What kind of work do volunteers do in Calais?

You can never tell exactly what you’ll be doing when you go on a trip. First, you’ll be sent to a warehouse to sort through thousands of donations and put them into boxes for easy distribution. Though the work itself may seem mundane, it’s very useful. Then we run several distributions per day. Usually there are 30 volunteers in the warehouse, so when 20 of us come along, it’s very positive.

20 volunteers per trip isn’t a very big number, considering our left-leaning, sympathetic student body.

We have had a huge amount of people signing up, but undergraduate life makes it very difficult to take whole weekends off work. It’s also not a political cause. All we’re doing is trying to help. That is a universal thought and position, regardless of political persuasion. The volunteers have been branded as extreme-left anarchists by French authorities. But I’ve sorted donations with people from very diverse backgrounds.

Recently, the refugee crisis hasn’t featured as heavily in the news as it did several months ago. Do you think that student sympathy is still as strong now as it was in October?

In terms of the press, it depends what you read. The Guardian and the Independent make the refugee crisis a permanent feature. I think there are trends in public sympathy but it hasn’t affected the mentality in Cambridge. We work alongside Amnesty International for our fundraising events and we receive a lot of support.

Media descriptions of the camps are often very negative. What’s your perception of life in the ‘Calais jungle’?

It’s difficult to say. The living conditions are definitely incredibly bad but people often have very different reactions. Some of our volunteers say that it’s livelier than what they were expecting. They see shops, mosques and churches and get hope from the sense of community. Others see the total deprivation and find it quite depressing. Our perception of life in the camp is largely framed by the job we’re doing that day in the camp; we try not to take part in ‘voluntourism’, observing the camp from the outside.

‘Voluntourism’ is a term used a lot. Would it not be more worthwhile to send donations to established charities in the camps, rather than having to spend time and money training volunteers?

The problem is that Oxfam, the Red Cross and a lot of large charities aren’t in Calais. Only grassroots movements are working there and they need volunteers. When we go, we make up a lot of the people there. We often ask ourselves if sending money would be more worthwhile but we believe that our presence is helpful and useful.

Some of the funding for CUCRAG has come from CUSU, which is itself a charitable organisation. Does this set a precedent of charities funding other charities?

CUSU have set up a fund to allocate to societies and CUCRAG applied to it. At the end of the day, it’s up to CUSU to decide who it gives its money to. JCR committees all voted for money to be given to CUCRAG and we were very grateful.

Cameron’s approach is to give aid directly to refugees in Syria. Do you feel CUCRAG could focus on other refugees?

We wanted to directly make an impact to the situation. It doesn’t take very long to get to Calais so that’s where we offer aid. But in Easter break, we’re planning a week-long trip to Lesbos. We aren’t fixated on the location but Calais is the only viable destination for Cambridge students.

The movement of refugees from Lesbos to Western Europe has put a lot of strain on the EU. Do you think the refugee problem could play a factor in the EU referendum?

Possibly. The migrant crisis is a huge issue. We don’t know how Cameron will react to it. But [Angela] Merkel has shown huge determination in accepting millions of refugees. I hope he isn’t forced to only accept 50,000 because of political capital.

Germany has recently experienced problems with violence in Cologne. Is there ever a feeling of danger in the camps?

Yes, but not from refugees. Volunteers need to be aware that there are risks involved. Recently, far-right groups burnt down a van filled with donations. They presumably want to discourage volunteers coming to help. We’re taking precautions to make sure we and our provisions are safe. But anyone interested needs to keep that in mind.

Does that discourage you?

Of course it’s discouraging. The potential that it could happen again is very worrying. But the need is so great that the potential danger doesn’t override our desire to make a difference.

What is your vision for the group going forward?

It’s very difficult to plan ahead because what’s happening in Calais is changing so quickly. Right now the French government is restricting the size of the camps and it makes our role less predictable.

We can’t tell what we’ll be doing in two weeks, let alone two months. It’s possible that CUCRAG will be needed for years to come, or not at all.