The Falahas arrived at the end of October 2024 and, after an initial period settling in and some contact with the French authorities, the work truly began in early 2025. Three major themes marked the year: 1. Obtaining their immigrant status/residence permits. 2. Rehousing them so they can leave their cramped temporary accommodation.3.  the essential medical care that little Ali so desperately needed. This involves a huge amount of administrative work, especially if you add to that Mohammad's enrollment in school, a leaky roof, French lessons and opening bank accounts to add a little "spice" to process.

1. Immigration/Asylum. We collaborated with our friends and colleagues at La Cimade to follow the immigration process step by step, form by form, line by line. This required multiple appointments in Montpellier, a trip to Paris, forms to fill out, meetings with Social services in Pézenas, ADA, CAF, OFPRA, OFII, among others acronyms. A succession of documents arrived until they finally, at the end of October, their residency permits arrived.  Putting aside the brevity of this paragraph, please don't overlook the achievement of having managed to complete this process in less than a year. Thanks to Pascale and Zahra from La Cimade and, of course, in Sant Egadio and the Humanitarian Corridors program.

2. Accommodation. We didn't realize how lucky we were to have found a small apartment in Montagnac, but with a family member sleeping in the kitchen/living room, it quickly became apparent that we needed a larger apartment.  3-bedroom apartments (they are 5) are difficult to find in Béziers; those that are available are generally not accessible to someone who is unemployed and cannot prove an income net income equivalent to three times the rent. To top it all off, those who remain don't really like renting to asylum seekers. After several months of searching and a few near misses, we began to get somewhat discouraged. Finally, the social services in Pézenas came to our rescue and agreed to designate the family as SIAO. This meant they had high priority and could benefit from the help of various associations which come to the aid of people in need of rehousing. After visiting several apartments, Hbitat Humanisme finally offered them a apartment in Béziers and we helped them move in at the beginning of December. Many thanks to all those involved, Ms. Pages, André, Jean-Pierre, Joel, Thierry, Ward and especially to those who so generously donated Furniture for the apartment.

3. Medical care for Ali. Ali suffered from oxygen deprivation at the birth and, although he received some treatment in Lebanon, this was rather patchy. It was very difficult at first to integrate Ali into the system, until he had an epileptic seizure and was admitted into hospital in Montpellier. From that moment on, the fantastic system of health services kicked into action and Ali received comprehensive support  first as  an outpatient before being taken care of by CAMSP in Béziers, who helped to establish a comprehensive assessment of all his needs and an action plan to treat what can be treated now. This required injections. Botox in the hips, combined with special equipment to strengthen his muscles and joints. His condition has improved considerably, and the next intervention is scheduled for February/March. Again, many hours spent in consultations, numerous trips back and forth between Montpellier, Béziers and the specialized center in Palavas-les-Flots. A big thank you to Gary, to Mina, our wonderful interpreter, and the CAMSP team who were so helpful to us great help. Ali is now officially recognized as disabled (ADPH) and registered on several waiting lists for specialized schools.

Story of a mobilization.

On the morning of Tuesday 14 June, Roger, from La Cimade in Narbonne, and I accompanied Yacou and two other migrants who had been summoned to the prefecture of Carcassonne. The other two quickly obtained (that day!) their residence permit. Then, Yacou is called to go to a counter. Roger accompanies him. Then he calls me: Yacou has just received an Obligation de Quitter le Territoire Français and IRTF for two years, without delay, with a 45-day house arrest, confiscation of his passport, a ban on leaving the limits of the commune of Narbonne and the obligation to report to the police station every day at 3pm.

All three of us are in shock. For us, Yacou's application for regularisation of exceptional admission to residence submitted to the prefecture a year earlier should have led to him obtaining a residence permit: he had responded to all the administration's requests in this regard.

As soon as we returned to Narbonne, we looked for a lawyer in Montpellier who was competent in foreigners' rights, who accepted legal aid and who was available to lodge an appeal with the administrative court within 48 hours.  Me Kouahou will fulfil this mission.

Legal action and popular action

We had to define a strategy in parallel: we promised Yacou that we would mobilise publicly if he did not obtain a residence permit. We choose never to let Yacou go alone to the police station, because we fear his arrest and deportation to the Ivory Coast where he was born. Yacou makes a few phone calls to relatives. At 2.50pm, 11 of us are in front of the police station.

Clara creates a support page for Yacou and his son Momo. We will publish every day the photo of the people present with him in front of the police station.

We are also planning a big rally on Saturday at 2pm in front of the sub-prefecture. Yacou has endeared himself to many people since his arrival in Narbonne in 2019. And so has his son Mohammed. He is 12 years old and attends the Cité secondary school, after two years at the Jean-Jaurès school, plays football at FUN, and attends the leisure centres of La Maison des Potes and the town of Narbonne. So many places and people to warn.

We declare the Saturday gathering at the Narbonne sub-prefecture and we take advantage of it to ask for a meeting with the sub-prefect in the name of La Cimade de Narbonne, the Accueil Migrant-es du Narbonnais collective and 100 pour 1 toit du Narbonnais. Political figures were called upon and approached the prefecture.

The different faces of the Aude

Léo and Claudine contacted the Réseau Éducation Sans Frontière to set up an online petition. It will exceed 600 signatures in three days.

Yacou arrived in France in 2011, when the civil war in Côte d'Ivoire put him in danger. He has never really considered his life outside of France since, even though this country has never given him a residence permit. At the end of 2016, he managed to bring his son Mohammed to France. The latter has been continuously attending school in France since January 2017. He will never see his mother again, who died of illness (and lack of access to care) in Côte d'Ivoire.

The mobilisation in favour of Yacou and Momo has been rapid, multiple and growing. Faced with this mobilisation and the appeal of our lawyer within 48 hours of the refusal of the prefecture with an OQTF, a two-year ban on returning to the territory and house arrest, the prefecture of Aude suspended its decisions against Yacou. And on Friday 17 June in the middle of the afternoon, the prefect summons Yacou for a new meeting on 27 June: he will have a residence permit!

We then decided to maintain the rally the next day at 2pm in front of the sub-prefecture to celebrate this moment and show our determination to support the rights of exiled people, wherever they come from: the call was relayed by so many people! More than two hundred people are here, despite the heat wave. The Aude showed a beautiful face of solidarity on 18 June, the day before the disastrous election of three deputies from the national rally.

For Yacou and Momo, a normal life is finally beginning. For all those who are driven by the values of solidarity and equality, this rapid and intensive struggle should inspire us to face the challenges ahead!

Le Quiz is back for the new season starting on the 7th October, at Foyer des Campagnes in Pézenas at 7pm. Our quiz masters will challenge you once again with this fun, interactive quiz! Teams of 6 will be put through their paces with rounds on music, general knowledge, surprise rounds more! Great prizes to be won.
Questions are in French and English – so you will need to put your heads together with your French or Anglophone chums to create a winning team!
Wine, cheese and for this time soap will be available to buy on the night.

Tickets are 10€ please click here to buy

Any queries please get in touch with us at lsrtickets@gmail.com

We have had another busy year, our 10th, so far at LSR:

Fundraising
We managed 5 fundraisers so far this year; 3 quizzes (including one at La Cimade in Béziers, a clothes sale in conjunction with Hannah (thanks again Hannah!) and finally a jazz lunch at Mas Gabriel. Thanks to all of you that attended/took part.

We also had our 10th Anniversary garden party in Pezenas as a thank you for all our donors and members. On top of these fundraisers, we have the regular contributions from people such as yourself. These are the life blood of LSR and allow us to make some of the longer-term commitments you see below.

If you haven’t signed up yet and want to support us please go to the

 donate page or join LSR

Service delivery
We have continued with our feeding and housing programs. Every 2 weeks we provide bags of food and a little cash to families with no other means of support. This averages out at around 30-35 people in Beziers. Additionally, our sister organisation in the Aude supports around 100 people once a month in Carcassonne.

Through our partners at Cent pour un Toit Vallée d’Orb we provide the equivalent of the rent for an apartment for one of the families they house.

This year has been different due to the arrival last October of the Falaha family and Baby Ali. Aside from housing the family we have worked closely with them to navigate the French asylum system. This process has been very complicated and this for a family that arrived here with laissez-passez visas. Finally we have been successful and last month got confirmation of their
cartes de séjours. This is on top of arranging appointment after appointment to get the medical attention and treatment Baby Ali needs and schooling for their son Mohamad.

As usual, on top of these on-going core commitments there are series of ad hoc service and funding commitments we make acting effectively as a donor of last resort.

Finally there is the work we do with partner organisations mainly around the region ; These range from Stop Racisme in, to AMIC in Bédarieux where we provide 2 kids with 50€ pocket money every month as well as helping them bridge their funding gap.

We also pass on a lot of donated materiel such as blankets and furniture to a variety of organisations- Samu Sociale in Montpellier, La Cimade in
Beziers, AMIC and Adages in Clermont, 100 pour un toit in Béziers and Narbonne amongst others.
Outside of the region we sent money to Roots in Calais helping migrant families in the camps around there with showers and other hygiene support.
We have also just agreed to part fund a program around sexual health and advocacy for women at La Cimade in Béziers. This exists to support women transitioning from heavily male dominated societies to the realities of modern French life.

Helping out
We are always looking for volunteers to help us run our events and other things as they come up.
Sadly Cate, who has played a major rôle in managing our events has decided to step back for a while. Thank you Cate for all your efforts over the last 3 years. We are looking for someone to take an event management rôle as well as helpers. Please contact me at lsrcowan@gmail.com if this is something you might be interested in.

Looking forward
Summer is a quieter time for us but aside from the food deliveries etc we will be launching our annual Rentrée appeal in the next couple of weeks. This covers a contribution towards the cost of equipping the kids from La Cimade with what they need to attend school in September. The pantry still needs food donations I can provide a list of drop off points.

Save the dates
Coming up we have a really busy autumn schedule. We have the first quiz of the season on
October 7th closely followed by a musical event at Grange de Bouys in Neffiés on the 10th.

We close the year with the Christmas concert at Cassan on December 6th.

We‘ll be in touch with you all soon but in the meantime, thank you all for your support and have a great Summer.

On 14th June 2025 A Taste of Caunes summer dinner  will be held
at Château St Jacques d'Albas in Laure Minervois.

For information and bookings, please contact Jane Hartley lsr.caunes@gmail.com
The evening will begin at 6pm with an aperitif on the terrace followed by a sumptuous 4-course meal prepared by chef Linda from La Table d'Emilie. A selection of wines from Château St Jaques d'Albas will be available for purchase, as well as soft drinks.

As usual all profits from this event will go to supporting our work.

“LSR are looking for an enterprising individual to take charge of our “furniture rehoming” across L’Hérault. We work closely with various partners in our sector to rehome furniture offered from our wider supporter network as a result of people leaving the area. The role is voluntary.  The person needs ok French and English (Deepl can hide a multiple of sins) , to be reasonably physically active, to have a car and be happy to drive vans etc on occasion. It’s a on and off role although there is a small amount of activity most weeks. “ For more information contact info@languedocsolidarite.com “ 

On March 15 in Capiès , the LSR group of the Haute-Vallée de l'Aude is organizing a new St. Patrick's evening:
It's a fabulous fundraising evening, full of music, laughter and delicious food.
There will also be a raffle with a wide selection of excellent prizes.
Invite your friends to join us for a memorable St. Patrick's Day party.
All profits from this event will go directly to supporting our work helping asylum seekers in Languedoc and beyond.

Capiès Estate, Limoux-Mirepoix road, 11300, Pomy
For reservations : contact@domainedecapies.com

Early in the morning of the Friday before Christmas, two friends and I set out deliver a van loaded with donations to Ventimiglia. We delivered warm clothes for men, sleeping bags, blankets, shoes and some tents to NoName Kitchen , an organization great that provides food, clothing and assistance legal aid to refugees sleeping under highway bridges, Franco-Italian border. Many thanks to Ward Magee and his poor van, to Stephen Thurston, to No Name Kitchen for work extraordinary that they accomplish and, of course, to yourselves for your donations throughout the year.

After a quiet summer, we had a very busy autumn:
- We provided food aid to families in partnership with La Cimade in Béziers and Carcassonne. We are currently distributing food parcels and a little money to more than 130 people every month.

- Setting up a warehouse in Carcassonne to store donated items before distributing them to families in need.

- Rental assistance for families through 100 for one Orb Valley and Carcassonne rooftops.

- Current expenses related to travel to the courts in Paris, medical and other emergencies in Béziers and Carcassonne.

- Back-to-school assistance for more than 50 children in Béziers and 60 in Carcassonne.

- Monthly support for Stop Racism in Pézenas and Unaccompanied Minors in Bédarieux.

- Furniture reused by people leaving the region for be used by families with the help of our charity partners Adages, La Cimade and 100 for a roof.

The biggest change this fall was the arrival of the Falaha family from Homs via Lebanon. Arrival under the aegis of Humanitarian Corridors, the Lamea family, Amoun, Sidra, Muhammed and Baby Ali is now housed in Montagnac. They are learning French and Baby Ali is finally starting to receive the medical support he desperately needs need. We support the family both in accessing services and financially in the long administrative process of integration.

Still to come in 2024 - next Wednesday we are hosting the Christmas party for 66 children at La Cimade in Béziers and on Friday, we will deliver a large van of warm clothes, sleeping bags and blankets to Ventimiglia for migrants sleeping under bridges.

Of course, All of this costs money and we have made a number of appeals and fundraising events since the summer. A quiz was organized in Pézenas in October and another in Caunes Minervois in November. Hannah's Fall Clothing Sale has also been very successful in helping us raise funds. We we organized a musical evening in Siran in October and last weekend We held our 3rd Christmas concert at Château Abbaye de Cassan with O'Sisters.

Dates to note in your 2025 diary:

The next quiz in Pézenas is scheduled for January 29th. There is also a "Burns Night" on January 25th at Pépieux. We hope to see you at these events and many more. next year.

However, the main drivers of all our activities are our donors. monthly as well as those who support us with ad hoc payments throughout throughout the year. We really couldn't do without this source regular income.

This year we unfortunately lost one of our main volunteer of the Aude group, Theresa Dommett, who told us left far too soon due to illness. Theresa was a true driving force for us and we send our deepest condolences to her husband Chris. Chris asked anyone who would like to make a donation in memory of Theresa and commemorate his life by doing it at LSR. Thanks Chris!

None of this could have been achieved without the hard work and support of our volunteers, for which we thank you. I would also like take this opportunity to thank some external groups for their support: The Seigneurie de Peyrat, Cassan, the Château St Jacques d'Albas and Pezenas Town Hall for allowing us to organize events in their premises, Languedoc Property Finders in Pezenas for their sponsorship, Grange De Bouys, Sharon Townend, Ken & Alison, O'Sisters, the Smokey Notes, l'Oeno Band, Hannah and Steve Waters, Terre Mere, All Saints Anglican Church and especially yourselves for your unwavering support.

Thank you all!

Peter

President LSR

PS: There is still time to send us last-minute donations. before the end of the year so you can get 66% back on your bill next year's tax year.

Please visit the dedicated page on our website or send your checks to LSR c/o 10 Ave de Mougeres, Caux 34720.

We had a great day yesterday sorting through donated clothing. Thank you to everyone who donated and to the team for their tremendous efforts. We're still looking for blankets and warm clothing for men, and the LSR food pantry is also in need of food. Contact us at info@languedocsolidarite.com or leave us a message here if you have something to donate.

Ali has arrived ! And he brought his family !

It has been a long campaign but Baby Ali and his family have finally arrived in France. They came legally with French visas that give them the right to apply for refugee status and give access to medical care for Ali immediately. It was the wonderful people at the Sant’Egidio association that made it possible from the Lebanon side. Wendela and I went to meet them at the airport in Paris last Tuesday and returned with them by train on Thursday. They are now settling into a small apartment being provided by LSR and one of our stalwart members. The family will continue to need our help (logistical, administrative and financial) for some time as they work through the process of regularization in France.

Ali has some very big problems to deal with but he has a very sweet disposition and is fortunate in having a very loving family devoted to his welfare. LSR will continue to contribute to that support and any individuals wishing to contribute in any way are invited to contact me directly.

Gary Kilmer

LSR research urgently a child's accommodation and wheelchair for a Syrian family who will arrive from Lebanon in the second half of september :

There Falaha family, made up of 5 people, finally obtained permission to come to France and seek asylum. Their little boy, Ali, has cerebral palsy and other birth defects due to a lack of oxygen at birth. After a long campaign led by Gary Kilmer and Wendela Kilmer , they will arrive in France during the second half of September: LSR has committed to housing and caring for the family until that their asylum application be approved.

If you have accommodation (free or not) or a wheelchair to offer, please contact us at info@languedocsolidarite.com .