In France, child welfare in the Nord department is once again being singled out. Near Dunkirk, around sixty foreign minors were placed unaccompanied in an abandoned hotel. Without school, without training, without fun activities to occupy their day, these young exiles have been left to their own devices for several months even though this accommodation should only have been temporary. The Human Rights League contacted the Defender of Rights to help them.
From the outside, this former Formula 1 hotel, near Dunkirk, has not changed much. Certainly, the sign that overlooked the facade has been dismantled and customers no longer come there. But the rooms in this pale yellow plastered building that can be seen at the side of the road are always occupied.
On the windowsill, sneakers and teenage clothes dry in the sun. 60 to 80 young unaccompanied minors are housed there. “ I don’t go to school, I don’t do anything…, testifies one of the young people via a WhatsApp message sent to RFI. Even food is a problem, clothes are not given to me, we are not well dressed, even shoes are not given to us… We suffer here. »
In Francewhen a young exile is assessed as a minor, it is Child Welfare which takes over. It is managed by the departments and is responsible for finding accommodation and enrolling them in school or training. But in this old hotel, none of these measures were implemented.
“ Each time, they tell us that they can’t do anything until we’ve been transferred, that we can’t go to school and that we can’t be taken care of, testifies the same young person, always via WhatsApp. When we wake up in the morning, we go to have breakfast at 8 a.m., as soon as we finish eating, we go to our room, we go to bed. There are two of us in the room, we don’t do anything here, we live very badly here. »
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The Coallia association, which is approved to support these minors, only partially responded to RFI’s questions. According to her, it is “ difficult to mobilize educational establishments » since young people are only supposed to stay on these devices for a maximum of five days. However, those we contacted have been there for at least four months and missed the start of the school year.
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“ For these minors, there is an issue which is totally decisive, asserts Bernard Champagne, co-president of the League for Human Rights in Dunkirk, very concerned by this situation. When they turn 18, obtaining their residence permit also depends on the educational path they are in. If they are not there, there is an argument opened by the prefecture saying that they are not in an integration and integration process and therefore, that they will not have a residence permit. . » He quips: “ On the other hand, we delicately offer them an OQTF. »
And it is this OQTF, this obligation to leave the territory, that some of these young people fear, stuck in the hotel, while their 18th birthday is fast approaching.
In this department, social workers estimate that 1,000 children are waiting for a suitable placement. There Rights defender is also investigating the dysfunctions of child welfare in the North, since 2022.
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