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Communication Dans Un Congrès Année : 2015

Legitimate or illegitimate? Healthcare and social rights among European migrants living in the streets of Strasbourg

Résumé

In Strasbourg, approximately one hundred migrants from Europe are living in the streets. They have a long history of homelessness behind them, which is marked by family breakdowns and ruptures in their life-courses. They have no social rights in France and cannot benefit from the French welfare system. At the same time, they are not able to go back to their countries of origin and have no other option but to live in the streets. Most of these persons live alone and they are scattered in the city, situation that makes them almost invisible. Their poor living conditions lead them to premature aging and various health problems. Additionally, the language barrier and the complexity of administrative procedures prevent them from accessing the Aide Médicale d’État, which is the scheme that gives undocumented persons access to basic healthcare. European law allows citizens of the European Union to live up to three months in another member country without any administrative procedure. As there is no border control and the geographical position of Strasbourg enables people to easily go to Germany, it is impossible to determine if they are authorized to stay in the French territory. Based on participant observation and semi-structured interviews, I suggest that this state of uncertainty has consequences on their health and social care because they are simultaneously legitimate and un-legitimate beneficiaries. Social and healthcare workers tend to adopt ambiguous positions and are ambivalent when dealing with these specific migrants. This phenomenon is a new facet of the precariousness in Europe: people who wander between schemes and countries and have no legitimate place.

Domaines

Sociologie
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Dates et versions

hal-01661219 , version 1 (11-12-2017)

Identifiants

  • HAL Id : hal-01661219 , version 1

Citer

Laureline Coulomb. Legitimate or illegitimate? Healthcare and social rights among European migrants living in the streets of Strasbourg. Rights, Democracy and Migration, IMISCOE, Jun 2015, Genève, Switzerland. ⟨hal-01661219⟩
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