Par
Aurélien Burban
Published on
Oct. 7 2024 at 6:03 p.m
See my news
Follow Pontivy Journal
Friday September 13, 2024. It has already been three nights that Bujar and Vjollca Gjabri and their two children, Arlind, 5 years old, and Armela, 7 years old, in a wheelchair, have been sleeping in their car parked on the Plaine in Pontivy.
An Albanian family housed for a year and a half
It has been two years since this family moved from Dürres, on the west coast ofAlbanialess than an hour from the capital Tirana, to come to France. “There were problems in our country. In addition, the health system was expensive and not adapted to our daughter’s needs,” explains Bujar.
Arriving on October 18, 2022 on Breton soil, the family lived for two months in Saint-Brieuc (Côtes-d’Armor). Where is she supported by Coallia, an association which offers housing, accommodation and social support solutions to vulnerable people.
The Cada (Reception Center for Asylum Seekers) took over and directed the Gjabri family towards Pontivy where they were housed in accommodation in the Stiffel district for a year. Then, for seven months, they are housed (emergency) in a hotel thanks to the support of the SIAO (Integrated Reception and Orientation Service).
What is the role of Cada and SIAO?
The Cada welcomes people for asylum applications. The organization relies on state funding to accommodate asylum seekers and monitor and support them. They have no choice in their geographic destination. This action is carried out as long as their request is accepted or not. The accommodation is temporary because the Cada is always welcoming new people, and therefore needs to free up space.
As described on its website, the SIAO “ensures the coordination of local accommodation and housing stakeholders. It ensures the establishment of a permanent dialogue in order to develop active collaboration between all stakeholders in reception, accommodation and housing, including social landlords, to enable referrals to suitable accommodation solutions for people who are homeless or at risk of being homeless.
“We were cleared overnight”
But, due to lack of a residence permit, “we were released the day after the end of the hotel accommodation period”says Bujar.
The family then suffered a series of refusals, whether from the CCAS of Pontivy, or from associations like Emmaüs (where Bujar was a volunteer). Amisep and the sub-prefecture replied: “We currently have no space…”
For a month and two days, the Gjabris stayed with a friend. Since then, the family has found refuge… in their car.
The Gjabris now find themselves homeless. Without an address, and yet educated at the Jules-Ferry school, Armela cannot therefore join the Mutualist Center of Kerpape, near Lorient. The little girl is in a wheelchair due to a physical deformity. She is also prone to epileptic seizures.
“Armela doesn’t eat much anymore and she sometimes wakes up screaming”
“She can’t eat just anything. Generally, we prepare hot soup or tea for her because she also faces constipation problems,” says her mother. But in the car, it’s impossible to reheat food. The little girl with a disability makes do with cold food. “Armela doesn’t eat much anymore and she sometimes wakes up screaming,” says Vjollca.
Without a residence permit, there is no possibility of working or finding accommodation. “What we want is fixed housing to have stability. But above all for our daughter, so that she has an address, and therefore can get treatment,” says Bujar.
Response from the Morbihan prefecture: “No legitimate reason for staying in the territory”
When questioned, the sub-prefect of PontivyClaire Liétard, responds in an email dated Wednesday October 2, 2024, that “the health situation of the young girl does not enter into the criteria for issuing a residence permit for health reasons because the college of doctors of the Ofii (French Office for Immigration and Integration) considered that appropriate care was available in the country of origin.”
Consequently: “As the family does not have any other reason for legitimate stay in the territory, they were notified of a measure requiring them to leave the territory on July 22, 2024.”
The sub-prefect specifies, however, that “the family can benefit from support to prepare for their return. She can be supported in this process, if she wishes, by the French Office for Immigration and Integration in Rennes, allowing her to return to Albania with voluntary return assistance. In this context, she can benefit from accommodation while awaiting departure.”
Follow all the news from your favorite cities and media by subscribing to Mon Actu.
Related News :