France has announced that it can accommodate 100,000 refugees from the war in Ukraine. State of play in the departments of the region, where arrivals continue.
They arrive in an incessant flow, sometimes in whole buses, sometimes in family units, most often women and children who have left the men behind to defend their land. More and more displaced Ukrainians have thus been accommodated in Occitania for more than five weeks of war.
In the Hérault, the last score of the prefecture reported on April 1 of 900 people identified including 570 adults and 330 minors. Montpellier has made the Olympia gymnasium available to cope with the influx. In Béziers, reception is provided at the Palais des Congrés. On these temporary accommodation sites, the first care is medical with in particular a covid test and listening by the psychological unit. “We strive to get them an appointment within three days of their arrival to issue them the temporary residence permit, which gives them the right to work and financial assistance”we say to the prefecture.
EDF holiday centers as a transitional solution
The social organizations then take over and the Gammes association, mandated by the prefect, directs the displaced, in conjunction with the Red Cross and the SOS Montpellier Ukraine association, towards intermediate accommodation: EDF center in Cap d’ Agde (58 families), a campsite in Lattes. A hundred people are also welcomed by municipalities in communal housing. Accompaniment in longer-term accommodation will be provided by mandated associations which will have to agree with individuals or legal persons.
This procedure will be respected in all departments, including the Gard which announced on Tuesday 484 displaced persons on its territory, initially directed to the premises of the Red Cross or the accommodation center of Aimargues, a holiday village of EDF with a capacity of 104 places and available until the end of May.
283 refugees registered in Aveyron
In Lozère, 28 refugees are accommodated at the Chalet in Mende, a reception center for groups, and around forty people with individuals in the four corners of the department. At the prefecture of Perpignan, Tuesday, there were 147 temporary residence permits issued and 440 appointments granted. From this Wednesday, an additional counter was to be opened to speed up procedures and avoid congestion.
In Aveyron, where 283 Ukrainian nationals have already been registered, we recognize in places that we are not necessarily prepared to take care of these refugees. “We are overwhelmed, underwater, there is the language barrier, the financial needs, so many things to take into account”, explained in the columns of Center Presse Florence Serrano, assistant in charge of the social in Villefranche de Rouergue. The town hall voted to create a non-permanent part-time job to address all these issues.
In the Aude, where 596 displaced people are already registered in the prefecture, it is the Soliha association which is mandated to accompany them. The department can rely on other crisis management experiences. “Accommodating people is important, but support is even more so. We learned that during the 2018 floods”thus confides to our colleagues from the Independent Daniel Iché, vice-president of the CCAS of Carcassonne.
360 students enrolled in the Montpellier Academy
360 Ukrainian students have been enrolled in schools, colleges and high schools of the Montpellier academy, the rectorate indicated on Tuesday. Remember that education is one of the basic rights for these displaced children. This still relatively low rate of schooling compared to the overall number of refugees is explained by the fact that many Ukrainian children can follow the programs of their country of origin remotely and at home. Many families also hope to be able to return to their country very soon.
