Health, employment, right to adequate accommodation… On the occasion of the festival organized by France, ground control at Ground Control, November 14 and 15 in Parisreturning to the itineraries and hardships of women in exile.
Arzu Abbasova smiles broadly while trying to express herself in French. Arriving from Azerbaijan two years ago with his partner and son, the 32-year-old political journalist applied for asylum in France, and he is still waiting for a response in October 2025. An administrative situation that prevents him from being able to work. So, in the meantime, he busies himself by volunteering with the Red Cross and a spokesperson for people supported, like him, by the Asylum Seeker Reception Center (Cada) in Laval. He tells how he had to flee his country: threats, police searches, and finally the escape. “I am no longer afraid of today, he said, I am very lucky to have arrived in France.»
Despite undertaking a migration journey without extreme violence, these young women experienced urgent medical care needs: the need for psychological support, back problems, and severe gynecological pain resulting from improper IUD insertion. As part of an asylum request, entitlement to Social Security is available after three months in France. You still have to be able to find a doctor. According to public data, “almost 87% of the national territory is classified as medically vulnerable. (A) reality (that) is no longer limited to rural areas: certain mid-sized cities and even suburban areas struggle to guarantee prompt access to local doctors.»
In Mayenne, the situation is difficult and two sectors are classified red, like the other 149 most affected inter-municipalities in the country. Elsa Levieux, social worker, and Nathalie Bruneau, director of three Cada centers in the department managed by France Terre d’Asile, summarize: “Finding a GP was a disaster.» Arzu Abbasova was able to obtain consultation at a center composed of retired practitioners and interns, «but they were overwhelmed and are now no longer accepting patients. A single woman with two children, one of whom is less than a year old, registered since April, still has not found a place» determine Elsa Levieux.
And for dental care, the story is the same… Azerbaijani journalists have to travel to Rennes, an hour’s drive away. “Previously I found meetings in Nantes or Le Mans, but now that is no longer the casecomplained Elsa Levieux, who also acted as an intermediary between health professionals and the exiled people. No interpretation is provided and doctors are not trained in this type of support. SO, I do what I can, but it’s not my job.»
Paradoxically, it is sometimes easier to get a medical consultation without social security. In this case, it is necessary to go through certain devices such as Permanent access to health services (Passed). Doctor Hélène de Champs Léger coordinates general medicine, oral dentistry and ophthalmology at the Hôtel-Dieu in Paris which “welcoming people in social vulnerability. That is, vulnerability in the broadest sense. Not only do people lack health insurance, but there are a series of elements in their lives that make them more vulnerable than others.»
The doctor determined that “people with a migration background represent 90 people % of society accepts, including people in irregular situations“. He doesn’t have onethere are no restrictions» asking what the State should or should not bear. But he warned: “Not caring for a portion of a region’s population has health and financial consequences.” He highlighted the problem of infectious diseases, the most common of which are hepatitis B, HIV, hepatitis C, and tuberculosis, and also emphasized delays in treatment. “Recovering from diabetes at an advanced stage will require greater costs“, he warns. Especially since these people often have several pathologies and their illnesses are exacerbated by their environment. It is not easy to cure sprains or fractures when you sleep on the street.
But the big problem that affected most of the people in exile was mental illness. Due to trauma that occurred in their country of origin, during the migration journey, or even psychological suffering related to their living conditions in France. Wanting to respond to this urgent need, the I.Care association was born five years ago, in the capital Mayenne. This center offers group therapy or individual follow-up with the main goal: trauma stabilization.
A goal that becomes increasingly difficult to achieve when daily life is unstable. “You need a minimum of security to start getting better» estimates Séverine Rousseau, former social worker and project coordinator. He admitted”everyday terror» that some patients experience, because the level of violence they suffer cannot be expressed in words. While theyinternal resources” collapsed, in the context of exile, “external resources», family, friends etc., are also limited. The team is trying to fill this gap. The coordinator’s only regret is that the lack of resources makes it impossible to respond to all requests.
In Laval, Arzu Abbasova reflects happily on her new life and the life of her son Mehdi who “love going to school here”, he said. “He had seen many difficult things. When he arrived he was aggressive, didn’t talk, but today he is much better.» Is he able to be accompanied by a psychologist to overcome these difficulties? No. Children are a blind spot in public health. “If he is under 6 years old, a complete examination can be done with PMI (mother and child protection) but more than that, we are back to the common law system without any plan, neither pediatricians nor psychologists», commented Elsa Levieux. However, they are directly affected by the migration journey and indirectly bear the burden of their parents’ problems. A bitter observation that saddened Nathalie Bruneau: “This is about the future of our young generation.»
