Migrants live in fear of new clashes with Paris police

Latest update : 2015-06-15

After fleeing persecution and war, and travelling thousands of kilometers to reach Paris, African migrants who have set up a makeshift encampment along the River Seine now live in permanent fear of a violent eviction.

A splendid, early-summer evening is gearing up on the Quai d’Austerlitz in central Paris. On the terrace bar of the Institut français de la mode (IFM) fashion school, a 30-something crowd sips 12-euro cocktails behind designer sunglasses. The sinking sun glimmers off the nearby Pont Charles de Gaulle, which spans the River Seine, connecting the picturesque Gare d’Austerlitz and Gare de Lyon rail stations. The music placidly mounts in tempo and volume.

Three flights down, tucked under the futuristic emerald-green building that houses the fashion centre and the bar, the atmosphere could not be more different. A chilly breeze twists past rows of tents that have sprouted on the river’s banks during the past few months. Their occupants, around 150 migrants mostly from sub-Saharan Africa, brace for what will certainly be another grim night.

Their presence has grabbed the attention of local charity groups, who bring them food, clothing and some legal help. They have also been identified by police, who have made visits to the small tent city part of their rounds.

“The police officers wake us up at six in the morning; they count how many of us there are in each tent and ask us where we come from. They leave, then come back again at night,” explains Walid. The 23-year-old man was born in the Darfur region in Western Sudan, which has been ravaged by war for over a decade. He’s been living at this camp for seven months.

Food handouts by local charity groups are vital for migrants who have sought shelter on the Quai d’Austerlitz, many of whom only eat one meal per day. © Julia Dumont

In recent days the visits by police have become a source of anguish for Walid and his friends. Last week cops clashed violently with migrants and activists as a similar camp in northern Paris, near La Chapelle metro station, was forcibly dismantled. For days, French news sites and broadcasts carried images of African men being dragged onto buses and activists being pepper sprayed by riot police.

A handful of French groups sympathetic to the plight of the migrants on the Quai d’Austerlitz have coalesced in the aim of protecting the foreigners. The collective includes members of the Human Rights League (LDH), the Education Without Borders Network (RESF), the Left Front party, and the Green Party. Expecting a brutal confrontation similar to the one in La Chapelle, they have drafted letters to Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo and the Paris chief of police. They are petitioning for “permanent accommodations” and tailored legal assistance for each migrant.

Asylum seekers

A circle of migrants have gathered around one of the members of the collective, who explains in careful detail the contents of the letter to the men. Despite the many signs of solidarity around the encampment, and widespread outcry over the events in La Chapelle, the possibility of a forceful eviction on the Quai d’Austerlitz seems increasingly likely.

The migrant’s fear of losing their only shelter is compounded by the threat of physical harm at the hands of police. While waiting in line for a pack of biscuits and fruit, Hassan, 33, says he’s heard stories about the La Chapelle eviction and lives in constant fear.

Yet many of these migrants are eligible for asylum in France. Most have fled state-sponsored violence and repression in Sudan and Eritrea and are entitled to help from French authorities. According to Pierre Henry, director of the NGO France Terre d'Asile (France Land of Asylum) the backlog for asylum requests is huge.

“If you are a young man, and you manage to get to Paris, you can expect to wait four to six months before your application for asylum is reviewed. During that wait, you’re on your own and on the street,” Henry said.

Scars of war

Armed conflicts in Sudan, especially in Darfur and the Nuba mountains, have largely disappeared from the public consciousness as the media focus on jihadist threats from Libya to Syria. “Darfur has been cleared from diplomatic agendas, but it is returning in the form of migrants and the Islamisation of the region,” said Jacky Mamou, president of the Darfur Emergency group and the former chief of the Doctors of the World organization.

Mamou says despite the waning attention of the international community, violence aimed at civilian populations in Sudan has not ceased. “There were bombings every day,” said Henry, a native of Kauda, a town in the Nuba Mountains. He points to burn scars on his right forearm, claiming they came from one such shelling. “I only feel safe in France”, he insisted.

Another victim of the Sudanese regime is Mohammed Abu el-Nabi, who has come to visit fellow countrymen on the Quai d’Austerlitz. The 27-year-old lawyer was forced to flee Sudan after he chose to defend Meriam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag, a young woman sentenced to death in May 2014 on allegations of apostasy, or disavowing her Muslim faith.

Mohammed Abdou el-Nabi fled Sudan for defending a woman sentenced to death on charges of apostasy and was granted asylum in France. © Julia Dumont

He said he received threats from Islamist groups as well as the government following the case. After several months in the Paris camp he was granted asylum and now lives in an apartment lent to him by a friend. But he still dreams of returning to Sudan.

“Maybe even tonight” he jokes, referring to news that Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir was almost detained in connection to an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court while travelling in South Africa.

Bashir appears to have eluded justice on Monday, flying back home in defiance of a Pretoria court order to remain in the country until it ruled on the application for his arrest. The Sudanese migrants in Paris are not so lucky, fearing for their fragile refuge by the Seine and with no place else to go.

This article was translated from its original in French.

Date created : 2015-06-15