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© 2021 Omar Havana
PARIS, FRANCE – NOVEMBER 23: The belongings of a homeless person are seen near an ATM on November 23, 2018 in Paris, France. More than 3000 people live on the streets of Paris during the winter of 2018. Paris has currently has social accommodation space for 9300 places of social accommodation occupied by people living in a situation of precariousness, whose chances of finding a house are very uncertain. Photo: © Omar Havana
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© 2021 Omar Havana
PARIS, FRANCE – NOVEMBER 28: 50-year-old Kemal reads a book inside his homemade hut on the street on November 28, 2018 in Paris, France. Originally from Turkey, Kemal has been living for two months on the streets of Paris, after suffering from articulation problems that forced him to quit his job as a VTC driver. “Despite what Sarkozy said one time about those who work more will earn more, nowadays as much as you work the less that you earn as live prices are increasing faster than salaries in France,” he says. “In this society there is not enough time to live for people such as me,” he concludes. Photo: © Omar Havana
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© 2021 Omar Havana
PARIS, FRANCE - JANUARY 31: A poster of the leader of the UPR, Francois Asselineau, in favor of the exit of France from the European Union is seen on the pillars of the bridge under which members of the police evacuate the migrant camp of Porte de La Villette on January 31, 2019 in Paris, France. Photo: © Omar Havana
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© 2021 Omar Havana
PARIS, FRANCE – NOVEMBER 23: A man is seen sleeping under a carton board blanket in front of the Louvre Museum on November 23, 2018 in Paris, France. More than 3000 people live on the streets of Paris during the winter of 2018. Paris has currently has social accommodation space for 9300 places of social accommodation occupied by people living in a situation of precariousness, whose chances of finding a house are very uncertain. Photo: © Omar Havana
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© 2021 Omar Havana
PARIS, FRANCE - JANUARY 31: A member of the cleaning staff of the city of Paris carries mattresses that were confiscated during the evacuation of the Porte de La Villette migrant camp to a garbage truck on January 31, 2019 in Paris, France. Photo: © Omar Havana
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© 2021 Omar Havana
PARIS, FRANCE - JANUARY 31: A group of immigrants expelled from the migrant camp of Porte de la Villete walk outside the fences that separate the camp from the road on January 31, 2019 in Paris, France. Photo: © Omar Havana
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© 2021 Omar Havana
PARIS, FRANCE – NOVEMBER 21: 30-year-old Hassam stands outside the center ran by Secours Catholique “Maison Caritas Batignolles” on November 21, 2018 in Paris, France. Originally from Morocco, Hassam left his country when he was 17 to go to the south of Spain where his father worked. There, he worked picking fruit until the crisis hit the country. In the last 5 years, Hassam has lived in France in a house without electricity. He searches waste in the streets that he tries to sell at the street markets around the city. “I would like to return to Spain, here life is very expensive and for people like me, there is no future. In Spain I earned less but life was much easier,” he concludes. Photo: © Omar Havana
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© 2021 Omar Havana
IVRY SUR SEINE, FRANCE – NOVEMBER 30: 44-year-old Lamiel Hughes sits on his bed inside the “Centre d’Hebergement d’Urgence Ivry Masséna” ran by Association Aurore on November 30, 2018 in Ivry Sur Seine, France. Lamiel had worked for many years in hospitality, but after a problem with a neighbor who acted violently against him, he was called to court and started having psychological problems, which brought him to seriously consider committing suicide. “The look of the people when you are in a situation as mine is one of the hardest things I have experience in my life,” he says. Lamiel has gone through a destructive path for the last twenty years and he is now recovering with the help of the Association Aurore to recover from years of poverty and isolation. Lamiel works these days in hospitality, a job that he loves as it is well paid. Photo: © Omar Havana
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© 2021 Omar Havana
PARIS, FRANCE – NOVEMBER 21: A man takes a nap while sitting on a chair after having breakfast provided for free by the volunteers of Secours Catholique at the social center called “Maison Caritas Batignolles” on November 28, 2018 in Paris, France. For those sleeping on the streets of Paris, the almost three hours during which Secours Catholique provides free breakfasts is an opportunity to have a nap under a warm roof, while others play games, or just chat with each other. Photo: © Omar Havana
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© 2021 Omar Havana
PARIS, FRANCE – NOVEMBER 28: A homeless man puts his hand on top of a heat radiator inside the center ran by Secours Catholique “Maison Caritas Batignolles” on November 28, 2018 in Paris, France. Cold is the worst enemy of those living on the streets of Paris; any opportunity to warm up is taken as a moment of complete happiness inside “Maison Caritas Batignolles”. Those who come every morning to the center take any opportunity to place their hands on top of radiators or teapots to warm themselves up. Photo: © Omar Havana
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© 2021 Omar Havana
IVRY SUR SEINE, FRANCE – NOVEMBER 30: 25-year-old Weles points on a map where he is from inside a room of the Centre d’Hebergement d’Urgence Ivry Masséna” ran by Association Aurore on November 30, 2018 in Ivry Sur Seine, France. Weles fled from Sudan in 2014 hoping for a better future than in his country hit by war. One week after leaving Sudan he arrived in Libya where he worked as an electrician for two years. “In my time in Libya, the hardest thing was to suffer the constant racism and discrimination in every street,” he says. Before obtaining refugee status in France, Weles traveled by “dinghy” with 120 people to Italy where the police stopped them and put into a center in Sicily, from where he escaped and ended in France. Weles works as a painter in the outskirts of Paris. “I am impressed by the history of France, I am also a big fan of Victor Hugo, who I studied in school and I learned from his books to never lose hope,” he concludes. Photo: © Omar Havana
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© 2021 Omar Havana
PARIS, FRANCE – NOVEMBER 21: 35-year-old Eddy plays scrabble with volunteers and other homeless people inside the Secours Catholique “Maison Caritas Batignolles” on November 21, 2018 in Paris, France. Originally from Tunisia, Eddy left his country searching for an opportunity for a better future. Now he lives on the streets of Paris. “Here without papers we can not work and we have not right to any social benefit. I just want a chance to work and have a very normal life,” he says. Photo: © Omar Havana
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© 2021 Omar Havana
PARIS, FRANCE – NOVEMBER 21: 30-year-old Hassam speaks with friends inside the center ran by Secours Catholique “Maison Caritas Batignolles” on November 21, 2018 in Paris, France. Originally from Morocco, Hassam left his country when he was 17 to go to the south of Spain where his father worked. There, he worked picking fruit until the crisis hit the country. In the last 5 years, Hassam has lived in France in a house without electricity. He searches waste in the streets that he tries to sell at the street markets around the city. “I would like to return to Spain, here life is very expensive and for people like me, there is no future. In Spain I earned less but life was much easier,” he concludes. Photo: © Omar Havana
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© 2021 Omar Havana
PARIS, FRANCE – NOVEMBER 30: 25-year-old Weles looks outside a window inside the Centre d’Hebergement d’Urgence Ivry Masséna” ran by Association Aurore where he lives on November 30, 2018 in Ivry Sur Seine, France. Weles flew from Sudan in 2014 hoping for a better future than in his country hit by war. One week after leaving Sudan, he arrived in Libya where he worked as an electrician for two years. “In my time in Libya, the hardest thing was to suffer the constant racism and discrimination in every street,” he says. Before obtaining refugee status in France, Weles traveled by “dinghy” with 120 people to Italy where the police stopped them and put them into a center in Sicily, from where he escaped and ended in France. Weles works as a painter on the outskirts of Paris. “I am impressed by the history of France, I am also a big fan of Victor Hugo, who I studied in school and I learned from his books to never lose hope,” he concludes. Photo: © Omar Havana
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© 2021 Omar Havana
PARIS, FRANCE – NOVEMBER 28: 53-year-old Francisca (left) and 57-year-old Richard exercise during a free class of movement coordination at the Secours Catholique “Maison Caritas Batignolles” on November 28, 2018 in Paris, France. Every Wednesday, Yvonne Paire, a volunteer for Secours Catholique, gives a class to homeless people and people living under the poverty line on coordination movement which helps those attending to exercise and to relax. Photo: © Omar Havana
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© 2021 Omar Havana
PARIS, FRANCE – NOVEMBER 30: 33-year-old Jean stands on top of the hut that he has prepared on the grounds of a building in the city center of the French capital on November 30, 2018 in Paris, France. Originally from Ivory Coast, Jean left his country when he was five and moved to Italy where his parents worked. “When my parents left my country, I was a little boy. All my life I have felt that capitalism stole my parents and my childhood,” he says. Jean finished his high school in Italy, where he suffered racism and discrimination based on the color of his skin and he ended up living on the streets of Milan after being constantly refused for a job. He moved to France with the help of a friend, which turned out to be a fraud, and since August 6th he has been living on the street. “We are stigmatized by this society, the way that the people look at us together with the solitude of the streets are the hardest things of my existence. In this society, we don’t have any more love for others, money is everything and if someone does not have money, they do not exist. I do not care about money anymore but to love the people that I meet every day,” he says. Photo: © Omar Havana
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© 2021 Omar Havana
PARIS, FRANCE – NOVEMBER 29: A group of homeless people sleeps on the grounds of the exterior of a building on November 29, 2018 in Paris, France. Future construction plans are creating a problem for older people who have been sleeping for the last 15 years on the grounds of this building, which they consider the only home that they have had in years. Photo: © Omar Havana
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© 2021 Omar Havana
PARIS, FRANCE – NOVEMBER 29: The belongings of a Romanian homeless man are left on the ground in front of a famous perfume shop where bottles are sold for as much as 2400 euros on November 29, 2018 in Paris, France. According to the INSEE (National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies), 16.1% of Parisians live under the poverty line (463.000), with an average income of 747 euros per month (261 euros under the poverty line). Photo: © Omar Havana
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© 2021 Omar Havana
PARIS, FRANCE – NOVEMBER 29: Marie Louise (right) and Jean Philippe pose for a photo during their weekly encounter with the team of volunteers from the French organization Secours Populaire on November 29, 2018 in Paris, France. 65-year-old Marie Louise has spent the last five years on the streets of Paris; she told Al Jazeera that cold is her biggest enemy, and when she tried to get shelter in a public parking, she was attacked by the guard, who pushed his guard dog into her. Jean Philippe has also lived for many years in the streets of the French capital and says he was a guitarist. Photo: © Omar Havana
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© 2021 Omar Havana
PARIS, FRANCE – NOVEMBER 20: Volunteers from the organization Medecins du Monde chat with Gabriel (center-left) and Frank (center-right) during one of their weekly “maraudes” across the street of the French capital on November 20, 2018. Medecins du Monde provides during their night’s work hot beverages, hygiene kits, duvets and in some cases, under the supervision of a doctor, some medicines and bandages, as well as a much-needed conversation with those who are often ignored by the society. Photo: © Omar Havana
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© 2021 Omar Havana
PARIS, FRANCE – NOVEMBER 29: Jean Philippe waits at the back of a van from the organization Secours Populaire where volunteer Lucia prepares a hot beverage during her weekly night “maraude” across the streets of the French capital helping homeless people on November 29, 2018. Every day of the year, a team of volunteers from Secours Populaire drives around the city of Paris to encounter the neediest, providing food, drinks, and toiletries to those living on the streets, but most importantly creating a personal contact much needed by those often ignored by the society. Photo: © Omar Havana
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© 2021 Omar Havana
PARIS, FRANCE – NOVEMBER 20: Gabriel (left) and Frank lay on the streets where they sleep on November 20, 2018. Volunteers of a team of the organization Medecins du Monde have followed up frequently on the medical conditions of Frank, who suffers from a cardiovascular illness, while Gabriel has rheumatic problems. Both have been living for more than 10 years on the streets of Paris. Photo: © Omar Havana
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© 2021 Omar Havana
PARIS, FRANCE - JANUARY 31: A boot that has been left by an immigrant expelled from the Porte de la Villete camp by members of the police is seen on the muddy ground on which immigrants slept before being evacuated on January 31, 2019 in Paris, France. Photo: © Omar Havana
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© 2021 Omar Havana
PARIS, FRANCE – NOVEMBER 20: Dominic smokes a cigarette while sitting on the street where he sleeps every night on November 20, 2018 in Paris, France. Dominic has spent the last 20 years or his life living on the streets of Paris. Residents of the neighborhood have tried several times to approach him to offer help, which he keeps denying. Dominic was found on one of the streets during a medical patrol by a volunteer team of Medecins du Monde, who provide him with a hot beverage and a conversation, something that Dominic misses the most. Photo: © Omar Havana
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© 2021 Omar Havana
PARIS, FRANCE - NOVEMBER 20: A homeless man sleeps on the front door of a building in the center of the French capital on November 20, 2018 in Paris, France. More than 3000 people live on the streets of Paris during the winter of 2018. Paris has currently social accommodation space for 9300 places of social accommodation occupied by people living in a situation of precariousness, whose chances of finding a house are very uncertain. Photo: © Omar Havana
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© 2021 Omar Havana
PARIS, FRANCE – NOVEMBER 20: Dominic sits on a Parisian city center street late at night before sleeping on November 20, 2018 in Paris, France. Dominic has spent the last 20 years of his life living on the streets of Paris. Residents of the neighborhood have tried several times to approach him to offer help, which he keeps denying. Dominic was found on one of the streets during a medical patrol by a team of volunteers of Medecins du Monde, who provide him with a hot beverage and a conversation, something that Dominic misses the most. Photo: © Omar Havana
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© 2021 Omar Havana
PARIS – FRANCE – NOVEMBER 29: Chinese tourists walk on one of the avenues adjacent to the Champs Elysées, illuminated by Christmas decorations, where several of the most expensive and exclusive boutiques of the French capital are located, on November 29, 2018 in Paris, France. The average price per square meter for residences in Paris is approximately 9000 euros, jumping to more than 20,000 in some cases in areas such as the Champs Elysées, which also has the highest retail rental value in Europe. Photo: © Omar Havana
Public Story
Bonjour, Paris
Credits:
omar havana
Date of Work:
11/21/18 - 01/31/19
Updated: 02/11/20
"The meaning of the other and love have disappeared from this society. Without money, people do not exist." - Jean, a 33-year-old homeless man living on the streets of Paris.
At least 3,000 people are thought to be living on the streets of Paris this winter, more than half of whom are believed to have been born outside of France. According to France's National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE), in 2014, the number of homeless adults in the Paris Metropolitan Area had increased by 84 percent in the proceeding decade. Some of that growth has been attributed to the 2008 financial crisis, some to the large numbers of migrants and refugees making their way to the French capital and some to the failure of salaries to keep up with the rising cost of living, particularly the cost of buying or renting a home.
According to INSEE, 16.1 percent of Parisians - roughly 463,000 people - live below the poverty line, with an average monthly income of 747 euros ($848.65), which is 261 euros ($296.52) less than the poverty threshold.
The result is that having a job no longer offers protection against homelessness. Fifty-year-old Kemal understands this all too well. He used to be a taxi driver, but health issues led to him losing his job.
"I have earned salaries of over 2,000 euros ($2,272) in the past, but Paris is an expensive city and I could not pay my debts," he recalls.
"Today, I have lost everything and my health problems will not allow me to dream of a better future." Now, Kemal sleeps beneath a shelter made from scraps of plastic in a square on the outskirts of the city.
"But I do not lose hope and I keep working hard every day to improve my life and to be able to earn some money to one day travel to a country with the sun every day. The cold and rain are worsening my health condition," he adds.
"Without money, we do not exist anymore in France," explains Eddy, a 35-year-old homeless man from Tunisia who originally came to France in search of a better life. That dream now lies shattered on the streets of the capital. But studies have shown that Parisians tend to have more sympathetic attitudes towards the homeless than residents of many other European cities. According to a 2009 study, 75 percent of French people felt some degree of solidarity with those sleeping on the streets and 56 percent said they could imagine one day being in the same position.
Every night, dozens of volunteers patrol the city's streets 'en maraudes', searching out those in need of a blanket, paracetamol or just a conversation."In Paris, it is impossible to die from hunger. There are so many good organizations providing us with a free meal every day," says Hicham, a homeless man who is originally from Morocco and carries with him a book that Paris' City Hall has created listing the social services available to those in need. But according to campaign group Morts de la Rue, 400 homeless people died across France in 2017. Many organizations believe the real number to be much higher.
"Some ask for money, some for food. Cold is our worst enemy," explains Nasser, a homeless man originally from Algeria. "But the indifference of the people is an obstacle that is difficult to overcome."The solitude of our lives can happen to anyone. The people of Paris need to understand that we just want a smile or a simple 'bonjour'. That can make a cold day not be hell for us." A fan of the writer Victor Hugo and the artist Picasso, Nasser explains: "There is beauty in every corner of our lives, but this society has lost sensibility. Ideas have disappeared and money is making this society blind to love."Across Europe, the far-right is on the rise and it has some of the continent's most diverse communities in its crosshairs. To the far right, these neighborhoods are 'no-go zones' that challenge their notion of what it means to be European. To those who live in them, they are Europe.