Residents of Lasalle, in the Cévennes, are mobilizing to support Gabin around his parents. This “village child” still residing in Mayotte, suffered the passage of Cyclone Chido.
A cardboard package placed on a table. Inside, beautiful sweets with the scents of the Cévennes. Chestnut jam, pâté, honey, cold meats, and even brandade. “That’s Nîmes, but hey… We’re not going to restrict it!” A gourmet shipment that Laurence and Emmanuel Bouchez are packing from their home in Lasalle, destined for their son, Gabin, currently in Mayotte.
“I understood why he wanted to stay”
A young 25-year-old architect who has been on the archipelago for two years, Gabin Bouchez experienced Cyclone Chido on December 14. That day, he escaped unscathed, but the roof of his home collapsed. Forcing him to live with friends ever since. On December 27, he testified in Free Midday on the extent of the damage, the desolation of the island, and on his desire to stay there, to help the other victims with his friends.
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TESTIMONY. “Poverty is in plain sight”: a Gardois who lives in Mayotte recounts the dramatic consequences of Cyclone Chido
On the day of the cyclone, “we got him quickly on the phone”says his mother. His last words before the line went dead were distressing: “Mom, the trees are flying!” For 40 hours, Laurence and Emmanuel Bouchez had no news from their son. A first relief, therefore, once the connection is re-established. But a form of incomprehension, understandable when it concerns a son, persisted for a while. “My wish was that he would come home, quickly, continues Laurence. But he told me he wouldn't do it.” It was by reading his testimony in the newspaper, “that I understood why my son wanted to stay”.
Since the cyclone, Gabin Bouchez has been helping other Mahorais, with “about fifteen friends”through an association. Due to his skills, he also joined the Emergency Architects foundation, an NGO, as its name suggests, which provides assistance by working on damaged buildings.
-Gabin, we saw him grow up. We wanted him to know that we were thinking of him.
“A moment a bit “like at home””
Gabin Bouchez's testimony also went around the village at the time of its publication. To the surprise of his parents: “Many have told us of his courage to step forward and asked us what they could do to help.” The Bouchez family's first response was to advise sending funds to the humanitarian associations present. However, the desire to directly help their son was strong among these neighbors. “Gabin, we saw him grow upconfides Fanny, one of her family friends. We wanted him to know that we were thinking of him. I want to say that it's a collective desire, it was important to us to bring a little bit of Lasalle to Gabin.”
So, around thirty of them got involved, taking turns going to the village supermarket to buy, bring a little something or contribute to an improvised pot to pay for the flavors. “The store agreed to centralize everything for us”thanks Laurence Bouchez.
The initiative may seem very simple. But this package of sweets, entrusted to the postman this Thursday, January 16, is synonymous with a treasure by Gabin's parents, whom they are now able to contact regularly. “His living conditions are quite “roots”, says his father. We are quite surprised that he has adapted so well to them!“
But in recent days, “he was starting to feel discouraged because of the rain”adds his mother. Another cyclonic depression, more distant, recently caused a lot of rain to fall on the archipelago. This is why, above all, “if with what we send him, Gabin and his friends can enjoy a good meal, so that they can have a moment a bit “like at home””the helping hand will resonate, in Lasalle, as a great victory.
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