Your fear is frightening me.

When I made the decision a few weeks ago that as soon as I finished my Degree I was going to get on a plane to fly to the other side of the planet to volunteer in a refugee camp in Calais, my biggest fear was making the flight.

I wasn’t afraid of what people might think. I wasn’t afraid of going alone. I wasn’t afraid of whether or not I would be able to handle it. I wasn’t afraid of the refugees. And I’m still not.

But curiously, it seems everyone is afraid for me. Take last week for instance. It was early morning, I was at the local swimming pool having just completed an early morning hour swim. I was in the ladies changing rooms, having just left the shower, chatting to a lady I know there about my plans. An English woman overhead our conversation and interrupted — “Aren’t you afraid for your safety?!” Puzzled I told her no, and asked why… “I’ve just got back from the UK you know” she said… “they’re being overrun over there. I don’t know what they’re going to do with all these people, it’s a terrible tragedy” she mused. I pressed her as to why she would be worried about my safety. She finally said “well THOSE people in Calais aren’t Syrians, they’re from Africa. They’re not the refugees we hear about on the news you know, they’re violent… aren’t you worried about that?!”

Her voice was laced with hysteria; she seemed genuinely fearful for me. She spoke with such CERTAINTY about her knowledge of THOSE refugees in Calais. I asked her where she’d gotten her information about Calais. She said “Oh it’s all over the news in the UK you know, such a terrible state of affairs…”, she paused and then said “I feel as though I want to mother you, you be careful over there wont you?”

Just a couple of days ago I had another conversation online with a person who (with full confidence) proceeded to inform me about all the “economic migrants” in Calais, and how they are also somehow different to the Syrian or Kosovo refugees, and how apparently once I am in Calais I will “see for myself”. This person has never been to Calais, has never met a refugee from Calais. I also asked where they got their information and again they referred to the UK news. They also spoke with an air of hysteria about “being overrun” by refugees. I pressed this person to think about WHY the UK media might have a certain vested interest in reporting about Calais from a certain political perspective and pointed out some figures that clearly showed that the UK was not at risk of being overrun but it wasn’t enough to assuage their panic nor convince them that their view had little basis in fact. They seemed overly concerned for me, that I was going to support people who didn’t deserve support, that Syrians were the only “real” refugees, and that my desire to work in the camp in Calais was nothing but a naive and misguided waste of time.

Now, I am two weeks away from embarking on this journey and I have to say, I am still unafraid of the refugees. I am still unafraid of going alone. I am still unafraid of all the things I was unafraid of previously, but what I am afraid of is the people who seem to be afraid for me.

Your fear is not based in fact. It is not based in evidence. It is not based in first hand experience. It is not based in reality. It is based only on the power of suggestion from a ruthless media and political machine, designed to train you in cognitive dissonance, solidifying your own confirmation bias and xenophobia. I look forward to being on the ground and being able to uncover the truth.

In two weeks I leave for Calais. The only thing that I am afraid of now is that I will prove that your fears are unfounded and are the basis for denying refuge to people who are exercising their rights under international law to claim it. Your fear is what is truly frightening to me.