On the eighth floor of a Parisian building, accessible by the service elevator, Anastasia, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee, shows us the small room she occupies under the roof. “There are my things, a bed, a shower, a sink, a desk. This is the room that Pauline has lent me for three weeks“, she tells us.
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Pauline and her husband Nicolas put Anastasia up in their maid’s room until the end of August. And both are already looking for a solution for him for the future. “I am currently trying to help her find a place as an au pair for the start of the school year, explains Pauline, because she would like to have a home and a little bit of salary. And then continue his studies, a priori at the Sorbonne. And suddenly, I have some family contacts who might be interested. I hope it will come to fruition.“
This is the second time since the start of the war in Ukraine that the couple has welcomed a refugee. “She’s always smiling and she doesn’t make the atmosphere a bit sad for the family.”, adds Pauline. And the host family has done everything so that everyone can keep their independence: “I think it’s important to preserve moments of intimacy in the family, to keep a good balance, so that, over time, everyone is happy.”
The young Ukrainian arrived at the couple’s house thanks to the Heart association, led by Isabelle Négrier. Unfortunately, she laments, as the conflict in Ukraine enters its sixth month, it is increasingly difficult to find host families.
“What fishes after a certain number of weeks or months, it can be the intimacy of the family which is a little damaged”
Isabelle Négrier, from the Heart associationat franceinfo
Another factor: “The fatigue of the welcoming because he does not feel at all supervised, advised”before sliding: “We all go to websites to see what the aids are.”
And above all, the last obstacle to this long-term reception of Ukrainian refugees, she underlines, is a “future projection problem“, assures Isabelle Négrier: “People do not see the outcome of the war, so there is great uncertainty about the length of reception. That’s what I think is the most complicated to manage.”
The Ministry of Housing is currently considering a scheme which provides aid of 150 to 200 euros for a few months for families who host Ukrainians.
The reception of Ukrainian refugees in France, five months after the start of the war: the report by Pierre Pilelt
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