27 Mohamed

Mohamed. 25 years old. Sudanese | Four silhouettes left Banyuls at dawn and walked to the French-Spanish border. It was September 25, 1940: Lisa Fittko helped the philosopher Walter Benjamin and two other German refugees to leave France illegally. In 1939, this same path was called the “Route Lister” by the Spanish Republicans fleeing their country. It was renamed the “route F” by the network of smugglers to which Lisa belonged. In June 2018, Mohamed and his three companions followed the same route in the opposite direction. They got off the train at the Spanish station of Portbou to cross the Pyrenees on foot. When they arrived in Banyuls, residents offered them board and lodging. A group was soon formed to support them. Touched by this welcome, Mohamed and Habib decided to stay in Banyuls. Olivia and Émilie provided them with two rooms in their apartment and advised them on their administrative procedures. Mohamed was involved as a volunteer at the soccer club and quickly became the children’s coach. Unfortunately, he is subject to the so-called Dublin procedure, which requires him to seek asylum in the European country through which he arrived. In February 2019, he was suddenly arrested and deported to Italy. When he managed to return to Banyuls, “the children all jumped on him and kissed him… They really adopted him,” says the club president, moved.