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A glimmer of hope
 Since April 28, the parish halls of our church at Nanterre had been occupied by “the Collective of undocumented immigrants” of the Paris region.
The parishioners and ourselves had been taken aback by that intrusion, all the more so since, ten years ago, the members of the same Collective had already occupied the same premises during sixteen months. Were we going to live the same experience again ? We could not approve of this illegal occupation, but together we decided to be more attentive to their plight and to support the determination of seven of them to go on hunger-strike. We tried to befriend these hunger-strikers, visiting them everyday, sitting beside them, taking time to listen to them, inquiring about their health, the progress of their struggle. We took part in the demonstrations, the press conferences, the general assemblies. In community, and with the parishioners, we prayed and reflected on the situation. Some undocumented immigrants, Christians and Muslims, joined us in church and were invited to take part in the liturgy: bidding prayers and the readings.
Those brothers and sisters of ours, who are they? Most are French-speaking immigrants from Maghreb, Cameroon, Congo, Ivory Coast, Mali, Senegal who have been working in France and paying taxes for four, five … up to ten, fifteen years - some of them working on the side For over a year, 450 of them have been demanding the Prefecture (police authority) to regularise their situation, to no avail . What could they expect in occupying our church ? “It’s our last chance. Anyway, we have nothing to lose and here at least we are in the House of Hope."
“I was a stranger and you visited me” (Mt 25:35). As believers, we are all migrants. What do we think of migrations ? Do they represent a risk, a threat, a danger, an opportunity, an enrichment ?
Today, June 26th 2008, a sign of hope : the hunger-strikers have been summoned to the Préfecture, they have put an end to their strike.
The Community of Nanterre
Next page : Family History
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