Diocesan News17 Nov 15

Change of Plan for Refugee Aid Mission

The declaration of a state of emergency in France, following Friday night’s terrorist attacks in Paris, prompted two Tyrone clergy to revise their plan to take a cargo of relief aid to a refugee camp in Calais.

Aid cargo being loaded by parishioners of Strabane and Sion Mills.

The Rev Mark Greenstreet and Rev Mark Lennox instead drove the aid cargo to a depot in London, over the weekend, from where it will be transported to Calais in the next few days.

More than 120 people were killed in Friday’s gun and grenade attacks which have been admitted by the terror group Islamic State (IS). The French interior ministry has since given local authorities the power to impose curfews if necessary and laid out increased security measures across the country.

The Tyrone clergymen were advised that, in light of the terrorist incidents and the ongoing state of emergency, it would be best not to travel directly to Calais. They sailed instead from Dublin to Holyhead on Saturday evening, then drove through the night to London, where the shipment was dropped off yesterday afternoon at a depot run by the relief agency CalAid.

The ministers have asked parishioners to pray for the people of France – especially those affected by Friday’s atrocities: “Let us pray for their government, and ours, as they strive to deal with the aftermath of these attacks.”

The two clergy had filled a transit van with clothing, bedding, books and foodstuffs donated by parishes in the Derry and Raphoe Diocese and by the wider community.