Translator: eric vautier Reviewer: Elise LECAMP
Follow me, I open the doors of the municipality of Pessat-Villeneuve,
small town of 550 inhabitants of Puy-de-Dôme,
located at the foot of the volcanoes of Auvergne.
His rainbow school, his castle,
his menhir,
and his wall art.
(Laughter)
If the menhir is dated to several thousand years,
wall art is newer, much newer.
On November 3, 2015,
the village population has increased by almost 10%
welcoming 48 migrants from the Calais jungle.
And if a bus is back in the courtyard of the castle,
it’s not because his GPS was out of order,
but just because I invited them.
In September 2015,
the government launches an appeal to all municipalities in France
for volunteer communes to host Syrian refugees,
families.
At that moment, I volunteer
as about thirty out of 500 communes that account the department.
In October, the situation in Calais becomes critical;
the government decides to create CAOs,
reception and orientation center, temporary
for migrants who are in Calais
and who wish to apply for asylum in France.
On October 26, it is six o’clock
I receive a call from the sub-prefect who tells me:
“Mr. Mayor, are you ready to welcome 100 migrants? “
I say yes
with some questions:
are our premises adapted? Will we be ready?
And the population? The population is not informed.
For five days,
we will organize ourselves
with the association that will be chosen for this welcome,
the services of the State,
communal employees – we will check the standards,
heating,
– we are in winter –
the sheets, prepare the beds,
but basically, logistics is not the most complicated to manage.
The most complicated is the urgency.
And the mayor that I am does not decide alone,
he has a municipal council.
I met him, a week after the call from the sous-préfet,
and there, they say yes,
fortunately.
It reassures me, because a few hours ago,
I had confirmation that the bus was arriving the next day.
(Laughter)
I took the opportunity nevertheless to inform the population,
I distributed a communiqué in all the boxes.
November 3,
at about 20:30, the bus enters the courtyard of the castle,
from there 48 migrants.
To welcome them, I’m here with the prefect.
We welcome them,
in French,
– in English, it’s already a bit more complicated –
and in Arabic – fortunately, there was a translator.
But there were also the journalists,
many journalists.
And the next day, the small town
500 people make the front page of the press,
regional, written, televised,
and from there,
hatred is unleashed.
It starts first with phone calls: 1, 2, 3, 10, 50, unmanageable.
So much so that I have to close the standard of the town hall.
Then come the threats,
who will arrive via social networks,
websites,
where I will even be sentenced to death.
Will follow the anonymous letters,
the tags – we saw them –
and it is in this climate
I will do
the public meeting three days after the arrival of the migrants.
There is such tension while the prefecture has decided
to put me under police protection,
me, the little mayor of the small town of 500 inhabitants.
I put on a nice suit, a white shirt, saying to my deputies:
“Well, if I ever take shots, at least it will show. “
And I go back to the room.
I was rather in the role of the matador who returned to the arena
but very quickly, I saw that it was me who would have the role of the bull that night.
The room is archicomble, there are people everywhere,
inside Outside.
People who are in front of me, I know them, I know them all.
And what I’m going to hear is impressive,
it’s terrible:
“We do not want these people!
They are not like us! It’s not for us to welcome them!
They will destroy everything, rob our homes,
burn the castle.
There will be rubbish everywhere.
They will rape our children. “
” Mr. Mayor,
they will rape my children! “
shout to me this mother of family that I know very well,
whom I thought I knew well.
It’s violent, it’s impressive.
And then, in the middle of the room,
a young woman raises her finger
and ask a question:
” How are they ? “
I have it repeated so that everyone can hear well, and then the hate stops.
” How are they ? “
Finally ! The first question that will focus on people, these young people,
these young men, this young woman, whom we welcomed,
who arrived scared,
lost, malnourished.
And hate stops bawling
when the teacher of the village proposes to give French lessons.
And from there, the next day –
the meeting ends,
people come to me spontaneously by offering their help,
but the next day,
by the tens
the volunteers have arrived –
we counted up to 60 –
to help us, to teach them French,
to convey them for the administrative parts,
bring them to their medical visit,
to pick up the leaves of the castle.
They went to the pool, they discovered our beautiful heritage …
It worked,
it started to work well,
the CAD could work normally.
The principle of the CAO is to welcome with dignity and humanly,
but it is also
physically retype them because they really got very tired,
and then guide them,
and particularly to the CADA, the Asylum Seekers Reception Centers.
And this is how
the site could –
About twenty have been oriented,
and we were able to accommodate a second bus.
He arrived in January,
I will say almost in general indifference.
It means that the media probably went to something else.
And funny thing to report,
is that when they arrived,
the new ones,
the elders welcomed them by applauding them.
All the volunteers were there too to make the link.
The life of the commune could continue,
normally.
The children always went to school; Santa has even gone to see them.
They were wise, no doubt.
The associations worked, the commune continued to function,
the municipal newsletter that was released speaks certainly of the CAO,
it’s normal,
but also the sewage treatment plant that was made during the winter.
It worked because we continued to work,
with them, in their midst.
It worked because it actually works.
It works because,
Basically, solidarity,
it’s silent,
but it is terribly efficient and mobilizing.
It worked because hate,
basically, it’s just noise.
When we stop listening to this noise, we just ask ourselves the question that is worth it:
” How are they ?
How are they, Mohammed,
Mahmoud, Ali, Mehri? “
In a while, in three weeks,
we are organizing a reunion party,
with the volunteers who will pick up the migrants
who stayed in the area.
We can not wait to find them, we can not wait to meet again,
we can not wait to welcome them,
we can not wait to welcome us.
As a parent, as a brother, as a friend, as a child,
we have not seen for a long time,
we just want to know how they are doing.
Thank you.
(Applause)
Follow me, I open the doors of the municipality of Pessat-Villeneuve,
small town of 550 inhabitants of Puy-de-Dôme,
located at the foot of the volcanoes of Auvergne.
His rainbow school, his castle,
his menhir,
and his wall art.
(Laughter)
If the menhir is dated to several thousand years,
wall art is newer, much newer.
On November 3, 2015,
the village population has increased by almost 10%
welcoming 48 migrants from the Calais jungle.
And if a bus is back in the courtyard of the castle,
it’s not because his GPS was out of order,
but just because I invited them.
In September 2015,
the government launches an appeal to all municipalities in France
for volunteer communes to host Syrian refugees,
families.
At that moment, I volunteer
as about thirty out of 500 communes that account the department.
In October, the situation in Calais becomes critical;
the government decides to create CAOs,
reception and orientation center, temporary
for migrants who are in Calais
and who wish to apply for asylum in France.
On October 26, it is six o’clock
I receive a call from the sub-prefect who tells me:
“Mr. Mayor, are you ready to welcome 100 migrants? “
I say yes
with some questions:
are our premises adapted? Will we be ready?
And the population? The population is not informed.
For five days,
we will organize ourselves
with the association that will be chosen for this welcome,
the services of the State,
communal employees – we will check the standards,
heating,
– we are in winter –
the sheets, prepare the beds,
but basically, logistics is not the most complicated to manage.
The most complicated is the urgency.
And the mayor that I am does not decide alone,
he has a municipal council.
I met him, a week after the call from the sous-préfet,
and there, they say yes,
fortunately.
It reassures me, because a few hours ago,
I had confirmation that the bus was arriving the next day.
(Laughter)
I took the opportunity nevertheless to inform the population,
I distributed a communiqué in all the boxes.
November 3,
at about 20:30, the bus enters the courtyard of the castle,
from there 48 migrants.
To welcome them, I’m here with the prefect.
We welcome them,
in French,
– in English, it’s already a bit more complicated –
and in Arabic – fortunately, there was a translator.
But there were also the journalists,
many journalists.
And the next day, the small town
500 people make the front page of the press,
regional, written, televised,
and from there,
hatred is unleashed.
It starts first with phone calls: 1, 2, 3, 10, 50, unmanageable.
So much so that I have to close the standard of the town hall.
Then come the threats,
who will arrive via social networks,
websites,
where I will even be sentenced to death.
Will follow the anonymous letters,
the tags – we saw them –
and it is in this climate
I will do
the public meeting three days after the arrival of the migrants.
There is such tension while the prefecture has decided
to put me under police protection,
me, the little mayor of the small town of 500 inhabitants.
I put on a nice suit, a white shirt, saying to my deputies:
“Well, if I ever take shots, at least it will show. “
And I go back to the room.
I was rather in the role of the matador who returned to the arena
but very quickly, I saw that it was me who would have the role of the bull that night.
The room is archicomble, there are people everywhere,
inside Outside.
People who are in front of me, I know them, I know them all.
And what I’m going to hear is impressive,
it’s terrible:
“We do not want these people!
They are not like us! It’s not for us to welcome them!
They will destroy everything, rob our homes,
burn the castle.
There will be rubbish everywhere.
They will rape our children. “
” Mr. Mayor,
they will rape my children! “
shout to me this mother of family that I know very well,
whom I thought I knew well.
It’s violent, it’s impressive.
And then, in the middle of the room,
a young woman raises her finger
and ask a question:
” How are they ? “
I have it repeated so that everyone can hear well, and then the hate stops.
” How are they ? “
Finally ! The first question that will focus on people, these young people,
these young men, this young woman, whom we welcomed,
who arrived scared,
lost, malnourished.
And hate stops bawling
when the teacher of the village proposes to give French lessons.
And from there, the next day –
the meeting ends,
people come to me spontaneously by offering their help,
but the next day,
by the tens
the volunteers have arrived –
we counted up to 60 –
to help us, to teach them French,
to convey them for the administrative parts,
bring them to their medical visit,
to pick up the leaves of the castle.
They went to the pool, they discovered our beautiful heritage …
It worked,
it started to work well,
the CAD could work normally.
The principle of the CAO is to welcome with dignity and humanly,
but it is also
physically retype them because they really got very tired,
and then guide them,
and particularly to the CADA, the Asylum Seekers Reception Centers.
And this is how
the site could –
About twenty have been oriented,
and we were able to accommodate a second bus.
He arrived in January,
I will say almost in general indifference.
It means that the media probably went to something else.
And funny thing to report,
is that when they arrived,
the new ones,
the elders welcomed them by applauding them.
All the volunteers were there too to make the link.
The life of the commune could continue,
normally.
The children always went to school; Santa has even gone to see them.
They were wise, no doubt.
The associations worked, the commune continued to function,
the municipal newsletter that was released speaks certainly of the CAO,
it’s normal,
but also the sewage treatment plant that was made during the winter.
It worked because we continued to work,
with them, in their midst.
It worked because it actually works.
It works because,
Basically, solidarity,
it’s silent,
but it is terribly efficient and mobilizing.
It worked because hate,
basically, it’s just noise.
When we stop listening to this noise, we just ask ourselves the question that is worth it:
” How are they ?
How are they, Mohammed,
Mahmoud, Ali, Mehri? “
In a while, in three weeks,
we are organizing a reunion party,
with the volunteers who will pick up the migrants
who stayed in the area.
We can not wait to find them, we can not wait to meet again,
we can not wait to welcome them,
we can not wait to welcome us.
As a parent, as a brother, as a friend, as a child,
we have not seen for a long time,
we just want to know how they are doing.
Thank you.
(Applause)
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