ERIS students share their stories 🎤

"On October 7, 2023, everything changed in Gaza. In November, everything was bombed. All our houses and my family's possessions. Today, my son is still there, in Gaza. And I feel powerless. Yet I must remain hopeful, for my children, for myself." These words are those of Fatma, a student at ERIS, who decided to share her story during “Voix en Exil” .

💡 Voix en Exil is an evening event organized by ERIS and other associations at the community village @LaBoîteàRessorts, as part of the Tout le Monde Dehors (Everyone Out) program of @LaVilledeLyon. It aims to shed light on the realities of migration. The second edition took place on Wednesday, July 2. 💡

Alongside Fatma, three other students spoke: Rimon, from South Sudan, Milena, from Armenia, and Zabiullah, from Afghanistan. Their four stories of exile bore witness to complex, often dark journeys, told in two voices—in their native languages and in French.

Throughout the testimonies, graffiti artist Pascal Nègre from the PK21 association created four drawings live, inspired by their stories, their dreams, and their cherished objects. Fatma's story was illustrated by the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and a dove of peace.

The evening ended with an enlightening lecture on asylum policies in France, particularly through the lens of interpreting during interviews at OFPRA (the agency responsible for asylum applications). The speaker, @Maureen Clappe, is a sociologist and researcher at the Pacte laboratory.

The four stories and their institutional context lead to the same conclusion: the urgent need for more dignified, humane, and restorative reception policies.