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How the Refugee Phones initiative is using tech to bring connectivity to the Calais 'jungle' camp

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By Katie McQuater, Magazine Editor

January 13, 2016 | 7 min read

Connectivity is an intrinsic part of humanity for most people in the UK, with smartphones providing ease of communication and access to information. But how could connectivity improve the situation for those living life on the edges; the refugees of the Calais Jungle?

Technology has played a vital role in crystallising the UK's debate around the refugee crisis in Europe. We could hardly ignore the stories emerging from Greece and Hungary as the devastation of the situation played out on our newsfeeds and Twitter timelines, shaping our collective psyche.

But, as millions displaced by civil war in Syria as well as conflicts in Africa struggle to build a life for themselves in Europe, technology can play a far bigger role in the crisis than just harnessing support.

Now, forward-thinking individuals, in the absence of an established charity operation in the Calais refugee camp dubbed 'the Jungle', are utilising technology and mobile communications to help refugees gain access to essential information.

Refugee Phones was established by Thea Hamren, associate creative director at creative agency Mr President, with the aim of donating unwanted smartphones to refugees in need of connectivity. The initiative launched in Sweden in summer 2015 following the realisation that many refugees arriving at the country's borders had had their phones broken, lost or stolen during their journey across Europe.

The team, led by a small number of volunteers, have now launched a similar London pod to bring connectivity to refugees at the UK's borders – namely in the refugee camps of Calais. "No organisation on the ground has done this at scale yet and the need is big," Hamren tells us.

Without a phone, refugees are unable to contact family members to inform them of their whereabouts, access information they need to build new lives and stay connected to the world around them. In short, mobile phones provide refugees with a lifeline; the already beleaguered journey they have faced is even harder without being connected.

"A smartphone is even more vital to a refugee than it is to a British person, and we all know how important they are for us in our everyday lives," says Jasmin O'Hara, founder of Calaid, the organisation distributing the phones in the camp. "But having a smartphone can mean the difference of life, death, decisions and futures for the people in the camp."

Let's not forget another reason we are so connected to our phones – they provide us with an escape. It’s a small glimmer of happiness for refugees in an otherwise bleak situation, adds O'Hara, who set up Calaid when she became disillusioned by the negativity towards refugees in the British mainstream media. "A smartphone provides music, video and a bit of pleasure and escape for people stuck in the midst of a nightmare."

At present Refugee Phones has been relying on individual donations in the UK, but plans to broaden this out to receive ex-display smartphones from mobile companies, as it has done in Sweden. Donated phones are topped up and fitted with sim cards to ensure they are adequately prepared for use in the camp.

However, one of the bigger challenges facing the team was how to actually distribute them on the ground. As the crisis reached a tipping point of public sympathy, a subsequent outpouring of support saw the camp inundated with donations and offers of help, yet with no official charity infrastructure in place, distribution is a challenge.

"We realised we couldn't do it alone because we read all the stories of people going down there themselves and creating a tonne of chaos," says Hamren. "There's quite a strict system for being able to donate things."

Partnering with Calaid, a relatively small organisation with first-hand experience of the camp's processes, was the natural next step. Calaid's new arrivals team works to welcome refugees with the essentials they might need upon first entry to the camp. Besides absolute basics such as food, shelter and clothing, they also assess whether someone is in need of a phone, and then distribute them using a ticketing system.

But of course, connectivity doesn't begin and end with just the tools; a mobile phone today is more than just a device for making calls, but a portal to the world around us. Though the internet is for everyone, as Sir Tim Berners-Lee put it, it's easy for those of us in a connected society to forget about the infrastructure that makes it available to us. With this in mind, Calaid set about attempting to provide what most people in the UK take for granted by installing Wi-Fi in the camp.

O'Hara believes this is a vital step in addressing the connectivity problems faced by those in the camp.

"Not only does access to the internet provide vital communications with people’s family and friends back home through a very transient phase – many people lost contact with their loved ones – these phones also provide people with information regarding their asylum process, and equal opportunities to the rest of the connected world."

Community Connectivity

Elsewhere in Europe, a number of creative solutions have been developed to make a positive difference to the lives of refugees, providing support such as access to shelter, food and medical attention. An open source project called ‘Crisis Info Hub’, which allows information to be shared in a way that doesn’t drain power, is just one of Google’s efforts to apply technology to aid the crisis. But innovation is also stemming from an individual and community level to use technology for greater good.

One such example, the Berlin-based website Refugees Welcome, has been described as ‘an Airbnb for refugees’, offering users willing to open their home the chance to connect with refugees. Meanwhile, InfoAid, a multilingual app created by a Hungarian couple, provides users with access to travel information and practical advice – just one example of technology empowering citizens, since the Hungarian government’s stance has been less than welcoming.

Returning to Refugee Phones, the next step for Hamren and her team is to attract the attention of brand partners who can provide the scale they need to continue aiding connectivity. With a lot of older phone models resigned to the back shelves of warehouses, Refugee Phones believes they could be put to better use by being donated to the cause.

This solution could also be attractive for brands who may not otherwise have ventured into the politically shaky territory of a crisis that shows no signs of coming to an end anytime soon.

For Hamren, it’s simple. “In a sense this isn't political, this is about people. They are here, they're at our border and they're going through a horrible time – and we can help them. It's sad to let politics get in the way of helping people.” O’Hara agrees technology enables everyone – including brands – to participate positively.

“I believe every brand should use their skills and expertise to support others at least in some capacity. We all have a responsibility for each other and we have a duty to use the resources available to us to support our fellow human beings.”

Connectivity is what ties us to others – mobile communication is now arguably part of what makes us human.

As one Syrian refugee told Agence France Press upon arrival in the Greek island of Kos, “our phones and power banks are more important for our journey than anything, even more important than food.” Quite apart from technology as a connector, it can be a great leveller, too.

This feature was first published in The Drum's 13 January issue.

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