24 Ali

Ali. 27 years old. Sudanese. | When Ali graduated as a veterinarian, he was sent to Darfur, his home province, to conduct a vaccination campaign. The young man was back in his native region, which he had left to pursue his studies. It had been totally devastated by ten years of war. “The villages had all been destroyed… Shepherds and people with animals hid in the forests. Since 2003, I hadn’t seen our countryside: I was both happy and very sad.” His mother lived in a refugee camp in Chad, his father is dead, and his brothers and sisters are scattered in several countries. The young man left for Jordan, where he discovered that Sudanese refugees are not allowed to work there. He then took the road to Libya and embarked on a trip to Europe, hoping to finally be able to practice his profession as a veterinarian there. Having arrived in Paris, Ali is struggling to master the French language. He did four internships in veterinary clinics but his degree from Nyala University is not recognized in France. “It’s very difficult to start five years of study again. I’m 27 years old, it’s a little late. I’m going to try to become a veterinary assistant. I have to find a boss and do a work-study contract. But to do that, I need to improve my French.” | Centre d’hébergement René Coty, Paris, France. 2018.