Five years after their arrival in Fougères, migrants from the Calais jungle are building a new life
Five years later, what has happened to the migrants who arrived from the Calais jungle in Brittany? We met Abdel Aziz. Originally from Sudan, he and his wife chose to settle in Fougères. The young man has been regularized and has been working in a slaughterhouse for two years.
In October 2016, just five years ago, the Calais jungle was dismantled for health reasons. About 10,000 migrants, aspire to be smuggled into Great Britain, live in this makeshift encampment. These people were then transferred to the four corners of France.
In Brittany, it is the country of Fougères which received the most migrants on this occasion. One hundred and fifty were directed to Beaucé, a town bordering Fougères, presented a demonstration of 150 people in which pros and anti-migrants came face to face.
50 people settled in the land of Fougères
Five years later, 50 of them have settled there permanently. Like Abdel Aziz. He was 24 when he arrived in Fougères with his wife Soumia. In Sudan, his native country, he trained as a welder, but he chose to leave everything. After the hell of Libya, he crossed the Mediterranean to arrive in Italy and then in the north of France at Calais.
He remembers his arrival in Brittany and the volunteers who supported him: “They were with us all the time, Catherine, Jean-Yves, Madame François. Everyone was very nice, that’s why I stayed in Fougères.”
Towards slow integration
Today, Abdel Aziz is 29 years old, he was regularized four years ago and has worked in a slaughterhouse for two years. “It’s okay, it’s a little hard, but I like my boss.”
He always sees the volunteers who have supported him. Their relationship gradually slipped into friendship. Abdel Aziz does them a favor whenever he can. Like a fair return of things.
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