Unaccompanied migrant children in Paris demand permanent shelter during winter

By Esra Taskin

PARIS (AA) – Nearly 350 unaccompanied migrant minors in Paris have camped outside France's highest court, claiming permanent accommodation during winter.

Children aged 15 on average, mostly coming from West Africa and Afghanistan, are staying in the tents built in front of the Council of State on Friday with the help of humanitarian organizations.

They demand that authorities provide them with permanent accommodation in Paris where the temperature has dropped to 3 degrees Celsius (37.4 degrees Fahrenheit).

Rosalie, a member of TIMMY, a nongovernmental organization that helps unaccompanied migrant children, told Anadolu Agency that they hope the authorities would recognize the minors' rights and that ASE, child protection and welfare services, would help them.

Refusing to reveal her last name, Rosalie said that it could take months to certify those individuals as underaged and they are left struggling on the street during the process.

The camp which was located in another zone has been moved to an area between the Council of State and the Louvre Museum, according to Rosalie.

She said they asked the authorities to relocate the children to a safer place immediately.

She also pointed out that it sometimes gets freezing cold at night and they have treated 10 children for hypothermia so far.

Moussa, 16, left his home in Mali in August, dreaming of better education. He made it to France through Morocco and Spain.

He said they have no shelter, forcing them to sleep on the streets.

"You see, it's very cold, it's been all about 'death' since we came here," Moussa said, adding: "The tents are leaking. We are here to ask the state's help."

The young Malian migrant said non-Black migrants have the right to accommodation but added: "They do not care, they do not care even if someone died here because we are Black. What should we do?"

Abdourahman, a 14-year-old Guinean boy, said their tents are all wet due to rain. There are children with swollen feet, who are seriously ill, he added.

He said he had stayed on the streets for three months in another camp.

Upon their arrival in France, unaccompanied migrant children are interviewed to verify their age.

Those who are treated as adults cannot benefit from shelter, education, or social rights like other children.

Children willing to prove they are not of legal age can apply to juvenile court.

If a court decides in their favor, unaccompanied migrant children are supervised by ASE and have the right to accommodation for children.

However, unaccompanied migrant children are mostly left on the streets, in legal uncertainty, during this process.

*Writing by Nur Asena Erturk