Jasmin "Jaz" O'Hara
O'Hara (at Amnesty International, London on 20 May 2018)
Born (1990-04-10) 10 April 1990
Bromley, England
NationalityBritish
OccupationRefugee rights campaigner
TitleFounder of Worldwide Tribe[1]

Jasmin "Jaz" O'Hara (born 10 April 1990) is a British woman human rights defender working in the field of international refugee support, and founder of Asylum Speakers.

Early life

O'Hara was born in Bromley in southeast London. She studied fashion,[2][3] and initially worked for ethical clothing companies.[4]

Activism

In August 2015 Jaz O'Hara was one of a group of friends that visited the so-called Jungle refugee camp in Calais, France, intending to make a documentary;[4][5] shocked by what she found, she wrote a Facebook post that gathered over 65,000 shares overnight, leading to a fund-raising campaign.[6] What started as a crowd-sourcing for a one-off trip to take some supplies to the Calais camp accumulated a huge volume of donations of physical goods (stored in multiple London warehouses, then taken to Calais in 40 vehicles), and raised £150,000 in a matter of weeks under the banner of CalAid.[7][2][8][9]

As O'Hara's human rights activism extended beyond Calais, she founded, with her brother Nils, the Worldwide Tribe charity.[10] Its activities have resulted in Wi-Fi being installed in refugee camps in France and Greece, supported a search-and-rescue operation in the Mediterranean Sea, and provided food, clothing, shelter and other support to people on the move elsewhere in Europe and in the Middle East, including an arts project in Jordan.[11]

References

  1. ↑ "ABOUT US - The Worldwide Tribe". The Worldwide Tribe. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  2. 1 2 Woods, Judith (16 September 2015). "Refugee crisis: 'Better a do-gooder than a do-badder'". Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  3. ↑ O'Hara, Jaz (March 2016). ""I quit my career in fashion to volunteer full-time in the Calais refugee camp"". Stylist. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  4. 1 2 Elvey, Suz (12 August 2015). "Five friends from Tonbridge to deliver aid to migrant camps in Calais". KM: Kent Online. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  5. ↑ Isaac, Anna (14 August 2015). "'We want to help fellow humans': how grassroots groups are supporting Calais refugees". Guardian. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  6. ↑ Proudfoot, Jenny (26 September 2016). "Meet the inspirational woman tackling the refugee crisis". Marie Claire. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  7. ↑ "Couple overwhelmed by Calais donations". BBC News. 6 September 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  8. ↑ Alwakeel, Ramzy (6 September 2015). "CalAid: Hundreds descend on Dalston social centre to donate goods for Calais refugees". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  9. ↑ Wall, Imogen (9 September 2015). "Amateur aid: The limits of good intentions". IRIN. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  10. ↑ Ward, Flo (30 October 2017). "FACEBOOK: A FORCE FOR SOCIAL CHANGE? AN INTERVIEW WITH THE WORLDWIDE TRIBE". Isis Magazine. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  11. ↑ "Jaz O'Hara: Amnesty Collective". www.amnesty.org.uk. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
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