WORLD WORLDWIDE FRANCE - news journal UPDATE - (en) France, OCL CA #338 - Fire in a home in Montreuil (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

 Sunday January 28 at the end of the afternoon, a fire broke out at the

Lenain home in Tillemont in Haut Montreuil, Grands Pêchers district,
caused by the recharging of an electric scooter. It is a hostel for
African workers managed by ADEF. The 3rd and 4th floors of a building
burned to the ground. A resident had to jump out of the window and was
therefore seriously injured (at least one month in hospital announced).
While the police, and perhaps even the firefighters, were on site, this
seriously injured person had to be transported to the emergency room by
a neighbor of the home in his own car. Not an ambulance for him.
The (non) handling of this situation is absolutely scandalous. Between
150 and 200 people found themselves on the street, without a change of
clothes, without papers (which had been burned), without anything to
eat... The town hall did not feel concerned on the pretext of their
administrative situation. An elected official apparently came, but found
that there was nothing to do. Normally, in all municipalities, there is
emergency reception provided in the event of a disaster. This is a bit
like the bare minimum for public authorities in terms of protecting the
population. But in Montreuil, apparently, Africans not only are not
citizens, but they are not even users.
ADEF only offered rehousing to the 41 lease holders present on site at
the time, but obviously not for the same night. In a state of
astonishment, at first, the victims wanted to stay together and gathered
the next day in front of the town hall to obtain assistance. Without any
response. Late in the evening, still without response or solution, they
invaded the municipal cinema, the only open space. The latter did not
call the police following the intervention of the local LFI deputy who
happened to be present at a debate film. The next day, the town hall
still had not received them. Volunteers and association canteens offered
them food and warm clothes, but nothing from social services or even
large associations.
Two days later, they demonstrated at ADEF headquarters in Ivry. Shock at
the Ivry town hall, called for help by the police overwhelmed by
farmers, when they discovered the situation! She put them up and offered
them toilet kits for two nights (I won't tell you about the probable
argument between the communist mayor of Ivry and the communist mayor of
Montreuil...) and banged her fist on Table. ADEF suddenly found other
rehousing possibilities and committed to rehousing, including
undocumented immigrants! In the homes there are many people who do not
have a lease, either because they occupy the bed of someone who is
absent without the manager having transferred the lease, or because they
are in more. They are therefore not all undocumented. There may even be
French people who have never found accommodation.
But ADEF did not have the beds, and therefore subcontracted to other
managers. It was agreed that each holder of this new lease (who may not
have held a lease in the hostel) could accommodate one or two
undocumented immigrants. But when they showed up, the undocumented
immigrants were refused. Let us salute the courage of those among the
holders who refused their lease under these conditions and preferred to
return to the streets.
Montreuil town hall only agrees to speak to delegates from the home who
are in the part not affected by the fire, and refuses to receive
delegates from disaster victims. She made it known through all her means
of communication that she had taken care of everything and that there
was no problem. The only problem would be that of residents who refused
their proposals! This communication obviously prevented solidarity from
manifesting. No service agrees to respond to disaster victims: they are
supposedly not aware.
After all these adventures, the victims found themselves dispersed,
which makes organizing resistance even more difficult. The supporters do
what they can, but they have neither premises nor a public meeting
point. Difficult in these conditions to solicit individual solidarity.
Canteens are still trying to keep up, but with the victims themselves
being dispersed, and possibly working, it is complicated.
The actual number of people relocated is unknown. The rehabilitation
work is expected to last one year. This story is therefore far from over.
Obviously, it is difficult not to imagine that in fact, in these times
of renovation-destruction of homes (let us point out that this home is
not affected by the plan in question) and of the hunt for the poor
accompanying the Olympic Games, the authorities thought that 150 fewer
African workers is still a win...

Sylvie

http://oclibertaire.lautre.net/spip.php?article4109
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