(en) France, Alternative Libertaire AL - antiracism, Bobigny: Two weeks after the expulsion of Roma, a sad record (fr, pt)

 [machine translation]

"They did not ask much. A school enrollment for their children, like everyone else. 
Collecting their garbage, like everybody. Work, like many others before them ". On 21 
October, the slum of Egg, in Bobigny (93) was dismantled by force. Two weeks later, the 
human toll is disastrous, as detailed in an open collective support to the prefect Leschi 
letter. ---- Separated families, scattered to the four corners of France, babies and 
elderly patients out on the street, vocational training interrupted brutally expelled from 
the slum of Egg in Bobigny, one of the oldest in Seine-Saint-Denis, was a disaster. 80 
school children of the land, only 8 are still in school today. Terrible record of 
expulsion that wanted to "copy". ---- A journalist who asked France Info on Tuesday the 
review, Didier Leschi, prefect delegated to equal opportunities, responded by stressing 
the unprecedented resources deployed for this operation. Certainly money we spent not less 
than 320,000 euros of public money, brandished as a medal. "It's not for lack of skimp on 
resources" and said the distraught prefect. "But you know, with Roma, we are dealing" with 
a sociology that escapes us ""

Everything is there, in fact, the Prefect. Thus, attribute the failure of the operation to 
the "sociology" of Roma, that is to say, again, that Roma are different, it is this 
difference that makes consubstantial, which will always fail in our attempts however 
generous, yet caring for "help". In short, with Roma, as you said, Mr. Leschi, "we can not 
do".

Strong and integrated

It's a shame the Prefect because of Egg Roma, themselves, in their wooden huts, they are 
not faring too badly.

Mugurel, for example. Her two children were in school and it was two years ago elected a 
delegate to the parent school council. Mugurel worked for real, with a real contract, 
Aulnay. Mugurel had also received a proposal for social housing in Bobigny.

Mugurel, he was expelled from the land where he lived. Its location, its integration 
efforts? No interest.

It was suggested to Mugurel a hotel room in Hardricourt, 60 km... He gets up every morning 
at 4am to leave at 6am accompany their children to school before making his way to work. 
Of course, if he loses his job, he will say goodbye to its social housing. How long will 
he hold out?

We could also go meet Habibe, the mother of Dragan. Habibe is an energetic woman, who 
learned French evening classes at the school. She even acted as interpreter to 
stakeholders on the ground. His son Dragan returned in September CAP.

Today Habibe her husband and son are found in Belfort. Exit the CAP that would have 
allowed Dragan to have a job, becoming a taxpayer like the others.

And Abel, Adelin and Lola, three cousins who came every day to college, who had learned to 
speak French, to read, to write? Yet it has not always been easy with the other students. 
Come to school, when you're a Roma child is also up against the rejection of some children 
and even some adults. But they came every day. Abel wanted to be a policeman, Lola wanted 
to be a hairdresser. Abel and Adelin mom was at every meeting between parents and 
teachers. The parents had heart to buy the class photo, with their little means.

Today, these three children sleeping in vans, far from the college. Had nominated them 
alternative accommodation, but had separated the family. Lola and her parents arrived in a 
room without water, without electricity, with 3 blankets for 7 people. And there was no 
reception class in college there. Lola could not continue his education.

Finally, Mr. Leschi, you will agree, they are not faring too badly these people. "They did 
not ask much. A school enrollment for their children, like everyone else. Collecting their 
garbage, like everybody. Work, like many others before them. "Work, school, basic hygiene, 
the right to take a chance like everyone else... that's it, "a sociology that escapes us" 
? No, indeed, for us, nothing escaped us.

Just get rid of families

Mr. Prefect, if the goal was to help these families find solutions for real, we would not 
have done that. We would not have ordered families Monday afternoon, take the first train 
Tuesday for an unknown destination, leaving the small school, studies of the great, the 
work of the father, the grandparents by -dessus the market, and throwing in the street 60% 
of the inhabitants of the land, with their babies under the rain and under the jeers of 
CRS. The method could only lead to failure. This expulsion was simply an obsession prefect 
Galli and a campaign promise St?phane Paoli candidate for mayor of Bobigny. She was not 
"intended to" help families, just to get rid of.

Too many Roma in Ile de France, in areas already affected by unemployment, certainly. 
Families Unhealthy and dangerous slums for their inhabitants, certainly. Solutions could, 
should be proposed, it is true. But there have been anticipating, supporting families, 
prepare for a change of life and environment, do not disperse, not to break their 
integration efforts. Above all, he should have done with them, from what they had already 
built. Not treat them, again and again, as objects that are unable to act for themselves.

Clearly, Mr. Prefect, what it cost to await the end of the school year, let the children 
finish their year, and especially allow stakeholders to support real time, to find places 
learning elsewhere in France, to leave all the time to move into a new future? Why this 
absurd precipitation has destroyed everything that plunged families into inextricable 
complications?

But for this, perhaps would have been necessary to meet these people. Take the time to 
talk to them, beyond the "diagnosis", reduces the collection of some administrative data. 
But that's probably unthinkable... think so, go talk as equals with people whose 
"sociology" escapes us at this point!

On the eternal prejudice against Roma

The steps taken to change the situation of Roma families in France are not intended to 
operate as they rest on the eternal prejudice that Roma is different, that they can not 
because they do want not. As long as we refuse to consider Roma as labor migrants, we'll 
go to failure. We continue to orchestrate a hunt Rom an expensive hunt for the state and 
disastrous for families. We who have accompanied for many years, we know they want nothing 
more, nothing else that we ask every day life. They are not substantially different.

There is no culture of poverty, not culture dirt or begging; only the pangs of poverty and 
exclusion, only choices we do when we have no choice It is not the poor but the need to 
combat poverty. How Mr. Leschi, can we still need to state the obvious in 2014?

As we consider Roma as a subset of men, as we remain convinced that we can not do with 
them as long as we refuse them the status of subjects, we give the prefects and elected 
free to kill in the bud Roma integration efforts. We allow them, as now, to maintain and 
aggravate poverty at the expense of the state. And certainly there there, Mr. Prefect, 
something that escapes us.

The collective support of the Roma field Egg Bobigny, November 6, 2014

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