Michael de Petrovsky travelled to Calais earlier this month with crews of construction and aid workers from Jersey to build emergency shelters.
The pensioner was so touched by the plight of people living there that he has now given his seven-berth cruiser to volunteer aid worker Ghazi Najib, who will auction it to raise money to build hundreds of emergency shelters in the French port town.
The yacht, Contango, is well known in local racing circles.
Mr Najib, a glass division manager at Normans, who has played an integral role in organising aid trips to Calais in recent weeks, said he had been overwhelmed by Mr de Petrovsky’s generosity.
He added that the donation would set him on his way to the goal of building hundreds of emergency shelters in the Calais ‘Jungle’ camp.
‘I said I wanted to buy 45 shelters, which cost £1,400 each,’ he said.
‘They house up to 20 people and they are brilliant, but I needed a minimum of £50,000.
‘Michael called me and said he knew I was trying to raise the money, and said his yacht had been for sale for eight months and he just gave it to me, put it in my name and said, “Do something good”.’
Mr de Petrovsky is also willing to continue paying the boat’s £350 a month mooring fees until it is raffled.
‘The yacht is in top condition,’ he said, ‘and it will sleep up to seven people.’
But Mr Najib said that raising £50,000 for the first 45 shelters was just a start.
The Palestinian, who moved to Jersey more than 30 years ago, has written to the embassies of Saudi Arabia and Qatar to ask for donations and is trying to organise an interview with global news network al-Jazeera to plead with the Arabic world for support.
‘I am looking for £300,000 in total to build 250 shelters,’ he said.
‘I am going back in three weeks.
‘I am not greedy, but £50,000 is not enough.
‘We need to raise more.
‘I saw the kids out there and it is really beating me up.
‘I can’t sleep at night until I know we have helped. Calais is going to get really cold.’
During two trips this month builders and aid workers from Jersey have helped to build some of the first semi-permanent shelters in the camp with timber and materials donated by Normans.
Mr Najib said that Jersey’s work had not gone unnoticed and that the French government was now intending to construct some temporary shelters following the work carried out by Jersey volunteers.
‘It doesn’t matter where people come from, it doesn’t matter whether they are Muslims, Jews or Christians – they are brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers to somebody,’ Mr Najib, who is Muslim, added.
[figure caption=”Jersey Aero Club member Kat Tiefenthal got her pilot’s licence six years ago. She and other amateur pilots have to spend a certain number of hours flying each year either for training or to retain their licence.
When Kat read about the Jersey Calais Refugee Aid Group’s work in the JEP, she recognised that there was an opportunity for her to do her part to help.
‘I saw the story in the JEP and I thought that as Calais is not that far away I could help out by taking stuff over there, so I got in contact with Sophie,’ she said.
‘I have to do a certain amount of hours in the air each year, so I have to fly somewhere anyway.
‘Their (Bram and Sophie) next trip was not until 18 September, and the supplies needed to be taken as soon a possible – I told her we could do some flights much sooner.
‘There are about five or six pilots at the Aeroclub who would also be willing to do flights – they need to do their hours and are making flights anyway.’
Sophie Renouard set up JCRAG last month with her husband Bram, and has been making contacts ‘on the ground’ as the couple work to help provide relief to Calais.
They have formed links with organisations in France who are helping the migrants in the Jungle.
Sophie feels that the network that she and her husband have formed will now prove invaluable in providing a relief effort from Jersey.
She said: ‘The Jersey Calais Refugee Aid Group has made contacts on the ground and the best thing to do would be to channel donations through JCRAG.
‘People are being very kind – going through their attics and saying I could take that to Calais, but it needs to be co-ordinated.’
She pointed out that aid needed to be distributed carefully and the best people to do so were agencies already working in the areas such as Auberge des Migrants and Secours Catholique
Sophie also said she was overwhelmed by the generosity of the people of Jersey following JCRAG’s appeal and wanted the momentum to continue.
She said: ‘We need to raise funds so they can buy fuel for the winter and I want to keep up the good effort with donations of food. If people can provide food like canned sardines or tinned food, then we can give that to them. There is a list on our web page of the types of food that are needed.’” title=”10654964″ align=”center” url=”/?attachment_id=1510509″ id=”1510509″ size=”100″]
[figure caption=”Gasim from Darfur: ‘I left Darfur because of the war there. I want to move to any country where I can be safe. I came from Libya and went to Italy before I came to France.
I came by ship across the Mediterranean. I left my family behind and came on my own to Europe. It was too difficult to take my family with me. In Libya it is very dangerous because they have a war there also. And also the ship from Libya to Italy was very dangerous – I didn’t want to take my family with me on that. I spent 13 days on the sea getting to Italy.
‘I say ”thank you” to all the people from the UK, from Germany, from Belgium who have come to help us here. They have helped the people but we don’t need food or clothes anymore – we need insulation. When the winter comes it will get very cold and it will be very difficult for us here.
‘We want to continue our lives. We want to get papers to get in anywhere – the UK, Germany, France, any place. And we want to bring our family with us, so they can live with us.
‘I have been in Calais since October last year – so almost a year now. Back in Sudan I made shoes for ladies. If I could do that over here than I would.’” title=”10654974″ align=”center” url=”/?attachment_id=1510371″ id=”1510371″ size=”100″]
[figure caption=”Yousef from Kuwait: ‘I have been here six months in France and I am trying to reach the UK. Kuwait has no schools, no hospitals. No anything and no work. I like the UK – I think life will be good there.
‘From Kuwait I came straight to France – I didn’t come through Iraq. I paid $7,000 to get to France. It cost so much because I needed to get a passport to come here. I don’t know where the person I bought the passport from came from – maybe France, maybe Germany.
‘My father is in England and my sister and mother are back in Kuwait. It was too much money to bring them here.
‘I just need to go to England because it is so good – the schools and hospitals.
I don’t know what I will do when I get there. I did not have a job in Kuwait. I would like to work in England. Maybe the people from Kuwait could drive or work in shops when they get to England.’” title=”10654980″ align=”center” url=”/?attachment_id=1510377″ id=”1510377″ size=”100″]
[figure caption=”Jambo from Eritrea: ‘I left Eritrea because it has no freedom and because of the fighting. Every day people are dying.
‘I want to go to England because I want my family to live in Manchester. My mother says she wants to live in England.
‘I came to France from Eritrea illegally. I paid money to a smuggler in Libya to take me across the Mediterranean.
‘It cost me 6,000 euros for each of my family to come here. When I get to England I want there to be no problems for my family.
‘We won’t have any problems with eating. England is the best because of the freedom.’” title=”10654992″ align=”center” url=”/?attachment_id=1510385″ id=”1510385″ size=”100″]
