MARDi was formally created in January 2019 by a group of nurses and doctors from Ireland and the UK after working together providing healthcare support to refugees across France since 2017. Prior to this we had mostly worked in Calais and Paris and found a gap in the healthcare provision for refugees in the Paris Refugee Camps. At this point, supported by colleagues from camps across Europe, we decided to organise.

The Paris Refugee Crisis is part of the wider European Refugee Crisis which became infamous in 2015 focused on the Calais Jungle and includes a mix of recognised and informal refugee camps all over the continent. It is a deliberate, racist and unforgivable abuse of human rights trapping refugees in unsanitary and unsafe camps across Europe and denying them the right of asylum. As Europeans, we cannot sit by and watch the persecution of refugees in our name. We cannot wait for politicians, the media and popular opinion to change, we must act now by standing in solidarity with refugees. MARDi aims to do that by not only providing essential frontline care but also by showing refugees in person that there is a strong, compassionate side to Europe that welcomes refugees, hears their struggle, accepts responsibility and will fight for them.

Today, MARDi has grown into an international collective of over 1500 members run by a small team from across Europe. We are a registered NGO in France (SIREN no. 892120353).

Our Core Team:

• Harriet Payne: Volunteer Coordinator, Nurse
• Harriet Crook: Project Coordinator, Doctor
• Katy Last: Fundraising and Financial Coordinator, Nurse
• Cati Mayer: Logistics Coordinator, IT Engineer

We believe every human being is equal and we must fight any system that challenges this.

Join us.