‘Mamie Charge’: Migrants find safe haven in Frenchwoman’s garage

Brigitte Lips opens her home in northern France every weekday to dozens of migrants seeking a moment of calm — and a phone charger — despite some pushback from the local community.

On a drizzly day in November, dozens of young people sit in the 68-year-old’s garage in the port city of Calais, where around a hundred chargers line the walls and hot drinks are on offer.

Word about “Mamie Charge” (Granny Charger) has passed throughout the migrant community — she is known as someone who offers a moment of respite and a place to juice up their phones, essential during the often-dangerous trek north.

“She is an amazing woman, a true support for refugees like us who are homeless,” said Pedros, a migrant from the east African county of Eritrea who hopes to settle in France.

Despite pushback from some in the local community, the grandmother of eight said her decision to open her home is rooted in her deeply held Catholic faith.

“That’s the way I was brought up. If someone in need rang our doorbell, they had a place at the table,” Lips told AFP.

– ‘Phone is essential’-

The door opens at 11:30 am on the dot, and the crowd of people milling outside Lips’s garage rush in to find a charger, phones already in hand.

“The clock is ticking! Otherwise, we’ll never get out of here,” she says as the room fills with people, mainly from Eritrea and neighbouring Sudan.

True to her nickname, there are around a hundred charging cables, with newcomers jostling for a spot.

“One by one, I’ve only got two hands,” says the 68-year-old, plugging phones in for her guests as they tuck into the tea, coffee, bread and tomato soup she has prepared.

Having a place to charge their batteries is a matter of survival for migrants, said fellow Eritrean Mazen, who hopes to reach England by boat.

“Our phone is very, very important,” he told AFP, explaining he uses it “to check the time, to find our road, organise our departure and maybe call for help if needed.”

The number of undocumented migrants arriving in the UK after crossing the Channel on dangerous rudimentary vessels this year stands at over 33,500, up around 18 percent compared to the same period in 2023.

At least 72 people have died trying to make the journey so far in 2024, making it the deadliest since migrant crossings began in earnest in 2018.

– ‘Last link’-

A full battery also means comfort and a way to stay in touch with loved ones, said Lips, who has worked with the migrant community for the past 20 years.

“When they lose their phones, they lose their life,” she told AFP. “It’s also their last link with their family.”

While other Calais residents share her commitment to helping migrants, some neighbours and local authorities have tried to dissuade her from welcoming them into her home.

“They try to intimidate me. They tell me: ‘You have to stop,'” she told AFP, rolling her eyes.

But “it’s no use,” the devout Catholic told AFP. “It’s the Holy Spirit that drives me.”

Around midday, her guests wash their bowls and head back into the cold with a fully charged battery.

“See you soon, granny,” they shout at Lips as they depart.

The Calais native, who has never left the area, needs time to prepare — the garage is set to reopen later that evening.

“I’ll carry on as long as the good Lord keeps me healthy,” she told AFP.

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