TWO scientists from the Royal Blackburn Hospital will this weekend make a second trip to northern France to deliver aid to refugees living in camps in Calais and Dunkirk.

Pathology Associate Practitioner Saj Ull-Din from Pendle and Biomedical Scientist Azim Mirza from Blackburn are part of the ‘Convoy to Calais’ organised by Drive for Justice.

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And thanks to the generosity of their colleagues at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, Saj and Azim were able to deliver 53 bags of clothes, 266 items of food and 333 hygiene packs on their first trip to France at the end of September.

Saj said: “We have all seen the situation in ‘The Jungle’ in Calais and other refugee camps across Europe in the media recently, we have all read descriptions of the dire conditions people are living in.”

“So we launched an appeal to staff working in the laboratory at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, as well as friends and family. What happened next we never expected!”

In addition to food, clothes and hygiene items such as tissues, sanitary towels and toothbrushes, many hospital staff donated money which raised a further £712 for Saj and Azim’s Convoy to Calais.

“Thank you to everyone who donated, especially hospital laboratory staff who donated the majority,” added Saj.

Saj and Azim’s first journey to France took an unexpected twist when their route changed at the last minute and they were diverted to a refugee camp in Dunkirk where families with children were living.

Saj said: “The desperation of the people living in this camp was clear. What was humbling was the fact that the refugees only asked for what they needed and then left us alone; they were not selfish and recognised the fact that our limited aid had to be distributed evenly.”

Saj and Azim have been busy buying footwear and gas stoves/bottles with the remaining cash donations and are making a second Convoy To Calais from 23-25 October.

Azim said: “Both of us have seen such conditions before in other countries thousands of miles away.

“But the fact remains that we have one very close, on our own doorstep, and it’s important to understand these people are humans and require the same respect we all expect.”