The village of Saint-Clar is getting organized to welcome Ukrainian families. Located to the east of Lectoure, the Gers municipality has made four public housing apartments available to state services. They are located in a small white building, in the middle of the village, not far from the school.
“We are going to help families with the details of daily life, integrate children into school, take care of them with evening classes, work with employers in the sector. The goal is that in the ‘integration people can work to get back on their feet’, details David Taupiac, the socialist mayor.
This is not the first time that the village has welcomed refugees. In 2016, he was the first in the Gers to host a Syrian family. Six years later, she continues to live in the village and has even just expanded.
Residents ready to help
About twenty volunteers have already approached the town hall to offer their help. Some offer to give French lessons, others to donate clothes or furnish the apartments. For Natalia, a Ukrainian living in Saint-Clar, it was obvious: “Today, we must help all those who are martyrs of this war. They didn’t ask for anything, they lived their life quietly. They need a little calm now, it’s up to us to give them.”
David Taupiac is now awaiting a return from the prefecture. It is she who centralizes accommodation offers and manages the arrival of Ukrainians in the department.