A child's drawing at the entrance to the 59 Saint Just squat, in Marseille, in November 2019. - J. Saint-Marc / 20 Minutes

  • The 38 isolated miners who lived in a squat in Marseille were sheltered on Tuesday.
  • The volunteers who manage this squat welcome this shelter, but regret the end of the reception of unaccompanied minors since the beginning of confinement.
  • The association which manages the registration of unaccompanied minors must resume its activity this Wednesday.

The volunteers of the 59 Saint-Just collective “cry victory. The 38 isolated miners who lived in this Marseille squat were sheltered by the Departmental Council this Tuesday at midday, we learned from these volunteers. The miners' lawyers had obtained this emergency shelter last Monday from the administrative court. The rules of confinement were not respected in this overcrowded squat.

The minors were placed in hotels and homes, in Marseille and Arles. They have not been screened because they show no symptoms, says a source familiar with the matter. About 120 people, including fifty children, still live in the Saint-Just squat.

"This decision leaves a bitter taste"

"We are very happy for the 38 young people, but this decision leaves us with a bitter taste," says Isabelle, one of the group's volunteers. Some of them had been waiting for this shelter for a year, while they were benefiting from temporary placement orders. Isabelle “is astonished at the ability of the department to find places miraculously, in the midst of a health crisis. "

In a press release, the collective 59 Saint-Just also denounces the closure of the services of the Departmental Association for the development of prevention actions (ADDAP 13) at the start of confinement. "Dozens of minors find themselves under the radars and have had no access to any emergency measures," the activists are annoyed.

Four months of waiting

The first reception service for unaccompanied minors of this association will reopen this Wednesday, but by appointment only. "We do not see how it can help the kid who will arrive tomorrow at Saint-Charles station," illustrates Isabelle. She recalls that before the health crisis, you had to wait at least four months before registering as an isolated minor in Marseille.

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  • Confinement
  • Coronavirus
  • Squat
  • Society
  • Migrants
  • Marseille