What the Nuncio did next: A gathering in Dover

Phil Kerton meets Archbishop Gugerotti by seafront plaques dedicated to migrants lost in Channel. Image Mazur/CBCEW.org.uk

After his visit to Napier Barracks on 31 March to show the Pope's solidarity with the asylum seekers being housed there, Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti moved on to Dover, accompanied by Bishop Paul McAleenan, passing long jams of vehicles on the A20 and encountering Arctic blizzards en route.

He was keen to point out that he came at the Pope's request and would be reporting back to him.

At a meeting facilitated by 'Seeking Sanctuary' he met with local representatives from refugee support groups, several local clergy and approaching 30 young residents from the barracks brought by the "Friends of Napier" - most of them seeing snow (and snowballs) for the first time.

Everyone found the Nuncio to be very approachable and keen to have informal conversations and to break through language barriers and listen to people's stories of life at home and dangerous journeys to Britain. All are delighted to have arrived in a place where they can feel safe and look forward to building better futures.

A welcome variety of refreshments were provided and people familiar with the 120-year-old Barracks outlined various features of concern. In peacetime it has housed groups of personnel taking part in training exercises for stretches for a few weeks, rather than large numbers of people for months on end.

There was a rush to move people in to the barracks at first, and faults typical in old buildings, such as ill-fitting doors and windows and unreliable and inadequate sanitary and plumbing, electrical wiring and heating services, were not addressed. The initial one-year consent for the new use of Napier did not encourage measures to alleviate the military- and prison-like appearance , both outdoors and indoors, which reminds many residents of past mistreatment.

Barbed wire toppings to fences were eventually removed and sheeting was added to prevent anti-migrant demonstrators from peering through. Little has been done to improve privacy in dormitory cubicles and communal shower facilities, which detract from the dignity of residents. But one positive thing about communal life in Napier, apart from being out of danger, is the camaraderie resulting from sharing in the same circumstances, something that will be missed when people move on to smaller dwellings.

Boredom is a permanent fact of life, but a good number of volunteers visit to run language classes and physical exercise and sporting programmes, with books, equipment and indoor games delivered by local people of good will. Individuals still get stressed by the unpredictable length of stays in the barracks and the lack of regular updates on how asylum claims are progressing. "Buddies" have been found to join Zoom conversations about life outside the barracks and raise fresh and diverting topics.

The Nuncio commented that these young people are wounded by life and have only the gifts of their life and their faith, yet they come to find hope and to see a future.

Dover and Folkestone have welcomed new arrivals for decades. Contrary to media reports of opposition demonstrations bolstered by visitors to the area, not all locals are antagonistic! Once needs are known, donations soon pour in. Prior to the establishment of "juxtaposed national control bureaux" on either side of the Channel, people from Eastern Europe arrived by coach in Calais and bought tickets to get to the UK. With the incoming UK frontier controls now in French ports there is no recognised route for asylum seekers to reach UK soil to claim asylum, resulting in irregular crossings hidden on trains and vehicles and, most recently, in small boats.

The visit to Dover concluded with prayers in freezing wind at the seafront plaques remembering those who have died attempting to reach our shores. Having taken photos alongside the sea, the lads from Napier, knowing that they had talked with people who care, warmed up with welcome cups of coffee in the nearby Premier Inn before leaving for Folkestone. A pleasant change from their usual institutional surroundings.

Read more about Seeking Sanctuary here: https://seekingsanctuary.weebly.com/