• Successive confinements and activity restrictions due to the coronavirus crisis have deprived young people living in rural areas of meetings and outings.

  • Four teenagers from a Limousin village told us how they are going through the health crisis.

    Behind a postcard setting, their daily life has been more complicated for a year and they feel a greater sense of isolation.

  • But the health crisis has strengthened the links of young people within the village.

This Tuesday, they kick a ball under a bright sky.

Amandine, Léa, Noah and Maïa are on vacation.

But confinement requires, the four teenagers were not entitled to a change of scenery.

Moreover, since the start of the health crisis, their holidays have often been spent in their village: in Magnac-Bourg, in Haute-Vienne, where 1,117 souls live.

While they would like to run around the world, their horizon has shrunk sharply over the past year.

Admittedly, the decor has nothing to envy that of a postcard: rolling meadows where red cows graze, romantic ponds, a pretty wood, a 15th century Gothic church ... A small haven of peace located at 33 kilometers from Limoges, but which has become a bit too quiet for these teenagers.

“Before, I found it painful to go to class.

But now I miss it ”

At the age when social life is crucial, the announcement of the third confinement, they experienced it like a hammer blow: “It was difficult to accept. My holidays on the Ile d'Oléron fell apart, ”says Maïa. For her, as for Léa and Noah, there is no longer any question of going to college in the neighboring town, in Saint-Germain-les-Belles. And the return is not expected until May 3, at best. A prospect that saddens Léa, in 5th grade: "Not seeing my friends is difficult," she whispers.

A situation that Amandine, a second year student in Limoges, knows well, since her high school has only welcomed students one week out of two since October to comply with health instructions. “Before, I found it painful to go to class. But now I miss it. Moreover, before confinement, I still went to Limoges on certain days when I didn't have classes, just to hang out in town, meet friends or go to the library. And since April 3, not seeing them anymore, it's been too big a cut. Fortunately there are social networks! It helps me to hold on ”. A forced isolation which favors the family closed-door: "Sometimes, we get angry more", comments Noah. “Being with the same people all the time just doesn't make sense. I realized how much I needed others, ”adds Maïa.

"I feel like I haven't learned anything this year"

Nor is it easy to stimulate yourself to work.

Students were given a week of distance education before the holidays and will have at least another next week.

And the resumption of the courses will perhaps be done then only in half-gauge.

But the online homework ended up boring Amandine: “At home, I'm more distracted, it's more difficult to get started.

Besides, I feel like I haven't learned anything this year.

I'm starting to worry about next year ”.

Maïa is not a fan of distance college either: “We work less than in class and we don't have the teachers' explanations on the points we don't understand.

After the first confinement, it was complicated to resume classes, because we were late.

There, it risks doing the same thing ”.

"My week has become like a weekend"

Living in the countryside means taking the car to go and do sports and cultural activities. Not easy in normal times, but before the Covid-19, their parents organized themselves to offer them a rich range of leisure activities. Except that since the health crisis, it has become an obstacle course, if not totally impossible. “Before, I used to go to the cinema, to the restaurant, to see handball matches. Not doing it anymore, it makes my life harder. Before, I often went to Deux-Sèvres to see my family for the weekend. But since then, it has become very rare and I miss my cousins ​​”, describes Léa.

Maïa also got used to giving up: "I still have football training, but all the tournaments have been canceled," she laments.

Also no more swimming pool sessions on Saturdays in Limoges for Amandine: “Since October, it has been closed.

My week has become like a weekend.

Most of the time, I'm on the screens.

I know I spend too much time there, but I have nothing else to do.

The days have become too long, I am not busy enough ”.

Noah also confides spending a lot of time on the screens for a year: “I play more online and I consult social networks more.

But it's virtual, not concrete, ”he laments.

"I have the impression of being a spectator of my life"

A change of schedule that ends up leaving traces: "By force, we go in circles", summarizes Maïa. “I have changed for a year, I see things more sadly. I have the impression of being a spectator of my life. I missed a lot of things. For example, last June, we didn't say goodbye correctly to my college friends when we weren't going to see each other again ”regrets Amandine.

If the table of the last months is not the most colorful, it still has brighter areas: "In the village, I have about twenty friends, we sometimes meet at the stadium to play football or to go for walks. . This period strengthened my links with the friends of the village, since I could not go to see those who live further away, ”he emphasizes. "We also got to know other older friends, because all the young people go to the stadium more than before the Covid and our parents let us go out more", comments Maïa.

And each of them has the feeling of having matured: "The coronavirus will have taught me to pay more attention to others, to protect them," he explains.

“This period will have taught me patience,” says Maïa in turn.

The time that has passed more slowly also allowed them to dream… of the life after: “I want to dine at a restaurant, go shopping,” says Noah.

"I want to have an evening with all the friends of the college", launches Léa in turn.

As for Maïa, she wants to "change air and travel to Spain".

In the meantime, it is the air of Limousin that fills his lungs.

And at least he's pure.

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