Health, work, the right to adequate accommodation… On the occasion of the festival organized by France terre d’Asile di Ground Control, on November 14 and 15 in Paris, a look back at the travel plans and hardships of exiled women.
It came like a gust of wind. Barely sitting, Samaher al-Haheri strings together sentences, his hands moving, his whole body speaking. Her curly black bangs rose and fell across her forehead to the rhythm of her majestic movements. Born in Saudi Arabia, in Jeddah, to Yemeni parents, this thirty-year-old man with anti-establishment dynamism then lived in the United Arab Emirates, before joining France in 2016.
Despite arriving nearly ten years ago, he only submitted his first asylum request in late 2024.”I was unaware of the abuse I was experiencing“, he said. Therefore, he had to renew his residence permit every year, an administrative instability that added to his precarious financial situation. However, he never took steps to receive RSA, for fear of being ostracized, becoming “foreigners who take advantage of the system“. Behavior he describes today as “indoctrination“,A”normalization of inferiority“. “I told myself that it was normal that I had fewer rights than the French. They were the ones who taught me that I shouldn’t think like that. This is where I find my dignity. I owe this humanizing aspect of my existence to France, to those who fought for equality.»
But through the functioning of reception in this country, he understands that immigrants live everywhere.”at war, because the system tells you: you have no right to live with dignity“. So he began to dream of a world without borders and the idea of fulfilling this wish brought tears to his eyes. It must be said that he had been searching for this feeling for a long time.”At home, that makes you feel comfortable anywhere, because your life is not harmed, whatever your culture, religion, racial identity or national affiliation“.
Today his anger is directed at increasingly restrictive immigration laws. He also pointed out its ineffectiveness. “This changes nothing for France or its prefectures and is a nightmare for immigrants. And this prevents them from making a healthy contribution to society.» For him, this is an effort to prevent the desire to migrate. Sword stroke in the water: “They didn’t realize the despair of these people ; I experienced this despair. If I cannot live with dignity here, I would rather die than go the other way.»
Her path to emancipation can be found in her education and meeting Tamam, a professor of sociology, history and psychology who supported her in middle and high school. A work that will not be wasted. In 2013, he obtained a scholarship and the following year began a philosophy and sociology course at the Sorbonne in Abu Dhabi. He completed his degree at Paris-IV, followed by a master’s degree in philosophy, then a master’s degree in geography, planning, environment, development and recently took a university diploma course in Social Action and Migration at the Catholic Institute of Paris. “I’m addicted to learning, he said, laughingit has always been mine “safe place”.»
For several months, Samaher al-Haheri smiled: his asylum application was accepted. The man who worked for five years as a consultant at UNESCO and co-chaired the Association of Exiled Students, was able to take a break and continue to concentrate on helping others, without fear for himself. The help he gives first and foremost to those around him, starting with his mother whom he supported during the divorce and his sister, a multidisciplinary artist who thanks to him can now spread her talent in France.
Currently looking for work, his obsession remains “to be useful» while never ceasing to defend the interests of exiles, and especially women: “Society must recognize and celebrate the contributions of these women, their struggles, their stories.» What if this path doesn’t lead to a job? Samaher al-Haheri would devote himself to another passion: lyrical singing. A solution for young women who have not been able to express themselves freely for a long time. “It’s a way to scream without crying, without being dramatic, to create beauty by doing good and healing yourself.”
