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Last time Mez was on a boat was pretty different. Last time he was with 600 other people crossing the Mediterranean Sea from Libya to Italy. He told me that everyone was praying as they got on, in the middle of the night, and continued to do so for the 12 hours that they were packed onto the tiny boat, squeezed in way too full and so precariously balanced, no one could move. Around midday the next day they saw a HUGE Italian coastguard ship. As people jumped and moved to catch the attention of the ship, their own boat cracked and splintered under the weight and everybody started to fall into the water. No one could swim and Mez says they held on to each other, or bits of wood from the boat, thinking they were going to die. They were lucky. Little speed boats pulled everyone from the water and on to the coastguard ship, where Mez says the Italians gave him a blanket and some biscuits. He hadn't eaten for 15 days. This time round he was on a family holiday and driving our boat with his captains hat on. I'm bloody proud of you my little bro for being brave, not letting your past define you, looking to the future and embracing every moment ❤️ (at Goytre Wharf)

It's the end of Mez's first holiday! We spent it in Wales as we're still waiting for his travel papers but I can't wait for him to go on a plane for the first time!!! Here he is being captain of our barge - 7 people on one boat...preeeetty cosy. It's been an amazing week, not just in Wales but for the Jungle as we have all been celebrating a victory for the shops and restaurants not being demolished ☺️💪🏽❤️✌🏽️we'll be back in the camp this week! ❤️ (at Brecon Beacons)

We love you Noor! 💪🏽❤️ (at Izmir / Kordon Alsancak)

MORE GREAT NEWS...Noor has a new ELECTRIC wheelchair! When I was in Turkey last week, my heart was repeatedly breaking as I pushed Noor around the city in her wheelchair. As if it wasn't bad enough that her beautiful little body was in pain, and not working for her as a result of a bomb hitting her university in Syria...but the wheelchair she had was huge and bulky and broken. One of the footrests was missing so she had to constantly lift one leg across the other to stop her foot from dragging on the floor and under the wheels. It must have been so uncomfortable for her but she didn't complain once, she just kept gently asking me to stop so she could rearrange her legs again, and every time she did, I felt a pang injustice for her. ANYWAY this week tribe members Kelli Scott and Ece Gülşen worked together to get Noor this much better chair. Not only is it more comfortable, but the fact that it's electric gives Noor her freedom back. Up until now she has had to rely on family and friends to push her around, but now, strong, determined Noor has some independence back. I can't even tell you guys how amazing Noor is, I know that if she ever makes it to the UK, all my guy friends will fall in love with her haha. I've never met someone more inspiring, positive and optimistic about the future. Noor needs medical attention and an operation for her to be able to walk again. We're fundraising for her here: www.youcaring.com/noor-oghlo-592524 (at İzmir, Turkey)

BREAKING NEWS I can’t believe it….WE WON! In a true David and Goliath moment, the court has ruled against the authorities’ plan to demolish the restaurants and shops of the Calais Jungle!!! The judge rejected the request on the following counts: 1. These places of commerce have existed since April 2015 2. The lack of authorization and sanitation are worries for all shelters, schools, places of worship etc… there should be no differentiation for the shops and restaurants 3. The places of business serve other important functions – they are places to meet, to charge phones and to accommodate new arrivals. 4. Destroying these places would aggravate tensions, endanger the wellbeing of residents and degrade their living conditions even further 5. The judge also took on board the long lines for government run services and the rising tensions due to them YES!!!!! These are the points we have been hammering home for weeks! I’ve been sitting here nervously, waiting for the result all morning, scared that history would repeat itself and we would again be bitterly disappointed and shocked, like the moment we heard that the court had ruled to go ahead with the demolition of the southern side of the camp a few months ago. This is a small moment of victory in an on-going struggle for dignity, justice and equality for our friends in the camp, but one that we are savouring. THANK YOU to everyone for joining us on this battle…over 100,000 signatures on the petition is truly amazing! We can now continue to support the amazing Kids Café which provides free food for the hundreds of under 18’s in the camp. 💪🏽❤️☺️👏 (at Calais Jungle)

Where is Fatima now? Which country? Which camp? This was painted on the wall of the amazing school we support in Greece. I've got so many stories about the people living in the camp here and the kids who now go to this school. Heartbreaking stories. I'm still processing them...working out the best way to tell them, to do justice to the trauma and the bravery of the people who told them to me. They're coming...bear with me and I'll tell you about Fatima ❤️ (at Inofita)

My worldwide family ❤️ I'm going to sleep tonight grateful to be part of a global family, all here, on this world, looking out for each other ❤️ (well that's how it is in my reality anyway ☺️☺️☺️) (at İzmir, Turkey)

SAVE THE RESTAURANTS: COURT CASE UPDATE Yesterday many of our friends and restaurant owners from the Calais Jungle went to court to fight for their businesses. One of them is Samir, owner of Welcome restaurant, the place our team always heads to the minute we enter the camp. Wallhangings and flags decorate the walls and the vibe is welcoming and friendly to everyone, of every nationality. We often find ourselves sitting around the table, on mismatched chairs, eating with friends from all over the world, refugees, volunteers, everybody together. I published his testament for the court case in my last post. Last time we were in the camp, Samir proudly showed us some decking he was building out the back, overlooking the lake. Samir is an entrepreneur, a positive and inspiring example of someone making the best out of the difficult hand he has been dealt. A few weeks ago police raided his restaurant. They smashed his TV and took all his food, they poured his oil on the floor and pulled his Afghan flag from the wall, they even smashed his eggs. Yesterday the French Government went to court to argue that the food provided in restaurants like Welcome Restaurant is unsanitary and that the owners do not pay taxes or comply to heath and safety measures. These reasons would be laughable if they were not so heartbreakingly unjust. Whilst the Calais Jungle remains to be recognised as an official refugee camp, the government provides no electricity, no medical care, no official registration and very little else. The entire camp, in it’s very nature, is a breach of human rights let alone health and safety. How can people pay taxes when their entire existence is deemed as ‘illegal?’ We will hear the verdict of the court case on Tomorrow. Whatever happens, will continue to fight for the dignity of our friends in the camp, and refuse to sit back and watch as the authorities repeatedly attempt to demolish not just what little refugees have and own, but also their human spirit. (at Calais Jungle)

“The restaurants are important for the people for many reasons. Before, when the restaurants were open, people were coming here to eat, for the food, for gathering, to charge their phones, and watching television, talking to each other with friends. These are very important things. Another thing is it is a safe place as well, because sometimes outside, if there is any fighting the people they come in to save themselves. And the second thing is about the shops. When the shops were open, the people who need any of the necessary things, they take the things from the shops so easily. So phone cards, the calling cards, the necessary stuff, any stuff. Now, it is difficult for people, because the people are going to the supermarkets in Calais centre. So there, in the supermarket, the security men are asking for the ID. So some people, they are going to have trouble there. This is too bad for the French people, and for the refugees as well. It’s a big problem. And the third problem is the shower. When the hairdressers were open, the people were going there to cut their hair and take a shower there. It’s easy, and there’s a clean shower there. And now the hairdressers and shops are closed, so people are going to wait in a long huge queue. They have to wait for two hours, three hours there, and then later there is not enough water to take a shower there, so that’s a big problem. And so the next problem is for their food, at the distribution centres, there is not enough food. Before, some people were eating in restaurants, now all the people are going to the distribution centres to take their food there, but there’s not enough food for the people. That’s one thing. And the second thing is the people are waiting a lot. Two hours, three hours to take the food there. The food is not enough, and the people get angry and they are fighting because there is a lot of people here. Different communities of people who can’t understand each other, that’s the problem. That’s why everyone wants to open the restaurants and the shops. They are really important for everyone.” - Samir for Afghanistan’s testament for yesterday's court hearing to save his restaurant (pictured) (at Calais Jungle)

SAVE THE RESTAURANTS! Today is a big day for the future of the Calais Jungle. Over the last couple of weeks, the restaurants and shops in the camp have been closed following traumatic raids by police, confiscating all food and water and arresting ‘business’ owners. Today is the court case in Lille to attempt to save the shops and restaurants from the imminent eviction and bulldozing they face in the next 48 hours. This is devastating for the entire population of the camp for many reasons. Firstly the shops and restaurants provide safe, communal spaces for people to eat, socialize, drink tea, charge their phones, and spend some time away from the tents / shelters in which they live. Abdul from Afghanistan, who runs Welcome Restaurant, explained, “I can help the people. The Sudanese people lost their homes in a fire. I open the restaurant and they are sleeping in here for one week.” The restaurants are open to all. Even those who don’t have money are welcome to eat and use the electricity. Without these shops and restaurants, everyone in the camp is reliant on donated food. This goes against the entrepreneurial, resourceful nature of the people in the camp, forcing them to wait in line for hours to receive hand-outs. With many people in Europe so worried about refugees coming to their countries and ‘taking benefits etc’, it seems crazy to force them into this position when they are trying and succeeding in being self-sustaining. Not only this, the queue for food distributions take hours, dehumanising people and forcing them into an undignified situation. There is not enough food for everyone and this can cause desperate, hungry people to argue. This is the same story for the showers…hours and hours of queuing and not enough hot water. Entrepreneurial residents have started hairdressers and ‘hammams’ where people can wash. They too have been forced to close. Some of the restaurants even have TV’s, they play music, they provide some sense of normality, of dignity, of choice, fun, laughter and community. Who is anyone to strip that away… again. For more info and to sign the petition to stop the demolition, go to our facebook page ❤️✌🏽️ (at Calais Jungle)

Good morning from the camps around Izmir in Turkey, where many Syrians live and work illegally picking fruit for months at a time in then hot sun, often only to not get paid at the end of the season. They don't have a choice. And this vulnerability is taken advantage of by the farmers who essentially use Syrian slaves to pick their tomatoes... I'll post more on this as have many pictures of the farms ❤️ (at İzmir, Turkey)

Earlier I posted about 18-year-old Syrian Refugee Yusra Mardini's swimming victory in this year's Olympics in Rio. Now I wanna celebrate a 21-year-old Olympic runner, Samia Omar, who will not be competing this year, as she died in the Mediterranean Sea. Samia fled her home town in Somalia after increasing control of a militant Islamic group al-Shebaab meant that any leisure activities such as sports were banned and she was not even able to wear sports clothing. She lived in a refugee camp for a while before fleeing her country all together in the hope of continuing training and pursuing her ambition of competing in the Summer Olympics. With the dream to find a coach in Europe set firmly in her mind, she paid smugglers and boarded an overcrowded, dangerous boat to cross the sea from Libya to Italy. The boat soon ran out of petrol and drifted for hours out in the open water, until an Italian rescue ship finally found it. In desperation and fear, the 70 refugees on board rushed to grab the ropes thrown down to them from the ship. In the chaos, many people, most unable to swim, fell into the water...including Samia. She treaded water for as long as her slim little body would allow her, before succumbing to the sea, slipping silently below the waves. She was 21 years old, with so much ahead of her, but she was never seen alive again. This post is to Samia and her courage, strength, and determination to keep going. Let her be an inspiration to all of us to never give up, to follow your dreams, and to fight for equal opportunity for all. <3 Please share this story and message of solidarity for all those still risking their lives crossing the Mediterranean sea in a desperate bid to find safety. To donate to our own search and rescue efforts follow the link in my bio ☺️☺️☺️

UPDATE ON YUSRA! This year's Olympics has a very special team. This team has no home, no flag, no national anthem and no country. This amazing team represents the millions of people forced to flee their homes, and the magnitude of the current refugee crisis. On this refugee team is 18-year-old Yusra Mardini, a beautiful Syrian girl we have written about before. Her story is incredible. After fleeing Damascus when her home was destroyed in the ongoing conflict, her and her family travelled through Lebanon and on to Turkey, where they decided to risk the dangerous sea crossing to Greece in a rubber dinghy. It was on this crossing that the unsafe boat began to fill with water and it became clear that they were sinking. "I thought it would be a real shame if I drowned in the sea, because I am a swimmer," she now explains, so her and her sister jumped into the water, tied a rope to their wrists and began to pull the boat whilst kicking with their legs. Incredibly, they swan for three hours, finally bringing the boat to safety on the shore of Lesvos, saving the lives of 20 people. On Saturday, Yusra won the opening heat of the 100m butterfly at the Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil. Yusra's story is proof to us all that despite adversity, trauma and pain, there is no end to the strength of the human spirit. She demonstrates to each and every one of us to never give up, to follow your dreams, and that anything is possible. (at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

URGENT: The unaccompanied children living in the Calais Jungle need our help! On Wednesday 4th August, the restaurants in the Calais Jungle were served an eviction notice. The French Authorities plan to demolish all ‘businesses’ in the camp on 10th August, this Wednesday coming. This includes the Kids Cafe, which is NOT a business, but provides English and French classes, asylum advice and over 200 warm, FREE meals a day for the hundreds of unaccompanied minors living in the camp. There are 608 unaccompanied children currently living in the camp, the youngest, just 7 years old. The Kids Cafe has provided a safe, welcoming space to register and keep track of these kids, and most importantly, given them somewhere to call home. Entirely run on donations, the Kids Cafe, set up by British volunteer Mary, and Afghan refugee Sikander, allows children to eat, watch TV, play pool, play games and hang out in the evening in a safe environment, where volunteers can keep an eye on them. This is VITAL after the shocking news that 129 minors went missing from the Calais Jungle during the Southern eviction a few months ago. All Establishments of the Calais Jungle that feed the residents now face closure and demolition following the last two weeks of intrusive and demoralising raids, where all food was seized and disposed of by a 150-strong police presence, during which the police even scooped rice which was about to be served, from the pans and into bin bags. They even confiscated bottles of water and subsequently began to drink them. This picture was taken moments before the Cafe was raided and Sikander was arrested and taken away in a police van...all for distributing free food to hungry children. Surely the authorities should be providing food, water and security to child victims and survivors of war, rather than taking it away? We can not POSSIBLY stand back and allow the Jungle to become an even MORE unsafe place for children to be. Mary and Sikander are in the midst of a legal battle to save the Cafe from its imminent demolition. To sign the petition, find the link on our Facebook page, and to donate follow the link in my (at Calais Jungle)

One year on and I'm feeling emotional. It's been a rollercoaster of a year but I've learnt that you don't appreciate the ups until you've experienced the downs. The highs are even higher when you've felt those lows and the good times even sweeter, the details more beautiful, when you've seen the darkness. But we've got through it together, by supporting one another. One love. One Tribe. The Worldwide Tribe - of which you are all a part of. I want everyone to know that as we move into year two, we will continue to fight harder than ever to spread awareness, support people in camps, connect people, fundraise, rescue people at sea, provide food, clothing and shelter, offer friendship, radiate love, laugh and tell the stories of those whose voices go unheard in the hope of a more equal world. This is our responsibility and our mission. Please continue to support us. We would not have been able to do this without every single one of you and we know this is just the beginning. If we can do this in year one, just think what we can do it year two! The link to donate is in my bio, and I've gone on a mad one on snapchat 👻 worldwidetribe in the last 24 hours if you wanna follow! One love. One Tribe. The Worldwide Tribe <3 (at Acropolis, Athènes)

Last night, I went out for dinner with my family to celebrate my little brother @finlayohara 's birthday. It's also exactly a year to the day that I first went to the Jungle and wrote the Facebook post about it that changed my life forever... I sat in the restaurant in my home town next to my little foster brother, a refugee from Eritrea, feeling reflective. It was the restaurant I used to work in when I was 16. How did I imagine my life would be in ten years time back when I was 16? Would I have been happy and proud of where I am now. As we were eating, the waiter brought over a beautiful glass of champagne on a tray with fruit in the top. I presumed it was for Fin but the waiter asked, ‘Is there someone here called Jaz? Turns out someone at the bar had bought it for me to say thank you for the work I have been doing. They were gone before i could see who it was, but I was so surprised and it made me feel so so grateful. Grateful for the opportunity to follow my heart and my passion. Grateful that I love what I do, that I know that it’s right, that I’m on the right journey and that I’m exactly where I should be. Grateful that I believe in my work, I give it my everything, and grateful that people appreciate that. Thank you to that person who bought that champagne, and thank you to everyone who has been on this crazy journey with me, from my friends in the Jungle, to the amazing Worldwide Tribe team, to my inspirational family, especially my newest little bro...you motivate me every day. I love you all SO SO much.

Oh how your life can change in a year. Today is kinda our birthday. Today is my one-year anniversary with the Jungle. One year ago today I visited the camp for the first time just after finishing my yoga teacher training in Costa Rica, and it changed the whole course of my life forever. It’s been the craziest, most overwhelming, emotional year i’ve ever known, by a very long way. From meeting my heroes, my inspiration, on that first trip, which sparked a Facebook post that went viral and in turn galvanized a movement, to learning that even without anything, you can be rich. This year has been about people coming together in support of each other. The Worldwide Tribe. In this last year The Worldwide Tribe has grown beyond my wildest imagination and achieved more than I could ever have dreamed of. Not only have we provided food, clothing, shelter and volunteers in camps all over Europe and the Middle East, we have produced 6 short films about life inside a refugee camp in the meantime. We have done everything, from setting up Wifi in camps in Calais and Lesvos, to working on beach rescue operations and funding Search and Rescue training. We have run football tournaments and funded 6 teachers in Turkey, supported therapeutic art sessions in Zaatari camp in Jordan, helped fund a custom fire-truck in the Calais Jungle and spoken at the UN headquarters in New York. I’ve gone from knowing NOTHING about refugees to talking in schools, universities (including to my old uni course), colleges, offices, conferences and even giving a TED talk! We’ve held a one-day festival at the Barbican, have an on-going exhibition at the South Bank and have established amazing partnerships and fundraised for The School Bus project, Liz and the Women and Children’s centre and Mary and Sikander in the Kids Cafe in Calais. We have fundraised for a new set of teeth for Jakoub after his were pulled out by the Taliban, for Noor to be able to walk again after a bomb went off at her uni in Damascus, for a vehicle for food distribution in Idomeni and for 21-year-old Hamed, attempting to stop his unjust deportation back to Afghanistan. Who knows what the next year will bring...! (at San Blas Islands)

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