A dozen unaccompanied minors who have all crossed the Mediterranean are taking swimming lessons in the Rennes region.
The objective is to overcome their fear of water and engage them in psychological follow-up work.
This project, called Aquarius, is led by four students in the Staps course.
They lived through hell, crossing, like so many other migrants, the Mediterranean at the risk of their lives in makeshift boats. A trauma that has left its mark on these young Africans, many of whom suffer from mental disorders. But for now, it's joy that can be read on their faces. This Monday evening, a dozen of these young unaccompanied minors (MNA), from Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali or Cameroon, are having fun like crazy in a pool of the Cesson-Sévigné swimming pool near Rennes.
Equipped with a fry, they all throw themselves into the deep end, each jump being punctuated by great bursts of laughter.
"Are you sure I have feet?"
asks one of them all the same, a little fearfully.
Because the majority of these young people do not know how to swim.
Some are even discovering the swimming pool for the first time.
“It's so cool here!
exclaims Mohamed, originally from Ethiopia.
Like his swim buddies, a dozen sessions are still waiting for him in the coming weeks with the aim of learning to swim.
"Or at least to get by in the water", emphasizes Enja Delepine.
“These young people see water as a danger”
It is to this young man and three other students in the Staps course in Rennes that we owe this sports and solidarity project called Aquarius, in reference to the boat of the NGO SOS Méditerranée.
Specialized educator in Chartres, Enja Delepine was already working with young migrants.
It was in contact with one of them, haunted by nightmares after the drowning of his best friend while crossing the Mediterranean, that this project took on its full meaning.
“These young people have a complex relationship with water, which they see as a danger,” he explains.
Through fun sessions, we will therefore try to overcome their fear so that they can better understand the aquatic environment”.
In Master Staps, Emilie Schoenahl, lifeguard, also accompanies them in this project, leading the sessions at the edge of the pool.
"We are going gradually by teaching them to move in the water," says the young woman.
But I am also there to reassure them so that they gain self-confidence”.
Soon paddle and surf lessons
Each month, a psychologist will also join the young people for a support group.
Because if the project is intended to be fun and sporty, it also aims to identify and treat the invisible wounds of these young people.
“It's very complicated to get them to adhere to a psychological follow-up, underlines Enja Delepine.
We think that sport can be a good starting point for this.
It's also a way to help them integrate better in France”.
After the swimming pool, the ten young people followed by the association will also discover other aquatic activities on sunny days such as canoeing, paddle and even surfing in Saint-Malo.
"The sea should no longer be a traumatic place for them but a place of pleasure and leisure," hopes Enja Delepine, who plans to launch a similar project in the coming months in Chartres.
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