by Simon Jones | Jun 5, 2017 | Opinion
A heavily armed CRS, or Compagnies Républicaines de Sécurité (the French National Police), officer brought his baton down on my hand as he prevented me from carrying a box of food to a group of refugees. This unnecessary aggression reinforced a total prohibition on...
by Simon Jones | Jun 2, 2017 | Opinion
I visited again in mid-May the site of the so-called “Jungle” in Calais, France, where refugees had created a makeshift camp. I caught up with friends in the warehouse, met new people in the Catholic worker house and went shopping with my favorite monk....
by Simon Jones | Nov 7, 2016 | Opinion
The last bus has left the refugee camp in Calais, France, known as the “jungle.” Closing the camp has reminded me of a second curse of today’s world (the first is too few people doing important jobs): our apparent commitment to brinksmanship. We...
by Simon Jones | Oct 28, 2016 | Opinion
It is the curse of today’s world that companies and organizations, even governments, think it is efficient and cost-effective to run any operation with the minimum number of staff. It isn’t. I arrive at a virtually empty house to be invited to take a young...
by Simon Jones | Mar 30, 2016 | Opinion
I visited the Calais Jungle in early March with Lynn Green, general secretary of the Baptist Union of Great Britain. The goal was to help her see what was happening and give her some insight into the work I and some colleagues (notably Juliet Kilpin, a Baptist...
