L’independant, a daily French newspaper in the city of Perpignan has published an article about the situation facing a Chechen asylum seeker family in the French town of Carcassonne.

According to the newspaper, a Chechen man named Khasmagomed (47 years old) arrived in Carcassonne with his son Ayub (19 years old) and his daughter Fariza (12 years old) on January 17, 2011. Their journey from Chechnya still did not end though, as they could not get free accommodations from the government. Their situation is still uncertain and they are under the threat of deportation.

“We hosted the family until the next night, but it is not enough. There is no possibility to obtain emergency housing either. We met with Mr. Zingraff (secretary general of the prefecture) who had helped asylum seekers in recent years, but nothing has changed. For the last few years, the welcoming atmosphere towards foreigners has worsened,” said Charles Feurich, an activist from CIMADE (Ecumenical centre for mutual assistance) a close network of CADA (Asylum Seekers Reception Centre).

The newspaper pointed out that young Ayub is a diabetic and he has no way to buy his insulin. The family had paid 5,000 Euros for their journey from Chechnya to France and they could not successfully bring Khasmagomed’s wife Dzhannat (41 years old) or his elder daughter, Maka (21 years old).

*Text was translated by Waynakh Online and edited by Michael Capobianco