On the 66th day of the war in Ukraine, thousands of civilians continue to flee the fighting. Some take refuge with us, in Indre. In Issoudun in particular, nine refugees were welcomed. The first families arrived at the end of March. And it’s not over. Five more refugees are due to arrive next week. On this occasion, the town hall organized this Saturday, April 30 a welcoming ceremony at the town hall.
French training for the 14 refugees
“My job as mayor is to ensure that everyone who arrives in our city finds what is essential to their daily life”, insists André Laignel, mayor of Issoudun. It starts with housing five apartments are made available to refugeesin partnership with Scalis and Opac donors. “The generosity of associations, clubs and residents has made it possible to furnish these accommodations, for example to bring pots and pans to parents so that they can cook for their children”he says.
The next step will be learning the language. “Their integration can only be successful if they can dialogue with those around them and therefore have a minimum of French”continues André Laignel. French training for refugees will start on May 9. A total of 230 hours of lessons will be offered. “This training will allow them to acquire the basic rudimentsspecifies the mayor of Issoudun. We want to give them the basics necessary for their daily life..
“My daughter is already taking karate lessons”
Irina already knows a few French words, including “merci” and “bonjour”. This painter fled the city of Irpine, in the suburbs of kyiv, Ukraine, with her 9-year-old daughter, Eva. They moved to Issoudun at the end of March.
“We were very well received, the accommodation is quite comfortable, clean and well appointedsays Irina. My daughter goes to school nearby and she is already starting to take karate lessons”. The Ukrainian children welcomed by the city of Issoudun are all already in school. What gives hope to this mother: “if our future is not in Ukraine, it may be in France”.
Irina now hopes for only one thing: to see her husband again, a pastor who has stayed in Romania to help refugees arriving from conflict zones.