A-Infos (en) France, OCL CA #339 - Update on the situation of asylum seekers in Guyana (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

To take stock of the situation of asylum seekers in Guyana: Interview 
with V. member of the Upaya association, coming to the aid of exiles 
present in Cayenne ---- A year ago, you described to us the dramatic 
situation of asylum seekers in Guyana (see CA 330). The situation does 
not seem to have improved. Can you give me a quick update on where we 
are today? ---- No, that's the least we can say... asylum seekers are 
flocking more and more and still no CADA (reception center for asylum 
seekers) planned. Instead, prefectural decrees to prohibit "camping" in 
the streets of Cayenne followed one after the other and in October 2023 
an evacuation of all asylum seekers living outside followed by their 
transfer to the "green camp", far from the downtown. This camp, which is 
not a long-term accommodation solution, is installed on State land with 
former buildings of the General Directorate of Cohesion and Population. 
But these buildings are not accessible for asylum seekers, who camp outside.
One or two HUDA projects (emergency accommodation for asylum seekers) 
are in the pipeline but in remote municipalities, without administrative 
follow-up, so transport problems are to be expected to access the 
procedures that are carried out in the center of Cayenne (OFPRA, OFII, 
prefecture...). The serious lack of public transport in Guyana will 
complicate, from a practical point of view, the files that are already 
very complicated to complete.

What nationalities are currently present at the Verdure camp? Where is 
it situated? What are the current living conditions?
Since the evacuation of Place des Amandiers at the end of 2023, there 
are around 400 people in this Verdure camp. It is located on Route du 
Tigre, in a fairly isolated place hidden from everyone's view. Nobody 
goes to this place. Among the approximately 400 people, there are 
currently around 90 children out of school.
In the camp, initially there were 2 toilets, no access to drinking 
water, no shower, only one tap. Things are slowly changing since there 
is now drinking water, 4 construction site toilets and 2 prefabricated 
showers. Luxury in a way... Large garbage bins have been installed in 
the middle of the camp.

The water point...
People live under tarpaulins stretched between pallets, since they only 
have access to a small collective building and a carbet[building without 
walls used in the Amazon to install hammocks]. Access to electricity is 
via wild connections from these buildings.
Currently, new families arrive every week. The majority are Afghans, the 
rest Syrians, and finally a few Sahrawis (mostly young single men).

Recently 3 Iraqis arrived, is this a sign of the beginning of the 
arrival of this community?
Associations like La Cimade, Le Comede and Médecins du Monde in Guyana 
are healing the wounds as best they can in the face of inaction by the 
State and more generally by local officials. These associations appealed 
to the administrative court at the beginning of the year regarding the 
unworthy living conditions in the camp.

What was the result? Did that change anything? Are there other 
administrative procedures underway?
The appeal was not very successful. Refusal to build a CADA to house 
people. Refusal to take into account the fact that children are not in 
school under the pretext that "some are"... in reality 4 out of 92.
An order to install single-sex showers and 8 new toilet cubicles within 
10 days has been issued. In reality, only 4 new toilets were installed. 
An appeal is therefore underway and the hearing for the interim release 
will take place on March 14.

What is the position of local elected officials on this very sensitive 
subject locally?
Difficult to say, since the ADs are "in the green" and therefore well 
hidden from everyone's life, more people talk about them.

The mayor of Cayenne mentioned referrals to Brazil? Is this true, and if 
so, who did this crazy idea come from?
It was in fact in the speech of Sandra Trochimara, the mayor of Cayenne, 
who knows nothing about international law and who is just trying to 
create a buzz: "They arrive via Brazil which grants them a right of 
entry, therefore Brazil must assume them."

How does the population intervene locally to support these people?
I have received feedback from people who think that there are no more 
DAs since they no longer see them on the Place des Amandiers (where 
before November 2023 a camp was set up) or on the sidewalks. For my 
part, at the level of our association I have quite a few people who 
contact me to make donations, mainly clothes. A group of volunteer 
teachers have organized themselves to come and give French lessons to 
the children, on Wednesday afternoons and Saturday mornings, by age group.
Next to the camp is the Remire boxing club and an abandoned hangar. In 
connection with this very supportive sports association, our association 
organizes activities for children in the hangar. French classes also 
take place there. This hangar has been completely abandoned for many 
years... and suddenly, as if by chance, the city took an interest in it 
and wanted to destroy it to make it a technical room for the territorial 
community of Guyana (garage, management transport, demonstration service)
Unfortunately we have little hope of progress at present. The DAs 
continue to arrive and conditions improve little or not at all. The 
invisibility as well as the town hall's projects for the greenery site 
do not go in the direction of improving living conditions, but rather of 
putting in difficulty the associations, the groups of voluntary people 
who help with the daily DAs and above all a potential deterioration of 
the already inhumane living conditions of this exiled population.

P.-S.
See also: Guyana, gateway to asylum in France

http://oclibertaire.lautre.net/spip.php?article4139
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