With the recommended quarter of an hour in advance, Eldesouki is patient. At 10 a.m., he has a meeting with Nolwenn George, deputy head of the Mission for Unaccompanied Minors and Foreign Families (MNAFE), a child protection educational service based in Saint-Brieuc. The interview is important: it is the last step before signing your young adult contract (CJM). “Lasting one year, this contract is renewable twice, up to age 21, and allows young people helped by child protection to extend the assistance they received when they were minors,” explains the educator. from Eldesouki, Gaël Guéguen, employee of the Faces of Hope association.
This young man is Egyptian. He arrived in France “three years ago, alone”. He lived in the hotel for eight months and then was taken care of by the Visages d’Espoir association, mandated by the Department. “In my country, I was not at peace,” says the very young adult. I wanted to live in a different mentality. » In a work-study program at Greta, in Bon-Repos-sur-Blavet, Eldesouki has been working for a year as an apprentice in a plumbing company in Pontivy (56). “It was complicated at the beginning, he went through a period of sadness,” says his educator. We had to summon him and talk. But now his boss says he is very talented and learns very quickly. »
Nolwenn George talks to him about responsibility – “At 18, you are responsible for yourself before the law” -, professional integration, behavior, respect and adherence. “We do not sign the contract if there is a breach of the law,” underlines Gaël Guéguen. Eldesouki shakes his head with a smile. The young man manages his money, contributes to the rent of the apartment made available by Faces of Hope, in Pontivy. “Gaël helps me a lot, he’s the best,” he slips discreetly. With intensive training, he speaks French which he has nothing to be ashamed of. The procedures will still be long until his regularization “but it is on the right track”, assures his educator.
I love this job. It’s certain that the atmosphere is not crazy in Moncontour but it is calm and relaxed. I’m good here
“Enormous moral and economic fault”
Among the nine young people under the responsibility of Gaël Guéguen, there is also Mohamed. This Wednesday, Gaël picks him up from his apartment in Moncontour to take him to Saint-Brieuc. The next day, he must go to Paris, to the Mali embassy, to complete enlistment, a preliminary step to obtaining a French passport. “You could have come by bike,” jokes Gaël. Mohamed is proud of it: he has just finished paying for the electric bike which allows him a little autonomy. He is also on a young major contract (CJM). He studies at the CFA in Ploufragan and works alternately in a bakery in Moncontour, where another former MNA (1) of the association is also employed on a permanent contract.
Mohamed hopes, after his work-study contract and the CJM, to also obtain the precious permanent contract. “I love this job,” he smiles. It’s certain that the atmosphere is not crazy in Moncontour but it is calm and relaxed. I’m happy here. » For their educator, continuing state aid to these young adults is logical: “We invest in them when they are minors, abandoning them at 18 would be a huge economic and moral mistake. Without a contract or residence permit, they would find themselves under OQTF (2) which are rarely implemented, without access to common rights, work or housing. This is where we risk seeing them fall into delinquency.”
1. Unaccompanied minor.
2. Obligation to leave French territory.
