“The Ukrainians we met on Friday February 24 say they are satisfied with the welcome received in Seine-et-Marne and appreciate the efforts of the Red Cross, which has been supporting them for almost a year. They feel well integrated, links have been created with the local population. The observation made Friday evening by Lionel Beffre, the prefect of Seine-et-Marne, after his visit to a refugee accommodation center in La Ferté-Gaucher, is recognition of the work of the State services. for a year. Also and especially of the dedicated team of the Red Cross to this population having fled the war and its destruction.
As of February 21 and since the start of the invasion, 1,329 Ukrainian nationals had been received by the prefecture for a request for a temporary residence permit (APS) valid for six months according to the temporary protection procedure put in place urgently by the France throughout its territory. 745 of them applied for renewal of their APS.
On the same date, 438 people were still housed, collectively or diffusely, in the department, by the State, communities (140 people), associations, companies or individuals, hotels via the Samu social (63 people), etc.
263 children educated from kindergarten to high school in the department
In La Ferté-Gaucher, the collective structure opened in July 2022 in the former gendarmerie. It has nine apartments (one T1, four T3 and four T4) with a capacity of 41 places. For this rental intermediation scheme, the Red Cross is the tenant of the premises and sublets the accommodation to the 38 refugees of all ages who live there – 14 women, 8 men and 16 children. As such, the association has available 53,250 euros for the year 2022.
“A team of five people – coordinator, social workers, Russian-speaking interpreter and assistant – operates throughout the department, including this site,” explains Laure Beaucousin, deputy director of the Seine-et-Marne Red Cross. This mission began last March. The support is plural: administrative for obtaining temporary protection, access to mobility, access to care, integration into housing via the opening of electricity meters, Internet contracts and access to rights (Asylum seeker allowance, Social security, family allowances, etc.). “The people housed receive the APL, pay their rent and are at home”, sums up. “A year ago, it was citizen accommodation that made it possible to welcome the wave of refugees. Today, this formula only concerns about ten people. Ukrainians most often wanted to live in individual housing. »
The question of accommodation having found satisfactory answers, the prefect mentions “two points [qui] still need to be improved: professional integration and access to medical care”, continues the prefect. “First, the language barrier remains an obstacle to the professional integration of adults despite the courses given by volunteers. On the other hand, for the 263 children educated from kindergarten to high school throughout the department, the linguistic assessment is very positive”. Especially since the Red Cross accompanies children and their parents in this area.
Is Seine-et-Marne ready to face a second wave?
There is also professional integration support for adults. “In La Ferté-Gaucher, among people of working age, most are artists whose reintegration is more complicated. They are in contact with the Moulin Jaune in Crécy-la-Chapelle [NDLR : le domaine du clown russe de réputation mondiale Slava Polunin qui a hébergé dès mars 2022 des artistes ukrainiens]. In total, three adults work, on fixed-term contracts or on contract”, specifies the deputy director.
There remains the second point of improvement: health. “Half a dozen people have serious problems, but this is part of the problem which concerns all the inhabitants of the department which is one of the last in France in terms of medical density”, notes the prefect.
Is Seine-et-Marne ready to face a second wave of refugees caused by a new Russian offensive against Ukraine? “There is no new wave of Ukrainian refugees observed at the moment. But if it should happen, we have, in the department, margins. In terms of accommodation, at the end of winter 2022, we had identified 2,800 places available for less than 1,400 Ukrainian nationals received in the prefecture in one year. In terms of housing, we have a margin of 200 places. And the operators are working well,” says Lionel Beffre.