Toulouse: victims of fraud, a mother and her four children live in a tent
In the Bagatelle district, a mother and her four children, one of whom has health problems, had been sleeping under a tent for ten days. Samira Boubekeur, co-founder of the Rosedesable31 association, is sounding the alarm.
“I have no words, I am disarmed” says Samira Boubekeur, co-founder of the Rosedessable31 association, in front of the tent in which a mother and her four children aged 3, 8 and 12 have been living for almost two weeks, in the Bagatelle district of Toulouse. Originally from Algeria, Sarah, the mother of the family, decided almost three months ago to go to France to treat one of her daughters for eye failure. “In Algeria, they say it’s a tumour, but we don’t know for sure.” Reports Samira Boubekeur. Alas, things did not go as planned. After renting an apartment for two months, and seeing the end of her contract approaching, Sarah turns to a new individual. “They met, he gave him fake keys and a fake badge. An hour before the move, the latter sent him a message saying: this will teach you not to trust” launches Samira Boubekeur, revolted . Once in front of the apartment, Sarah cannot unlock the lock. The young woman understands that she has been the victim of a scam, which will have cost her more than 1000 euros. The Médecins du Monde association then went to Bagatelle to pitch a tent in which the family can find refuge. Since then, Rosedessable31 volunteers have been working to bring food and material donations to these people. Samira Boubekeur tries as best she can to find emergency accommodation, but gets no concrete response from the institutions. “We asked the town hall, the police, everyone. We all refer to 115, which tells us that it is overwhelmed! They all pass the buck.”, regrets the young woman.
No care provided
However, the days count. Since the family’s arrival in France, Sarah’s little girl has still not been examined by a health professional. With the help of Samira Boubekeur, Sarah finally got an appointment with the Doctors of the World association on Tuesday, September 27. “She came to France to treat her daughter and leave, not to rebuild her life. Her visa is still valid until mid-October,” explains Samira Boubekeur.