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Between 1962 and 1984, many men and women were uprooted from Reunion Island. Nicknamed the “children of Creuse”, they were forcibly sent to France. Some returned for the first time there this week.
When they arrived in Sainte-Marie (Reunion), Friday April 7, it was difficult to contain their emotion. After many years of forced exile in France, Reunionese are back home. Simon A-Poi meets his baby girl for the first time. “It is a great pleasure, and a great joy too“, he confides. If some families reunite, others will remain broken. “I came back 50 years later. And my sister killed herself. So good for politics. They ransacked families“, loose Marie-Jeanne Boyer, ex-child of Creuse.
More than 2,000 Reunionese children torn from their island
Between 1962 and 1984, more than 2,000 Reunionese children were torn from their island by decision of the State. To repopulate rural areas, they were distributed to homes across France. The government of the time also claimed to want to save children from poverty. Despite the disputes and multiple legal complaints, it took until 2014, 50 years after the first displacements of children, for the National Assembly to finally recognize the moral responsibility of the French State. Even today, several associations are asking for reparations.
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