At the beginning of the week, the collective “
Never without a roof
” published a tragic figure: 1,600 children are currently sleeping on the streets in France.
Some of them have despite everything returned to school this Thursday, September 1, like the 12 million students in France.
Who are they ?
How are they supported to better integrate into the school system?
To find out more,
Le Figaro
met Anne Lorient.
After having lived on the street herself for 17 years, she decides to get out of it to put her eldest in school.
Later, after the publication of her autobiographical book
My Barbarian Years (2016, La Martinière editions),
she founded her eponymous association to help street children in the capital.
LE FIGARO. - Which children do you take care of?
Anne LORIENT.
- With my association, we take care of the children of two Porte de la Chapelle squats in Paris.
There, it is possible to meet two categories of street children: first those from immigrant families, who generally arrive from Libya, Afghanistan or Iraq for example.
Then, those of homeless women, who are often the result of rape, and who therefore have no father.
Friends, for street children, this is essential.
It's the family they don't have.
Anne Lorient, from the Anne Lorient association.
In all, there are about 200 people, including 70 children, aged 0 to 18.
It should be remembered that in France, every child has a national obligation to go to school, whether they have papers or not.
Knowing that they generally do not speak the French language well, they integrate classes specially adapted for children in difficulty, which are called Segpa.
Street kids don't just do squats. What are the profiles of other young people?
The other street children I meet are usually taken care of in social hotels, given by the 115. These infrastructures are generally located around Paris, at the gates of the capital.
Often, they are partners with other associations that take care of children, and they have real educational support.
The advantage with social hotels is that they have an address.
The downside is that families can only stay for a month.
The children therefore change schools every month and are unable to keep friends.
Now, friends, for street children, this is essential.
It's the family they don't have.
One of my families, who spent a month in the 17th, had to go to Juvisy in the suburbs.
The 13-year-old child said: "
too bad I'm going to make the trip every morning and every evening
".
He makes two hours of transport morning and evening.
Which exhausts him, of course.
In the end, today, he is failing at school.
Two children stand near a suitcase as they gather with migrants and refugees at Porte de la Chapelle, in the north of Paris, on July 7, 2017. ERIC FEFERBERG / AFP
Concretely, what does your association do?
Our association is the referent at the school level.
A squat kid can't go to school because he doesn't have an address.
It is therefore our association that receives all administrative documents, such as school report cards.
But before that, the schools still have to accept them, this is not always the case.
These are children who are not always well dressed, it may happen that one day they have not washed.
But they also need a lot of social ties, because they are in a precarious situation and they know it.
They may be jealous of others, but we try to instill good values in them and educate them.
For example, one of the important values in their socialization is sport.
To prevent our squat children from being drug dealers and hanging around everywhere, we finance sports subscriptions for them.
All our children are judo, dance and swimming champions!
It's very varied.
Finally, and this is one of the most important aspects: we organize regular events to collect money or material.
For example, a few days ago, we recovered a school supply truck that we redistributed to squat children.
We also collect food and hygiene products regularly.
Finally, we fund them shoes, because I believe that every young person should have their new pair of shoes!
How is the integration of street children in school going?
It is not always obvious.
There are a lot of schools that don't want to take them.
There is a real rejection of the homeless.
School outings also create a real gap, because unfortunately we cannot finance them.
Then it's on a case-by-case basis.
It all depends on the teacher and the director of the establishment: some add a little money.
I remember a teacher who held a bake sale to fund a child's trip.
I met great people in the schools.
Outside of school, integration can be just as complicated.
Take the example of birthday parties.
For example, he may feel embarrassed that he doesn't have a present to bring.
According to the parents, he will be more or less accepted at this kind of party.
Some will be afraid to leave their child in the company of a street child: all the prejudices come out.
A child peeks out of a tent, on January 29, 2019, in a makeshift camp set up under the Paris ring road, in the northern Porte de la Chapelle district.
CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT / AFP
The important thing in these cases is to reassure them.
It's also my role: I sometimes go to birthdays with children, I tell my life story to the parents, it reassures them.
They realize that I have a heart, feelings and that I love these children, who have the right to have a normal life.
A situation like this happened to me not long ago with a 17 year old boy.
His buddies' parents didn't want him on a student's birthday party.
So I came with him, and the party went very well.
In the end, he was even invited to the Ile de Ré for a vacation!
Street children are often very intelligent.
They have a social intelligence and an intelligence to fit in, a maturity that other children don't necessarily have at that age.
We talked about those who went to school. But no doubt that many also do not go there?
Yes there is.
Some parents find it hard to let go.
This time, it is the homeless who then have prejudices.
Many say to themselves: “
if my child goes to school, he will be smarter than me and then I will lose him
”.
Here too, you have to take the time to reassure them.
Last year, we had our first child with a high school diploma.
We threw one hell of a party!
Anne Lorient.
There are other situations where we simply cannot get papers.
It may take time.
For example, when it comes to a child born between two garbage cans in the depths of Iraq or in Libya after a rape, it's complicated.
There is no birth certificate.
Nothing at all.
The mother is in a panic and she doesn't want him to go to school.
There are also the children of Roma gypsies, who are seen as tools by their parents to bring in money.
And those are begging.
Do some end up succeeding in life?
It depends on what you call success.
Have a good job, a good salary, in total they must be 10%.
But at least they're balanced, alive, mature, and don't end up in jail.
Success is also there.
“We give them a chance, but the chance they have to work on.
It's up to them to work.
»
Last year, we had our first child with a high school diploma.
We threw one hell of a party!
We were happy.
The other day, while I was walking down the street, a car stopped at my level.
And I see a kid come out that I helped in a squat and who had made a success of his life.
And he turned to me and said "
even if I have succeeded in my life, I have never forgotten
".
It warmed my heart.
We give them a chance, but the chance they have to work on.
It's up to them to work.
There is a real recognition of these young people on the fact that we helped them a little.
It makes sense.
The Anne Lorient association was created in 2016
.
Many offers of help have since come to him to help him.
To contact her, annelorient@hotmail.com.
