the difficult journey of foreigners by author Rania Berrada

For Rania Berrada, the story of her character, Najat, reflects the “reality of what many foreign men and women experience who arrive regularly in the territory”. The story focuses on this Moroccan heroine, migrating to France to hope for a better life. After her arrival and her marriage, she applied for a “private and family life” residence permit, “the most issued card in France” according to the author.

Long and tedious procedures

The heroine, in this novel, will be confronted with many difficulties. Complications that are real for a good number of migrants. The administration has been claiming to justify living together under the same roof for “at least six months”. “This raises an ethical question, that is to say that for the administration, marriage is conditioned on having to live under the same roof with your husband.”, explains the author. It also raises the difficulty of gathering evidence of this community of life, which differs according to the prefectures because “not all require the same supporting documents”.

When the evidence is admissible, a receipt is issued. Rania Berrada calls it “black beast” for many foreigners. If this document allows you to work in France during the examination of the file, it is only valid for 3 to 6 months depending on the situation of the person concerned. It is a guarantee that may be insufficient for employers, due to its temporary aspect and its limited duration. “You are in a kind of blur. You cannot project yourself into a professional or personal life, because everything is left in suspense. You don’t even know when you’re going to get an answer.” For Rania Berrada, her book is the way to tell her reality on the rights of foreigners and fill, in her “Small scale”, this ignorance.