved, escalated three days later when Serco attempted to break the strike by force. Several women were assaulted, and four ‘ring leaders’ were transferred to Holloway prison without charge.

The women have since released a statement of their intention to suspend the hunger strike from 19th March until 9th April, subject to a full investigation into the violence on 8th February, an end to the detention of mothers and their children, and a list of other demands that basically equate to humane treatment. On March 18th a judge ordered an urgent High Court hearing into the conditions at Yarl’s Wood. The women have stated that they will resume the hunger strike if there is not enough progress on these issues.