Refugee Info Bus is a humanitarian project by a group of volunteers who offer internet access, legal assistance and technological help to migrants at refugee camps in Calais and Greece.
A van operated by a group of volunteers travels to refugee camps in France and Greece to bring internet access, legal assistance and technological aid to migrants so they can learn their rights and have useful tools to organize their future. The project called Refugee Info Bus is organized to give useful help to asylum seekers in Europe amid the refugee crisis.
A van in Calais for internet and assistance
The project's organizers said on their website that, ''in this new era of global ideas and mass migration, information is key. In response to the refugee crisis in Europe, the Refugee Info Bus is a mobile and adaptable on the ground project providing internet access, legal rights education and empowerment through technology''. The project started at the makeshift refugee camp known as the 'jungle' in Calais, to bring assistance through a converted horse trailer. ''One of the most powerful tools for a displaced person is a free whatsapp call home, it is google translate, downloadable maps, legal rights information'', said organizers.
Volunteers also give migrants information on their rights through leaflets, ''so that displaced persons can take control of their own future''. Refugee Info Bus also encourages refugees to report on what they experience and see at refugee camps.
From France to Greece to give hope
After the experience in Calais, Info Bus activated a new service for migrants in Greece. Activists published on their social pages reports and photos from refugee camps to try to raise public awareness in Europe on the plight of migrants.''The Info Bus is a space to talk about what's been left behind in the past, the issues dominating the present, and hopes for the future'', organizers wrote on Facebook. ''A space to practice language and bring people closer together. A space in which to contact family, wherever they may be, and let them know you're ok. A space just to sit in the middle of another long day''.