Toughening up on immigration policy

France is currently leaning towards a much stiffer immigration policy: quotas for the number of people to deport, increasingly systematic inspections, and the climate of prejudice that paints immigrants as delinquents are all examples of this trend. These are far from favourable conditions in which to properly treat torture victims, for our patients live in a constant state of insecurity.

Insecure jobs and limited sources of income

Our patients do not come to France looking for a more comfortable financial situation; in fact, most of our adult patients had jobs that allowed them a certain quality of life that few will ever re-establish for themselves in France, even once they earn refugee status and thereby the right to work.

Because their degrees are not recognized, those who had previously practiced medicine, law, or other professions requiring a similar education are required to go back to school in order to practice in France. This is, however, virtually impossible when faced with the need to make a living and support a family, not to mention that these people are often over 40 and have problems linked to their personal history as a torture victim. These obstacles get added to all the types of discrimination (gender, age, ethnic background) that already exist in the workplace.

One must not forget that the lasting repercussions of torture make learning and entering the workforce much more difficult; turning over a new leaf is not as simple as it seems!

Another important reminder is that, barring exceptional instances, asylum seekers do not have the right to work while their application is still in the processing phase. This forces asylum seekers into what they consider to be humiliating and demeaning inactivity.

Unstable housing situations

Finding housing has been a major problem for years. 40 percent of our new patients live in hostels (adult or youth), 3 percent have their own place to live, and 57 percent are in very precarious situations or homeless..

Moreover, it appears to be increasingly difficult to deem living in a reception centre or an emergency shelter “stable housing.” This is because future residents are warned from the outset that they will be asked to leave the centre if their asylum application is rejected.

Because the time needed to process applications is becoming shorter and the waiting periods to get into a hostel are growing longer, the time asylum seekers spend in “stable housing” is consequently dwindling.

This year, a number of our patients staying with “friends” were used as either domestic or sexual slaves (or both). In addition, the symptoms exhibited by patients with PTSD can sometimes prevent roommates from sleeping and thus provide an excellent excuse to banish them (often not so tactfully) to a designated corner of the hallway, the kitchen, or the living room in the best case scenario.

“Reconstruction” made difficult

The administrative, financial, and professional situation of our patients can have a profound effect on their chances of reconstructing their life: having one’s asylum application rejected delivers a particularly heavy blow because the asylum seeker takes it as a denial of their history and suffering. Having succeeded in escaping a country in which their life was threatened, France’s refusal to accept them prevents them from leading a “normal life.” Despite all of our patients’ wonderful qualities, it is often impossible for them to attain a social status equivalent to the one they left behind.