School in a strange land

Today I visited the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps -  a 6-hour 'study tour' with a small group and a very knowledgeable guide, which is the only way to do it, I think. It was very affecting and everyone's experience would be different, so there's no point trying to describe it in any detail. I think a whole roomful of human hair - and material made from it - was what did it for me. Then there are the inevitable parallels with the war in Ukraine - like the way that, despite the warnings, nobody expected what happened to happen and how ordinary lives are shattered.

Meanwhile, back in the refugee centre in Krakow, Bob did some cooking in the food tent and gathered a lot of interest in the Homes for Ukraine scheme. File on 4 (Radio 4) at 8pm yesterday reported on
 how the scheme is working (or not). It very much echoed the frustrations with the visa application process and the potential for exploitation of refugees that we have been aware of. It's worth a listen.

Great news - all the teenagers we have helped to move have school places:
- one 16 year old boy started at Clitheroe Grammar School today.
- a 13 year old girl will be going to Shaftesbury School in Dorset.
- and a 13 year old boy will be starting at Park High School in Colne on Monday. This is especially poignant for me as my son, Sam, went to Park High (and did very well), also at age 13, and also from a different culture - Somerset to East Lancashire! No comparison with coming from a different country and with a different language, of course.
We wish them all well and are sure they'll do well.


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