“5 reasons not to welcome a migrant into your home”. Really?
For the past year, Abdelhaq, a 21 year old asylum seeker from Chad, has been living with us. We have never invited a stranger to live with us before. Not even the homeless man that I pass by on my street every day. This human adventure has changed our life forever. What holds us back from helping each other when solidarity is a good thing?
1- "What if he were to steal something from me ...? "
To be perfectly honest, I thought about it. The first night, I was alone at home with our guest. My husband was traveling. I was afraid. I could not sleep. Totally irrational questions invaded me. "What if he was a terrorist? I felt vulnerable. We did not know anything about him, except that he is commonly known as a "migrant", he fled conflicts in Chad and he is 21 years old. Who is he really? What if I had made a mistake? Can I trust him? Leave him my keys when I went to work? Since my childhood, I was taught not to speak to strangers. That day, I transgressed this basic rule. And I let this stranger enter my bubble, my cocoon. I should have asked these questions earlier. He's there. Impossible to backtrack. And then the next morning, my fears faded. I realized that Abdelhaq is first of all a young boy lost in France. At 14, he was persecuted in his country. He knew the hell of Chadian prisons and fled to save his life. He hasn’t heard from his family for years. He would like to be able to tell them that he is ok, that he survived the Libyan quagmire, crossing the Mediterranean sea. After having overcome many obstacles, is it a sin to want to survive?
2- “It’s always the same people who benefit!”
Seventy years ago, we were refugees. Our grandparents in any case. Between 1939 and 1945, 60 million Europeans were forced to flee their homes sometimes in ruins to migrate to the east and south. These images put into perspective the critical situation of today's migrants. In her forum published by the Journal du Dimanche, Christiane Taubira asks us to try to remember our History. She evokes other migratory crises that Europe has known in the past: Spanish war, Boat people, Balkan war. "It is not a question of saying that it is simple to welcome", she writes, "but the fact is: Never in history, when it was necessary to welcome populations from other countries, has society has society fallen appart or become weaker that this crises. One does not migrate for the love of migrating, One does not migrate seeking benefits from another country. This migration crisis is desinging the world of tomorrow - a world with protective walls to keep people out or a society that is free. It is more important now than ever to address these problems which Europe has not been able to coordonate action on in a united front. While France is drowning the right to asylum.
3- "Let's help the homeless and the weak French people first"
Why did I not help this homeless person I meet every morning, on my way to the subway? Maybe because there is no priority in helping others. It's a matter of opportunity. I opened a door to this young boy because I was in the capacity to welcome someone at that time. Next time, who knows? I'll open it to a fellow French citizen. Our humanitarian duty is not confined to this migratory crisis. Nine million French people currently live below the poverty line, including three million children. They are our brothers, our sisters, our neighbors, our colleagues. Competition and individualism inherent in our productivist societies sometimes make us forget that we are all connected. We did not learn the simple art of living together. But we are capable. I was able to experience it in my co-ownership with the arrival of Abdelhaq. I even discovered that solidarity is contagious. And I'll go even further: it's good.
4- "I will not be able to put him out if I needed to"
I admit that I thought about it-in the beginning. What if I can not put him out? We had planned to host him for a few days. Everything was decided. It must be said that the configuration of our apartment is not ideal. He must go through our bedroom to get tohis. Our bathroom has no door. But we managed to overcome these logistical issues. And against all odds, the months passed and we offered him to stay undefinitively. Simply because his destiny was a little related to ours now. We became friends. Impossible to let him down. We accompanied him beyond what we had imagined. I have to find solutions for him. I decide to help him get out of the administrative deadlock that undermines and isolates him. We bring him a bit of lightness in a daily life marked by the anguish of expulsion. We can only bow to the ardent courage of these young people who find the strength to live, learn and rebuild.
5- "It's illegal in France, I risk 5 years of jail and 30 000 € fine"
Very quickly, with my husband, we have a very important discussion because to host a foreigner in an irregular situation can have legal consequences. In France, the law L622-1, recalls that "any person who will, by direct or indirect aid, facilitated (...) the entry, the circulation or the irregular stay of a foreigner will be punished of a prison sentence of five years and a fine of 30,000 euros ". We made the decision to host Abdelhaq despite the consequences. His name is now displayed in full on our mailbox. Our apartment became his "home", his refuge. And if my country chooses to send him back to Chad where he is in danger of death, we will protect him. We will cross that bridge when we get there. We could have continued to live as we did, caring only about our family and friends like everyone else. Despite the criminalization of aiding others, we have, like many citizens, chosen civil disobedience.
I'm going to meet other French citizens engaged in the migration crisis.
Hosting Abdelhaq changed my life and that of my family.It has changed my life to the point that point that I decided to tell our story and to meet citizens who are reaching out to migrants. Because I have the feeling that we are a more supportive society than it appears. It is thought that the French are closing themselves to the world. Some political discourses describe a nation of withdrawal. What if we show each other the reality? That of a warm, welcoming people, aware of the social crisis unfloding in our backyard? Aware that sometimes we must to break the law uphold the principles of humanity?
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