Patricia Hyvernat, a baker from La Chapelle-du-Châtelard, in Ain, has given up eating so that Yaya, her apprentice of Guinean origin, remains in France.
In the same approach as the baker from Besançon who succeeded in regularizing Laye, his Guinean apprentice, it is the turn of Patricia Hyvernat, baker in La Chapelle-du-Châtelard (Ain) to continue the fight. Since February 9, 2021, this lady has been on hunger strike to alert 20-year-old Mamadou Yaya Bah, who works in her bakery and is threatened with eviction.
The young man from Guinea-Conakry arrived in France four years ago, at the age of 16. Supported by an association in Grenoble, it is then entrusted to the Protection of Children in Ain. Then he did various internships in the catering trade. During an apprenticeship at the Pétillières farm, he became passionate about the world of baking, reports the online petition so that Yaya remains in France. When he turned 18, the apprentice baker was no longer allowed to continue his studies and was ordered to leave the territory (OQT). He therefore undertakes administrative procedures to obtain a residence permit. Yaya can count on a promise of employment as an apprentice baker at the Pétillières farm and a place at the Ambérieu-en-Bugey training center. However, it lacks a positive decision from the Ain prefecture. "He explained to us and proved that he is willing to work with us at night, that he understands the meaning of our work. It is with him that we want to continue our journey", explains Patricia Hyvernat to France Info.
Read also: Personalities support the baker on hunger strike against the expulsion of his Guinean apprentice
Teresa Maffeis, activist: "Humanity is a duty. Let's help migrants come out with our heads held high"
Craftsmen or teachers helping refugees
While the institutions trample on questions of residence permits, it is up to civil society to bring humanity and solidarity into play. Baker Stéphane Ravacley's hunger strike has proven how much his actions can change the game. However, some struggles are even more difficult, such as that of Eric Durupt and Véronique de Marconnay, a couple of teachers who have been hosting Madama Diawara, a young Malian in an irregular situation, for two years. The prefecture of Haute-Loire still refuses to regularize it. "
"From child protection to expulsion", this is the course reserved for many young refugees, denounce the associations. Do we have to come to initiatives as dangerous as quitting eating so that they are in the spotlight? Make a "media stunt" to make your voice heard? And what is the next step? The baker Stéphane Ravacley is currently working on a bill with the MEP Raphaël Glucksmann so that young refugees in training can complete their studies even after 18 years.
France, sad champion of the confinement of migrant people
As recalled and denounced a report by five associations (Cimade, Forum Réfugiés Cosi, France Terre d'Asile, SOS Solidarités, Solidarité Mayotte) dating from 2020, France remained the country of the European Union which locks the most migrants in administrative detention centers (CRA) before expulsion. Mayotte, for example, retained 27,000 people in 2019, up from 16,000 the previous year. "The already existing centers and the construction projects for new centers thus confirm the primacy given to detention in the French remoteness policy, despite the violations of fundamental rights that it causes.", declared the document.
According to data from the Ministry of the Interior published Thursday, January 21, 2021, in 2020, 81,669 first applications (minors included) and 11,757 renewals were registered in Single Windows for Asylum Application (GUDA). And 15,950 foreigners in an irregular situation would have left the national territory the same year (removals, assisted voluntary departures and spontaneous departures). As for the acquisition of French nationality, it would be rarer, registering a decrease of -20%.