Founded over 50 years ago, the France terre d'asile association supports asylum seekers and defends the right to asylum in France. “We are an operator with our hands in the dirt”, imagines the former Minister of Education who became president of the association two years ago. “To truly understand what we are talking about, we must start from the fact that our states have adhered to the Geneva Convention and committed to welcoming asylum seekers as a fundamental right”, she specifies. Since its creation in the 1970s, France terre d'asile has witnessed “almost all waves of new refugees.” The association is now “an old lady” with “a form of wisdom” and “great expertise.”
It has around a hundred accommodations across France, through which it welcomes, houses, provides administrative assistance, and integration resources to best support asylum seekers.
This action, according to Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, is vital for individuals who have gone through numerous trials before setting foot on French soil: “[Asylum seekers] arrive after having lived for months, or even longer, on roads marked by violence. They have experienced, for example, human trafficking, or in the case of women, sexual violence. It is truly a catastrophe. They arrive in a state of physical but also mental health that is extremely degraded.”
Currently in France, there are approximately 140,000 asylum seekers. 30% of these applications will be accepted, allowing these individuals to obtain refugee status.
