News Update 21/05/2018
Solidarity march continues / Grande Synthe gymnasium converted to holiday camp / Two year old shot dead by Belgian police / 73 migrants rescued from the ocean by SOS Mediterranean and MSF / Human chain in Brussels to protest police action against migrants / Nigerian migrant found dead in the river Durance / Havre municipal council demonstrates support for migrant children / Two cities in Essonne choose to welcome 200 refugees in Paris / Refugees at Cannes / Helping refugees abandoned by the State in the High Alps / Dismantlement of refugee camps in northern Morocco / Algeria sends migrants into the desert
Solidarity March
14 May : Marseille — Martigues (50 marchers) > see article by l’Humanité and a video from Maritima
Reception elected officials from Martigues and Port de Bouc
15 May : Martigues-Istres
16 May : Istres-Arles
17 May : Arles — Tarascon
18 May : Tarascon — Avignon
19 May : Avignon — Orange (presence of the Front Nationale failed to prevent the passing of the march)
20 May : Orange — Pont-Saint-Esprit (40 people) > article de Midi Libre
21 May : Pont-Saint-Esprit — Montélimar
Updates:
- According to Place Grenet, a group from Grenoble will join the marche between Grenoble and Lyon from the 21st to the 25th of May.
- The march, accompanied by debates, film screenings, meals and concerts is also an “opportunity to collect proposals and launch a petition,” notes Yann Manzi of Utopia 56, quoted here by France 3 Provence Alpes. In the same article there is also an interview with Maya Konforti, secretary of L’Auberge des Migrants.
- According to the NPA, The organization representing undocumented people in the Ile-de-France region, the National Union of Undocumented People and the International Coalition of Undocumented People and Migrants have decided to meet the march in Paris on the 17th of June. An event to welcome them and a concert have been planned in the capital before the march is resumed. These groups will restate and defend their objectives: regularization for all, the opening of borders, freedom of movement and settlement, and the closure of CRAs.
Closure of Grande-Synthe gymnasium
From the 24th of May, families in the Grande Synthe gymnasium will be “rehoused” elsewhere in Dunkirk. The gymnasium itself will be converted into a holiday camp. Minors will be taken into the care of the local department, while men have been invited to make it in the CAO/CAES. Sixty places have been set aside in Grande Synthe for lone men. Any resettlement of Puythouk or La Liniere will be forbidden. We do not currently have any information regarding those who do not want to avail of these options.
Two year-old shot and killed by Belgian police
An 18-month old girl has been shot and killed by the police in Belgium. Her family was being transported to Belgium by smugglers along with thirty other migrants when the van they were travelling in was fired on by Belgian police following a brief chase.
As can be seen in this article from Europe 1, at first the authorities denied that the death of the girl was caused by police gunfire . About 60 migrants subsequently blocked the A16 motorway in order to protest the event. According to La Libre, the little girl was killed by a “stray bullet” during the chase between Namur and Maisières. In this article by Mediapart there is more information about Mawda and her family and their presence in Grande-Synthe.
Libération explains the reasons for this trip between Grande-Synthe and Belgium: “With the intensification of controls near the ports of Dunkirk and Calais, this sort of journey has become common: the smugglers take their customers to a distant car park, where an accomplice road waits for them to cross the border. This may explain why the van was spotted by the Belgian police on a motorway car park near Namur, 230 km from the coast.
73 migrants rescued by SOS Mediterranean and MSF
Here, Jeune Afrique reviews the operation conducted by SOS Mediterranean and MSF to rescue 73 migrants off the coast of Libya. The German NGO Seefuch has said that it was also responsible for the rescue of 19 people. According to the IOM, “the Libyan coastguard have recovered 241 people from the ocean, who were then repatriated to Libya, bringing the total to 6,400 this year.”
Human chain in Brussels to protest police action against migrants
This video by Le Soir shows a massive human chain that was formed between Gare du Nord and the Maximilien Park to demonstrate opposition to a police action taken against migrants in that park. According to police figures, 1500 people joined the chain.
Nigerian migrant found dead in the Durance
According to La Provence, a person has been found dead in the river Durance. According to the organization ‘All Migrants,’ genetic analysis has confirmed that it is the body of a 21 year old migrant from Nigeria. It is believed that he drowned. Following this, the organization released a statement saying that “the practice of hunting and ambushing human beings is strictly prohibited by police guidelines. On the contrary, it is the duty of the police to the come to the aid of persons that they find to be in difficulty, welcome those migrants who are seeking asylum, and protect unaccompanied minors.”
Havre municipal council demonstrates support for migrant children
Florence-Thibaudeau-Rainot, the mayoral assistant responsible for education and young children, has announced the creation of twenty extra lodgings in the coming weeks.
Two cities in Essonne welcome 200 migrants from Paris
The prefecture of Essonne has decided that Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois and Morsang-sur-Orge will be the two city to host 200 migrants who are currently housed in a camp in Paris. In the face of opposition from local officials the State has promised full financing and support, and announced a maximum welcome period of 15 days, according to Essonne Info.
Refugees at Cannes
Sudanese and Malian refugees attended the Cannes Film Festival with Cédric Herrou on Thursday, according to information from the Point; The documentary “Libre”, directed by Michel Toesca, tells the story of the farmers fight to help refugees. Mr. Toesca commented that “For me, it is a political film (…). Cedric has never been an activist. Nor have I. His is simply a human reaction. “
Aid organized in the High Alps to aid migrants abandoned by the State
According to Public Sénat, “in six months, more than 2000 undocumented people have been apprehended in the border town of Briancon, more than six times the number from all previous years
The article explains that following the increased controls at the level of the Roya Valley to prevent the crossing of the border, migrants are now taking another, far riskier path, north through Briançon, the Montgenèvre pass and the Col de l’Echelle. Given the low temperatures there, this route can be extremely dangerous.
Citizens that come to their aid, such as Benoît Ducos of Tous Migrants are arrested because they help people in an irregular situation to enter French territory, an action which is currently punishable by 5 years of imprisonment and 30,000 euros fine under French law.
Dismantlement of Refugee Camps in Northern Morocco
According to l’Orient le jour, security forces in Morocco have been dismantling refugee camps on an almost daily basis in the vicinity of the Spanish enclave of Melilla.
Recent statistics gathered by the International Organization of Migration indicate that 25,338 migrants arrived in Europe via the Mediterranean during the first 19 weeks of 2018, around 21% of whom arrived in Spain. There were a total of 628 deaths during this period, 217 of which occurred between North Africa and Spain.
Algeria sending migrants into the Sahara Desert
According to the BBC, Algeria has been expelling migrants out into the desert. Here is the testimony of one Malian migrant: “They took our things — money, phone, everything. They abused us, took us out into the Sahara. We had to march tens of kilometres to reach Assamaka, the first town on the border [of Niger]. It was like walking in hell. The pregnant women and small children struggled to keep walking under the burning heat of the Saharan sun. We had nothing to eat, and we learned later that at least two people died.”
Christian Salomé, l’Auberge des Migrants
Pierre Jothy, l’Auberge des Migrants
Oscar Leonard, l’Auberge des Migrants
