Paris was a dream for Laura, who arrived in February from Colombia. The 19-year-old law student had planned this trip to discover "the city of love" with her boyfriend. She had booked an establishment for four weeks. “But I had to stay at the hotel longer than planned and quickly spent all my money,” Laura tells us.
Having come to eat a pancake in front of the Eiffel Tower, pose next to the Louvre pyramid or explore the streets of Montmartre, many of them are now "stranded" thousands of kilometers from home. The pandemic, which has caused more than 650,000 deaths around the world, suddenly extended their stay in France. And, due to depleted savings and canceled and non-refunded flights, they now lack the means to purchase a return flight.
Pablo, an Argentinian who saved up for years to "afford" a trip to Europe, had planned to stay only two weeks in France before visiting neighboring countries. “I had around 2000 euros for my trip. In the end, I did not travel and I spent everything in Paris on food, ”he tells us.
When the state of emergency was declared in France, Pablo had "the chance" to meet friends who agreed to host him, facing the difficulty of returning to Argentina. A boost that Mary, a Venezuelan accountant who came to France to visit her sister, could only benefit from for a few months.
"My sister kicked me out of her house"
“My sister received me at her home when they learned that I couldn't take my flight home. Unfortunately, after four months, she decided to kick me out of her home. She didn't want me anymore, ”says Mary.
Hosted by a distant friend who lives in Paris, Mary was able to find a home, but the feeling of “being a burden to someone” is still present. "I just want to go home to Caracas", she despairs.
Laura, our Colombian witness, had no acquaintances that could have welcomed her in these "difficult times". After two months in the hotel, she was expelled for lack of money. After a "very dark and difficult" night in the streets of Paris, she joined some thirty refugees from Latin America in a squat in Saint-Ouen. "It's not ideal for the virus, but at least I'm not on the street," she blows.
From tourist to refugee
The magic of Paris quickly vanished for the Colombian: "I came to take selfies in front of the Eiffel Tower and I find myself in a place for refugees".
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Laura has already met several social workers who assured her that in the event of contamination, she would be taken care of by French hospitals. Every day, she eats thanks to a packed lunch offered by the association Les Restos du Cœur, an experience she did not expect when arriving as a simple tourist. “We can only take a shower every three days. It's not a life, I want to go home to Pereira, ”she says.
While in France, life is resuming, framed by health measures, the pandemic in South America is progressing at full speed and some countries still have their borders closed. Only repatriation flights are authorized in these countries. The European Union has only authorized commercial flights to Uruguay.
Repatriation flight "quite expensive" and humanitarian flight "saturated"
A dozen groups have been created on WhatsApp since the start of the confinement to exchange information on repatriation (paid) or humanitarian (free) flights to different South American countries.
“At least half of the tourists in this group have managed to return,” assures us the creator of a discussion thread bringing together more than 150 people seeking to be repatriated to Argentina. "Some still struggle because their savings are not sufficient to pay the cost of one of these flights which amounts to 800 euros", she adds.
Mary contacted the Venezuelan embassy to find out if a humanitarian flight was planned. But "this is not the case since there are not enough Venezuelan tourists stranded in France", she regrets.
Each week, Laura tries to board a humanitarian flight, offered by the government of Ivan Duque, to Colombia. Despite her state of vulnerability, required by the consulate to benefit from a place, Laura has not managed to board for the moment. “I remain hopeful,” she explains.
“I ask the French government not to blame me. I would like to leave but I cannot ”, insists for his part Pablo, assuring that the repatriation flights are“ quite expensive ”and the humanitarian flights“ always saturated ”.
"I don't want them to think I'm undocumented"
Tourists from South America are allowed to stay in the Schengen area for 90 days without the need for a visa. In the context of the health crisis, the French government decided to extend this authorization on condition that it approach the prefecture of the place of stay to justify it.
"I've been going to the prefecture for several days to present evidence, so that they don't think I want to stay in their country illegally," Pablo said. "I am not illegal for pleasure," insists Mary, who dreams of returning to Venezuela despite the difficult situation facing the country. “There, it's a confinement without drinking water and the food is very expensive. But at least I have a roof ”.
