I’m so hello everybody the first time I
sat down to write this speech the first
thing I thought about the first thing I
wanted to tell you was the people I’ve
met over the past two years in refugee
camps and housing centers here in Paris
I wanted to tell you their stories
explain why they came here and why they
want to stay like other members of the
student associations transport future
help I wanted to tell you about them so
that you could feel closer to them
commiserate with them I wanted to erode
the administrative terms that separate
us for the person we forget inside
forget the refugees the asylum seekers
the migrants the invaders I wanted you
to meet Abdul Achmed fasulo asan Jan
Mohammad but perhaps most of you have
already heard such stories reports of
dire conditions articles filled with
inspiring example of how against all
odds individual can remain strong
dignified human you see refugees sits at
the very intersection of the 21st
century greatest challenges they flee
the authoritarian regime require ly
supports the in fair impact of
globalization and increasingly the
effects of climate change
they are then confronted with racism
xenophobia our growing retreats towards
is the lation ism and it’s easy to feel
weak in the face of these big words it’s
easy to feel insignificance perhaps now
more than ever too often it’s easy to
feel powerless but tonight I want to
talk to you about the simple things
because nowhere is for the complicated
I have 12 page reading lists I want to
talk to you about these simple things
that you can all do so I will tell you
something different I will tell you my
story
18 months worth of anecdotal experience
I suppose this whole process should
start with me now actually introducing
myself as you heard my name is Clemens
most people call me Clemmy because it’s
easier to pronounce especially if you’re
not French I also go by other names and
in the refugee camps where I volunteered
Jerez gmap sterling had al flan de la
Chapelle I was granted all kinds of
nicknames and for me the demonstrates
just how funny these guys can be my
favorite one is to toot yes it’s a
klaxon sounds and it was bestowed upon
me because it’s what I say to fight my
way through the camps as you may have
noticed I am NOT the tallest person the
first time I went to a refugee camp in
Paris my reaction was in no way original
I was speechless I was horrified I could
not imagine that in France the country
where I had grown up and I feel lucky to
call home
people could be left with so little here
suddenly I saw thousands of people
handling order blankets in the streets I
saw scabies tuberculosis chickenpox PTSD
I saw miners being children basically
being told that they look too old to be
put in a hotel room just for one night
and I even see pregnant woman were
almost giving birth on the sidewalk you
may not wonder sorry I lost my way
I’m so sorry yeah sorry as your usual
white person in a developed Western
countries I had almost blind faith in
democracy and human rights and I think
the world as it is today forces us to
challenge these beliefs don’t get me
wrong it’s not necessarily a bad thing
but seeing your values shaken to their
very core is definitely an ordeal and I
think Johnsbury future help was a huge
trigger and the biggest part of this
process for me luckily it is also what
validated my choice to be somehow a part
of this struggle spending nights outside
distributing rescue blankets and socks
making 200 sandwiches with halal
sausages and harissa on a public bench
welcoming those pregnant woman on my
sofa bed even if my communication skills
and theirs were limited to our adjoin
cooking ventures I am now very proud to
tell you I can still say maja and Millie
in Arabic which means salt in water I
promise we cooked more than that you may
not wonder what exactly is this Jospeh
refugee help things she’s talking about
since the beginning well let me explain
transport a few G help started with a
Facebook post on a student group someone
asked if anyone else had noticed a tense
by the Australia’s bridge and wanted to
bring food or blankets or clothes or
whatever people could as you may Matt
Jane
disposed went as viral as one can go in
a closed student groups in in a matter
of hours we had thousands of comments in
a matter of days
hundreds of posts a nurse dedicated
student group
in a matter of week were then recognized
1901 lo association in Paris with
thousands of like on our Facebook page
and over 150 active members by November
our fundraising team a fundraising
campaign had raised over ten thousand
euros allowing us to buy blankets
sleeping bags tents sweater pants
hygiene kits school supplies we
distributed guide on how to apply for
asylum vocabulary sheets we perform
translation and we networked with other
civilian associations NGOs and
institutions alike for better
cooperation and ground coordination
transport Fujii help is now subdivided
now composed of five teams each
subdivided into smaller groups because
we’re a bit of efficiency Crips our
material needs team for example has a
team just to take care of the storage
room where we take inventories and sort
stuff so that our everyday distribution
can be facilitated we have one team who
organizes a fundraising concert each
semester bits across borders which is
next Thursday
so if you haven’t taken your ticket yet
please do it’s awesome every time and
also it rakes in thousands of heroes
which inspirational language is
thousands of Metro tickets and hundreds
of pair of shoes in our asylum aid
branch teams are responsible for life
and long-distance translation legal aid
and evidence gathering on the Dublin
system we have our French lessons team
which are dedicating hours thousands of
hours to teaching and the volunteers of
social activities
can tell you all the coolest anecdotes
about Paris and even the rules of a
cricket game which is believe me not
easy at all and those are just example
after type of my head this what I’ve
just told you it’s what I like to call
the fairy tales of shots / fu G help and
yet like old fairy tale there are secret
struggles nothing is always as easy as
it sounds
often we questions ourselves we made
mistakes big ones we found ourselves
over nights obligated to master judicial
procedures memorize complex asylum
processes become well-versed in an
entire body of law we had to learn on
the go power dynamics not only between
different nationalities but also in
country ethnicities most importantly we
had to unlearn our perception of needs
we realized that the things we take for
granted in our everyday life we’re
actually what those we were trying to
help missed the most these basic things
that are actually a great privilege the
privilege of being angry at the rain
because you forgot your umbrella and you
have to be outside for 10 minutes
instead of all nights the privilege of
debating what you will eat and not if
you will eat at all the privilege to
complain about how often you have
laundry to do instead of if you can do
laundry or wear the same clothes for
weeks on end this is something we all
know deep down inside because we live in
a world where the misery of others is
constantly placed before our eyes in our
Twitter feed Facebook feed
newspaper TV channels trying to make us
feel guilty and only generating fatigue
I believe what we miss is that small
voice inside who says yes you can help
it’s actually easy and tonight I’d like
to be that small voice for you so let me
show you just how easy it can be raise
your hand if the answer to the following
question is yes do you have a washing
machine nationality do you have a car Oh
quite less do you have a printer do you
have a brother father uncle with spare
clothes that he can gives or shoes do
you have like capacity to make a photo
collage
do you speak pesto Fozzie dari indi and
if you never raise your hands and the
answer to all of the above is no don’t
worry you not have to hook just yet
because actually those are only the
extra criteria we’re looking for the
truth is if you only have two hours a
week Michelle Obama’s harm or just
regular pairs of harm to carry donation
bags if you only have a smile and I
believe we all have a smile to give then
already you’re not weak or insignificant
or powerless and on top of that you’re
not alone anymore although we are all
running around doing different things
did I say there’s a lot of running
around there’s a lot of running around a
spirit it’s just brief you to help is
the best diet ever what we all have in
common is that we’re doing what we can
because we choose that we could I didn’t
change the world none of us do
and none of us will ever likely will
although we still hope but the first
time I gave this talk it was the day
after the first refugee I’ve ever met
Abdul just told me he received his
refugee status and we had helped into
that this is a small victory but a
victory that changes something and for
HAP do it’s changed his whole life it’s
like giving a new pair of shoes making
sure an application an asylum
application is properly translated it’s
like visiting a museum to better
understand French culture
ladies it’s like having hydrogen pads
which you might be – amber asked to ask
the person you’re traveling with our
ahaab is that by adding up these small
victories this nights spent out of the
cold these cases where health care and
social rights were made accessible
detects sent to us by those we couldn’t
write Bonjour
correctly a few months ago then we’re
making the world a slightly better place
above all it’s all to show people like
you gathered here tonight that you can
tell yourselves as small as it made
sense in the grand scheme of things I
can make a difference you can make a
difference for the next Abdul Hamid face
Allah Muhammad Chan so let’s do it
thank you very much
you
sat down to write this speech the first
thing I thought about the first thing I
wanted to tell you was the people I’ve
met over the past two years in refugee
camps and housing centers here in Paris
I wanted to tell you their stories
explain why they came here and why they
want to stay like other members of the
student associations transport future
help I wanted to tell you about them so
that you could feel closer to them
commiserate with them I wanted to erode
the administrative terms that separate
us for the person we forget inside
forget the refugees the asylum seekers
the migrants the invaders I wanted you
to meet Abdul Achmed fasulo asan Jan
Mohammad but perhaps most of you have
already heard such stories reports of
dire conditions articles filled with
inspiring example of how against all
odds individual can remain strong
dignified human you see refugees sits at
the very intersection of the 21st
century greatest challenges they flee
the authoritarian regime require ly
supports the in fair impact of
globalization and increasingly the
effects of climate change
they are then confronted with racism
xenophobia our growing retreats towards
is the lation ism and it’s easy to feel
weak in the face of these big words it’s
easy to feel insignificance perhaps now
more than ever too often it’s easy to
feel powerless but tonight I want to
talk to you about the simple things
because nowhere is for the complicated
I have 12 page reading lists I want to
talk to you about these simple things
that you can all do so I will tell you
something different I will tell you my
story
18 months worth of anecdotal experience
I suppose this whole process should
start with me now actually introducing
myself as you heard my name is Clemens
most people call me Clemmy because it’s
easier to pronounce especially if you’re
not French I also go by other names and
in the refugee camps where I volunteered
Jerez gmap sterling had al flan de la
Chapelle I was granted all kinds of
nicknames and for me the demonstrates
just how funny these guys can be my
favorite one is to toot yes it’s a
klaxon sounds and it was bestowed upon
me because it’s what I say to fight my
way through the camps as you may have
noticed I am NOT the tallest person the
first time I went to a refugee camp in
Paris my reaction was in no way original
I was speechless I was horrified I could
not imagine that in France the country
where I had grown up and I feel lucky to
call home
people could be left with so little here
suddenly I saw thousands of people
handling order blankets in the streets I
saw scabies tuberculosis chickenpox PTSD
I saw miners being children basically
being told that they look too old to be
put in a hotel room just for one night
and I even see pregnant woman were
almost giving birth on the sidewalk you
may not wonder sorry I lost my way
I’m so sorry yeah sorry as your usual
white person in a developed Western
countries I had almost blind faith in
democracy and human rights and I think
the world as it is today forces us to
challenge these beliefs don’t get me
wrong it’s not necessarily a bad thing
but seeing your values shaken to their
very core is definitely an ordeal and I
think Johnsbury future help was a huge
trigger and the biggest part of this
process for me luckily it is also what
validated my choice to be somehow a part
of this struggle spending nights outside
distributing rescue blankets and socks
making 200 sandwiches with halal
sausages and harissa on a public bench
welcoming those pregnant woman on my
sofa bed even if my communication skills
and theirs were limited to our adjoin
cooking ventures I am now very proud to
tell you I can still say maja and Millie
in Arabic which means salt in water I
promise we cooked more than that you may
not wonder what exactly is this Jospeh
refugee help things she’s talking about
since the beginning well let me explain
transport a few G help started with a
Facebook post on a student group someone
asked if anyone else had noticed a tense
by the Australia’s bridge and wanted to
bring food or blankets or clothes or
whatever people could as you may Matt
Jane
disposed went as viral as one can go in
a closed student groups in in a matter
of hours we had thousands of comments in
a matter of days
hundreds of posts a nurse dedicated
student group
in a matter of week were then recognized
1901 lo association in Paris with
thousands of like on our Facebook page
and over 150 active members by November
our fundraising team a fundraising
campaign had raised over ten thousand
euros allowing us to buy blankets
sleeping bags tents sweater pants
hygiene kits school supplies we
distributed guide on how to apply for
asylum vocabulary sheets we perform
translation and we networked with other
civilian associations NGOs and
institutions alike for better
cooperation and ground coordination
transport Fujii help is now subdivided
now composed of five teams each
subdivided into smaller groups because
we’re a bit of efficiency Crips our
material needs team for example has a
team just to take care of the storage
room where we take inventories and sort
stuff so that our everyday distribution
can be facilitated we have one team who
organizes a fundraising concert each
semester bits across borders which is
next Thursday
so if you haven’t taken your ticket yet
please do it’s awesome every time and
also it rakes in thousands of heroes
which inspirational language is
thousands of Metro tickets and hundreds
of pair of shoes in our asylum aid
branch teams are responsible for life
and long-distance translation legal aid
and evidence gathering on the Dublin
system we have our French lessons team
which are dedicating hours thousands of
hours to teaching and the volunteers of
social activities
can tell you all the coolest anecdotes
about Paris and even the rules of a
cricket game which is believe me not
easy at all and those are just example
after type of my head this what I’ve
just told you it’s what I like to call
the fairy tales of shots / fu G help and
yet like old fairy tale there are secret
struggles nothing is always as easy as
it sounds
often we questions ourselves we made
mistakes big ones we found ourselves
over nights obligated to master judicial
procedures memorize complex asylum
processes become well-versed in an
entire body of law we had to learn on
the go power dynamics not only between
different nationalities but also in
country ethnicities most importantly we
had to unlearn our perception of needs
we realized that the things we take for
granted in our everyday life we’re
actually what those we were trying to
help missed the most these basic things
that are actually a great privilege the
privilege of being angry at the rain
because you forgot your umbrella and you
have to be outside for 10 minutes
instead of all nights the privilege of
debating what you will eat and not if
you will eat at all the privilege to
complain about how often you have
laundry to do instead of if you can do
laundry or wear the same clothes for
weeks on end this is something we all
know deep down inside because we live in
a world where the misery of others is
constantly placed before our eyes in our
Twitter feed Facebook feed
newspaper TV channels trying to make us
feel guilty and only generating fatigue
I believe what we miss is that small
voice inside who says yes you can help
it’s actually easy and tonight I’d like
to be that small voice for you so let me
show you just how easy it can be raise
your hand if the answer to the following
question is yes do you have a washing
machine nationality do you have a car Oh
quite less do you have a printer do you
have a brother father uncle with spare
clothes that he can gives or shoes do
you have like capacity to make a photo
collage
do you speak pesto Fozzie dari indi and
if you never raise your hands and the
answer to all of the above is no don’t
worry you not have to hook just yet
because actually those are only the
extra criteria we’re looking for the
truth is if you only have two hours a
week Michelle Obama’s harm or just
regular pairs of harm to carry donation
bags if you only have a smile and I
believe we all have a smile to give then
already you’re not weak or insignificant
or powerless and on top of that you’re
not alone anymore although we are all
running around doing different things
did I say there’s a lot of running
around there’s a lot of running around a
spirit it’s just brief you to help is
the best diet ever what we all have in
common is that we’re doing what we can
because we choose that we could I didn’t
change the world none of us do
and none of us will ever likely will
although we still hope but the first
time I gave this talk it was the day
after the first refugee I’ve ever met
Abdul just told me he received his
refugee status and we had helped into
that this is a small victory but a
victory that changes something and for
HAP do it’s changed his whole life it’s
like giving a new pair of shoes making
sure an application an asylum
application is properly translated it’s
like visiting a museum to better
understand French culture
ladies it’s like having hydrogen pads
which you might be – amber asked to ask
the person you’re traveling with our
ahaab is that by adding up these small
victories this nights spent out of the
cold these cases where health care and
social rights were made accessible
detects sent to us by those we couldn’t
write Bonjour
correctly a few months ago then we’re
making the world a slightly better place
above all it’s all to show people like
you gathered here tonight that you can
tell yourselves as small as it made
sense in the grand scheme of things I
can make a difference you can make a
difference for the next Abdul Hamid face
Allah Muhammad Chan so let’s do it
thank you very much
you
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