Several hundred migrants from Somalia, Sudan and even the DRC currently live around the Cavani stadium, in Mamoudzou, and are continually targeted by part of the population, who consider them the cause of all evil. On site, many migrants denounce violence and intimidation.
5 mins
From our regional correspondent,
“ The evacuation operation from the Cavani stadium will be carried out in the coming days to respond to the concerns of the territory », announced Monday February 19 the Ministry of Overseas Territories. For a month, it has been on this vast football stadium in the capital from Mayotte that the eyes were turned. Or, rather, on its occupants.
Around the stadium, in an unused area located between the field and the surrounding wall, around fifty makeshift tents topped with blue tarpaulins have been installed. Caught in a vice between fences and barbed wire, its inhabitants seem locked in. There were only around thirty of them a few months ago, before reaching nearly 700 occupants at the end of January. Now there are around 250.
What is special is that the men, women and children who live here come from different African countries: Somalia, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania and Mozambique. Some have been there since 2018, while others arrived a few months ago. They have fled war, famine, political threats or are looking for a better life.
But the influx of these populations, amplified here over the months, has fueled the anger of the Mahorais. “ This is the last straw », Declares a professor and supporter of the protest movement in recent weeks. A “ fight more », in reference to the usual desire to reduce Comorian immigration. A situation which leads to violent acts since certain Mahorais collectives padlocked the premises of migrant aid associations, and prevented certain rehousing planned by the State. Two camp residents were even injured during a demonstration.
Read alsoHow Mayotte became an exceptional territory in France for foreigners’ rights
“ We don’t want Africans »
At the entrance to the camp, Hendric wears a white cap and a bandage over his eye. “ I came out of the hospital, I was stabbed by criminals. » He hands over the CHM paper which attests to his injuries. “ I was in the toilet when they came wearing balaclavas and attacked me », says the thirty-year-old from Rwanda who grew up in Mozambique. Tensions that push him to want to leave the territory. “ My application was rejected, and with all this, I’m afraid to even leave here, I just want to go back “, he confides in tears. After five years on French territory, he is now waiting for the state to send him back to Mozambique.
A climate that has become particularly heavy in recent weeks, under pressure from collectives, who sometimes come to burn migrants’ mattresses during their demonstrations. A mobilization which led to a deterioration relations with the population. “ I live in the camp, because for the moment, living in the neighborhoods is not possible. They don’t want us anymore. In the street, they call us “Africans”, they tell us: “We don’t want Africans“ », testifies Grace.
This 42-year-old Burundian has been in Mayotte since 2018. She fled the repression of the 2015 protests against a third term for President Nkurunziza. “ They looked for me, they wanted to kill me and my husband. I wanted to ask for protection, because France is the country of the law. I thought Mayotte was France, but we can’t stay here anymore », deplores this mother.
Icham* has lived here for two years, he even obtained his residence permit and lived in a shared apartment nearby. But, at the start of the movement, he was expelled. “ The Mahorais were angry, said they no longer wanted immigration and we who paid rent were thrown out. It’s very violent », Relates the young man. Icham* thinks that its owner, Mahoraise, could have been pressured.
“ Asylum seekers are abandoned in this camp »
In any case, this is what Daniel Gros, representative of the Human Rights League in Mayotte, observes. He goes almost daily to the camp, where everyone knows him, so that they can have visitors. “ They have no water, no food, we give them 30 euros per month and 10 euros per child: that’s 30 cents per day! If we don’t feel ridiculous about this, it’s because there is a problem with understanding humanity. “, he blurted.
Due to the heat, some exiles sleep outside with their children. Mohammed, who managed to leave war-torn Somalia, lives in an abandoned car. At his side, Koradidja, 18, left foster care last month after three years in the care of Child Welfare. Having completed her baccalaureate, she is forced to live here, on the ground, with her brother.
Daniel Gros is also surprised that the “ xenophobes have obtained what we have been asking for for three years » – namely the dismantling, and therefore the rehousing of these people, in order to process their files. An imminent operation according to the Ministry of Overseas Territories, which could coincide with the entry into office of the new prefect on February 24.
*The first name has been changed
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