in the Pas-de-Calais, refugees faced with the problem of mobility

Some rural mayors did not wait for the President of the Republic to welcome refugees to their villages. In Haplincourt (Pas-de-Calais), a small village of 200 inhabitants south of Arras, the town welcomed a Syrian couple, Badiah and Jamal, with their little girl in 2017. At first, they were installed under the very roof of the town hall, right next to the mayor’s office. “There is an equipped kitchen, a living room, a small bathroom and two bedrooms“, describes Michel Flahaut, the city councilor.

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This decision caused a lot of excitement in this small town without trade. “Of course, we had villagers who were not happy, but in fact it went very well“, recalls Michel Flahaut. “The day they arrived was the day the elders met to play cards, so when the little three-year-old jumped on their necks when they arrived, the welcome was“, says the mayor with a smile.

Despite this warm welcome, the couple no longer live in Haplincourt . The couple and their little girl rent an apartment in Arras, about thirty minutes by car. Jamal’s Syrian permit was not recognized in France and life in the countryside had become untenable for his wife Badiah. “He there was only a bus in the morning at 6am and in the evening, I had no license, no car, I had to stay at home all the time“, explains the mother of the family.

Non-existent transport in the countryside, while in town everything is at your fingertips. This facilitates a large number of daily procedures.

“It’s easier because when you are refugees you always need to go to the prefecture, to CAF, to do a lot of papers.”

Badiah, Syrian refugee

at franceinfo

Mobility is a real concern in the countryside, when you have to work elsewhere, get treatment elsewhere. Michel Flahaut, the mayor of Haplincourt, clearly sees the limits of this proposal from the president: “The permit in rural areas is part of integration. It is mandatory. Mr. Macron will have to think about it in his project if he wants to bring people back to the villages where there is no work and no shops”, warns the chosen one.

Michel Flahaut wishes to obtain answers on this point. Jamal has found a job as a carpenter near Arras. He has passed his French license in the meantime, but his family will stay in town, where they have created a new life for themselves. No question of returning to Haplincourt.