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European funds to repopulate the Pyrenees with migrants
European funds for a partnership between Occitania region in France and the autonomous region of Catalonia in Spain aimed at repopulating the Pyrenees with illegal unaccompanied minor migrants.
By providing them with housing and training in an aging region of the Catalan Pyrenees, the Avenir project aims to help them find work while revitalizing the territory.
Smaďl gets up early every morning (…) He is Moroccan, he is 19 years old and he lives in Tremp, a town of 6,000 inhabitants located on the edge of the Pyrenees, in the northwest of Catalonia.
It was in 2020 that he and nine other young unaccompanied migrants arrived in this municipality to participate for the first time in the “Avenir” project. By providing them with housing and training in this depopulated region, this program aspires to offer them a dignified future while revitalizing the territory with these young people eager to work.
"These are rural areas increasingly deserted by young people ," notes Violeta Quiroga, professor of social work at the University of Barcelona, who took part in the programme. The result is a very aging and inactive population. To solve this problem, together with that of unaccompanied migrant minors, the autonomous government of Catalonia and the chamber of trades and crafts of the Occitanie region, in France, launched this joint project. The latter is endowed with a grant of nearly 700,000 euros from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
Coming from reception centers for young migrants, the participants are directed to this mountain area. They are housed and supervised there 24 hours a day by a team of seven professionals who help them in their daily tasks. “The objective is to ensure that they can go out and find a job, but with prior work to support emancipation ,” explains Mireia Badia, personnel director. These guides teach them, among other things, how to cook healthy meals, how to manage their money and how to use a washing machine.
(…) Xavi Sánchez, one of the educators, denounces certain racist attitudes towards them: “They are stigmatized and feel a bit rejected, victims of a kind of ordinary racism.” He evokes disapproving looks from people hearing Arabic in a store, or baseless accusations of theft in the supermarket.
However, he is convinced that this project can contribute to "overcoming all these prejudices" , as the local population becomes familiar with these young people. Also, he believes that “this cultural exchange enriches the communities” . A feeling shared by Violeta Quiroga: “Awareness is emerging towards people from other origins.”
(…) Arrived in Spain in an irregular situation, they find it very difficult to access employment or even training because of the legislation on foreigners. Those in charge of the project evoke a constant battle against bureaucracy : the conditions for companies to be able to offer them a work contract, synonymous with a work permit, are almost impossible to meet.
https://www.slate.fr/monde/union-str...avail-logement
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Originally Posted by Gallop
Alba | Scotland
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