In Mayotte, police forces are flocking as part of the preparation for Operation Wuambushu – “recovery” in Mayotte – which could begin this weekend. This intervention aims to return to the Comoros some 10,000 people in two months and worries the population, which has very little information.
Some families in particular are already living in anguish at being separated, writes our correspondent in Mayotte, Lola Fourmy. The children, in a regular situation, could find themselves without one of their parents torn from a life built for years on the island of perfumes. This is the case of Kiyara, 16, a high school student from Mamoudzou. She is a bright young girl, involved in the life of her high school and determined to become a lawyer. She arrived from the Comoros with her parents when she was 7 years old. But this year, Eid will not have the same flavor: ” We are all sad to the point that we are not going to celebrate Eid normally because this operation is so worrying “.
” The situation in Mayotte is not easy »
Faced with the Wuambushu operation, she fears for her comrades in an irregular situation, but especially for her father. It is now illegal, because the processing times for applications are very long in Mayotte: “ I am very worried for him because I don’t know where he will be, will he be in a safe place? Is he not afraid of being killed because, in addition to fearing the police, there is also violence, also knowing that the situation in Mayotte is not easy. What are we going to do if he’s not here? What are we going to eat? What are we going to become? There are a whole bunch of questions that I ask myself. »
Beyond fear for those close to him, Kiyara also suffers from clichés about his community and would like to change the image of immigrants: “ I also want to show the whole world the children of immigrants and immigrants can also succeed in life and surely also develop the island to do good things. »
” We will take the time necessary »
Like Kyara, thousands of children and adolescents may find themselves separated from their parents by Operation Wuambushu, validated by French President Emmanuel Macron in the Defense Council, and which should last at least two months, according to the information obtained by AFP from a close source.
” We will take the time necessary » for the destruction of habitats, installed in particularly unhealthy neighborhoods, called bonga, ” always with the authorization of the judge, because it goes without saying that we rehouse people in accordance with the law “, assured Gérald Darmanin. Several associations, including the League for Human Rights (LDH), expressed concern in a joint press release that ” France thus places minors in situations of intolerable vulnerability and danger “. For his part, Comorian President Azali Assoumani told AFP that he hoped ” that the operation will be canceled “, grateful ” not have the means to (there) stop by force “.
►Read also : Mayotte: the plan to deport thousands of foreigners worries the medical profession