Report

Mayotte: the inhabitants of Talus 2 prepare for the destruction of their slum

In the heart of the Talus 2 slum, in Mayotte, families organize their departures before the destruction of their homes, May 21, 2023. © RFI/Lola Fourmy

Text by: Lola Fourmy

5 min

This is one of the major objectives of Operation Wuambushu, to destroy 10% of the island's informal settlement. First stopped by justice, the destruction of the Talus 2 district, in Majicavo Koropa, has finally been authorized and must begin this Monday, May 22.

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From our special envoy to Mayotte

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I took all my things and put them with the neighbors, because I have no idea how it will go tomorrow. I have no choice, I have to leave," says Djamanda*, two large plastic bags full of clothes in his arms and cousins on his head and on that of his son. The young woman has lived here since 2006 and all these children were born in Talus 2 so for her the future, now, is unclear. "I don't know anything about how the operation will take place on Monday, but all this stress is exhausting," says the mother. Around her, everyone is busy. Youngsters and olds alike fill suitcases and bags, dismantle barracks made of sheet metal and wooden beams, and save everything that can still be used.

The sounds of hammers punctuate the comings and goings of the inhabitants between the hill where Talus 2 took shape and the nearby precarious habitats that are not yet threatened with destruction. Several hundred people are believed to be living here, but many have begun to evacuate for fear that the operation will unfold. On this Sunday, this is the case of Amed*, a 45-year-old Anjounais who dismantles his house himself. The Comorian has lived here since 1998, but has never managed to obtain papers, so he knows, his only solution is to flee before the camp's dismantling teams arrive. After sheltering what constitutes his whole life, he planned to go into hiding, "very far," he says.

► READ ALSO: Mayotte: the president of the Comoros, Azali Assoumani, asks the France "a pause" in its plan of expulsions

What future for the inhabitants after the destruction?

Safia accepted the relocation proposal. So she leaves her tin home of about forty square meters with three rooms serving as bedrooms for an apartment shared with a person she does not know. For this mother, this is not an opportunity to leave what state services call an area of insalubrity. "I have no choice," she says. Showing around her dirt house, connected to water and electricity, she sighs: "Here, my life was so simple." The one who worked in the markets now fears that she will not be able to get by and that she will not be able to afford the cost of rent. Disappointed, she leaves the premises without looking back.

The informal settlement of Talus 2, which is the subject of a demolition operation, in Mayotte, May 21, 2023. © RFI/Lola Fourmy

At the end of the week, the prefect Thierry Suquet said on Mayotte the 1st that proposals for relocation were going to be made. "We are able to accommodate and relocate if necessary," he said. In the muddy paths of Talus 2, several residents claim to have received no proposal or offers that are undersized - sometimes with a room for eight tenants - or too far away to ensure the continuity of the children's schooling. This Monday, social services should also be held in the neighborhood, according to the prefecture, and could make it possible to take stock of the social situation of these families.

A climate of heightened tensions

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I'm desperate, I'm angry ", annoys the one everyone nicknames Hagat. "My mother has been there for 20 years, and here they come to dislodge us like that, for no reason. We wonder if Mayotte is really a French island, because in France, we can not dislodge people like that, "laments this Comorian in a regular situation. He regrets the way in which the operation is being conducted. "They talk to us about development, here, we are all for development, but we do not dislodge people like that! Where are you going to leave them? It will inevitably lead to violence, because young people wonder where they will live, "says this resident of Talus 2.

On the night of Saturday to Sunday, the first clashes reportedly broke out between young people who were throwing stones and the police. "We don't know how it's going to go, but we're worried that it won't go well," says a man in the neighborhood. At his side, Pierre*, 16, is worried. It has been a week since this high school student went to class for fear that his family would be evacuated in his absence. If the young man says he fears violent acts in the face of the demolition operation of the slum, he says he does not want to participate. "I'm not doing what I wouldn't like to be done to me," the teenager concluded.

In parallel with the operation to destroy this slum, evictions resumed after a sequence of tension between Paris and Anjouan. Since 17 May, more than 70 people have reportedly been returned to the Comoros.

► Read also: In Mayotte, "we still live in fear of being deported"

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