“I believed I would have the same rights as asylum seekers in other parts of the EU”, explains Malek, who had scrutinised the web before embarking on the journey. Most of the applicants are not aware of the precarious situation of asylum seekers in Mayotte, and the risk of becoming stranded on the island. In 2018, a total of 809 asylum applications were registered on the island (Rapport d’activité OFPRA 2018, Rapport d’activité Solidarité Mayotte 2018). Mayotte, an island located within the Comoros archipelago between Madagascar and Mozambique, became an overseas department of France in 2011 and an outermost region of the EU in 2014.ĭue to its geographical location Mayotte is increasingly receiving applications for asylum from the Comoros, but also the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Burundi, Rwanda as well as Syria, Yemen and Cameroon. Mayotte: a place of increased asylum applications For asylum seekers in Mayotte, the latter often consist of no more than a single room they share with others, or minuscule huts made of tin. The lock-down regulations issued by the French government, have confined the inhabitants of overseas territories to their homes. “I feel like I am counting the remaining days of my life”, he says at the start of our video call in the beginning of May.Ĭurrently, 1670 cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed on the island. The young Yemenite is trying to keep his head up, but sometimes he is simply overwhelmed by the impact of the lock-down. A small cupboard and a tatty sofa have been left behind by previous tenants that came to seek asylum in Mayotte, a French overseas department like Malek.
Blankets and pillows lie on the floor which will be used as three improvised beds for the night. The floor of the tiny room in Mamoudzou, the capital of Mayotte, is covered in painted tiles. As a consequence of the lock-down linked to the Covid-19 pandemic, they have not been able to pay their rent, and the landlord appears to have run out of patience. Him and his two roommates will have to leave their room by the end of the month. Malek is 30 years old, holds a Master degree in English and linguistics and is now facing challenges he did not expect when he decided to seek asylum in Mayotte in 2019.
0 kommentar(er)
