AS PART of National Refugee Week, an activist is set to make the trip to Calais to aid the refugee crisis in northern France.

Brighton-based Iara Kaiser, an activist and journalist, will be travelling to the continent with about 70 others as part of a delegation trip.

The attempt is to build solidarity with refugees currently based in the port city, and is an initiative by Care4Calais and Stand Up To Racism.

Before heading to France, Iara spoke about National Refugee Week and its importance in highlighting global issues and said: “I think it’s important to remind ourselves why this crisis happened in the first place, and that it is our responsibility to do what we can to alleviate the situation.

“We’ll be bringing over donations and as many activists as possible to cause awareness about the ongoing crisis which has been directly perpetuated by western interventions and wars in foreign countries.”

It will not be the first time the 25-year-old has made the trip to Calais. She first went in 2015 before returning the following year to film a documentary, raising awareness of the crisis.

She says that it was the things she saw in the Calais Jungle that spearheaded her passion for wanting to help. She added: “Seeing the lack of basic resources and hygiene, as well as the complete abandonment by our government and tear gassing of children and pregnant women horrified me. This new trip will be not only a chance to provide aid but also to see what has happened to the refugees who previously lived in the Jungle.”

Iara also believes that the process for asylum seekers to enter the UK must be changed and said: “Applying for asylum in both France and UK is a very tedious process and many applications get rejected. More than applications, these are human lives we’re talking about, lives that have been forgotten. We’re here to remind people.”

The aim for Iara and her band of fellow activists is simple. She added: “We hope to show solidarity and raise awareness. To remember that the refugees that were abandoned are still there, living in limbo. They haven’t gone anywhere because no government has accepted them.”

The journey to France is not the only trip the delegation will make this year, with various other journeys planned throughout the year. The hope amongst the group is that awareness will rise and that the situation will not be forgotten.