Asylum seekers in increasing numbers have tried in recent years to find a back door to Europe through South America, some traveling long distances in hopes of passage across the Atlantic. In a quirk of geography, French Guiana, which sits between Brazil and Suriname, is a territory of France and would seem to offer asylum seekers from Haiti, Cuba, Venezuela, and elsewhere access to mainland France and the wider European Union. In recent years, thousands have traveled this route—even from as far away as Syria and Yemen. They have come by plane, undertaking expensive journeys from the Middle East and beyond; by boat; and waiting in Brazil on the other side of the river when the French department’s borders were temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet the promise is rarely delivered, as asylum recognition rates for those filing a protection claim in French Guiana are low. French Guiana and other French overseas territories such as Guadeloupe, Mayotte, and Saint-Martin since the 1980s have been governed by a unique set of “laws of exception” which leaves many foreign residents without legal status. They have also been used as laboratories for new fast-tracked asylum processes. Asylum infrastructure in French Guiana is meager and there have been scant services to house and care for people seeking refuge. More than 20,000 asylum seekers have arrived since 2015 in the French territory of about 300,000 inhabitants, testing reception capacity. Perhaps as few as 20 percent of asylum seekers receive shelter, with most living on the streets and in public gardens. Many asylum seekers camp by the ocean, which might make for an idyllic scene if it did not suggest a void in humanitarian protection. Best regards,
Julian Hattem
Editor, Migration Information Source
[email protected] |
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