{"id":26145,"date":"2021-05-05T20:33:28","date_gmt":"2021-05-06T00:33:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antilla-martinique.com\/?p=26145"},"modified":"2021-05-05T20:33:28","modified_gmt":"2021-05-06T00:33:28","slug":"un-livre-pour-retablir-les-faits-sur-lhistoire-des-enfants-reunionnais-de-la-creuse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antilla-martinique.com\/en\/un-livre-pour-retablir-les-faits-sur-lhistoire-des-enfants-reunionnais-de-la-creuse\/","title":{"rendered":"A book that sets the record straight on the history of the children from R\u00e9union living in the Creuse department"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"title_category title_category--withSeparator\">\n<h1 id=\"mainContent\" class=\"title\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px\">Several books have recently been published on the topic of \u00abReunionese children in the Creuse.\u00bb Among them is a concise little book written by experts who authored a report on this painful history, with the aim of setting the record straight and dispelling common misconceptions.<\/span><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-dates\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"article__main-media\">\n<div class=\"article-image__container article-image__container--main\">\n<figure><figcaption>\n<div class=\"article-image__credits\">Palm Trees in Saint-Paul, R\u00e9union Island <span class=\"separator\">\u2022 <\/span>\u00a9 Pascal Coussy \/ France T\u00e9l\u00e9visions<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags\"><a class=\"label label--territory label--small article-tags__localisation\" href=\"https:\/\/france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr\/nouvelle-aquitaine\/creuse\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Creuse<\/a> <a class=\"label label--territory label--small article-tags__localisation\" href=\"https:\/\/france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr\/nouvelle-aquitaine\/creuse\/gueret\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Gu\u00e9ret<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"article__body\">\n<p>It has now been about twenty years since the story of the 2,015 minors from R\u00e9union who were separated from their families and sent to mainland France between 1962 and 1984 was revealed to the general public\u2014sometimes with errors or inaccuracies, misunderstandings and stereotypes, preconceived notions, and even a reinterpretation of the facts.<\/p>\n<p>In 2016, a national commission of five experts \u00abon information and historical research\u00bb was appointed by the government to shed light on this matter. Composed of sociologists, historians, a geographer, and a former social services inspector, this commission released its report in 2018. It was a 690-page document\u2014factual, precise, and exhaustive\u2014but completely unreadable for the general public.<\/p>\n<p>Three years later, four members of that commission\u2014Wilfrid Bertille, Prosp\u00e8re Eve, Gilles Gauvin, and its chair, sociologist Philippe Vitale, have just published a short book to make the results of their research available to as wide an audience as possible and to raise awareness of this history by setting the record straight and challenging common misconceptions.<\/p>\n<h2>A Gap Between History and Memoirs<\/h2>\n<p>For today, the experts\u00ab assessment of the developments and handling of this case is harsh: \u00bbWe are clearly dealing with a disconnect between history and memory, and at times with opportunism and demagoguery,\u201d the authors argue.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>This episode has already caused collateral damage\u2014for the migrants, of course, but also for their families, for the children, for the people of R\u00e9union who saw them leave and are now reunited with them after decades, and also for the host departments, such as Creuse, which does not understand the label of \u201cslave-driver\u201d that is sometimes applied to it<\/p>\n<p class=\"author\">Wilfrid Bertille, Prosp\u00e8re Eve, Gilles Gauvin, and Philippe Vitale<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>In the small, 135-page pocket-sized book published by \u00c9ditions du Cavalier Bleu <em><strong>\u00abThe Children of Creuse: Common Misconceptions About Organ Transplants for Minors from R\u00e9union in France\u00bb<\/strong><\/em> So you can find all the factual information about this story to help inform your thinking.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-image__container\">\n<figure><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"article-image lazy loaded lazy--loaded\" src=\"https:\/\/france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr\/image\/wJV6PQk5Xn4PGdY047Ts5CGJiSQ\/600x447\/regions\/2021\/04\/25\/608537c59d726_img_9448_1-5287908.jpg\" alt=\"&quot;les enfants de la Creuse, id\u00e9es re\u00e7ues sur la transplantation de mineurs de la R\u00e9union en France&quot; Ed. Le Cavalier Bleu\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" data-src=\"https:\/\/france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr\/image\/wJV6PQk5Xn4PGdY047Ts5CGJiSQ\/600x447\/regions\/2021\/04\/25\/608537c59d726_img_9448_1-5287908.jpg\" data-was-processed=\"true\" \/><figcaption>\n<div class=\"article-image__credits\">\u00abThe Children of Creuse: Common Misconceptions About Organ Transplants for Minors from R\u00e9union in France\u00bb Published by Le Cavalier Bleu <span class=\"separator\">\u2022 <\/span>\u00a9 Pascal Coussy \/ France T\u00e9l\u00e9visions<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2>Is R\u00e9union Overpopulated?<\/h2>\n<p>In 1954, the extremely rapid growth of R\u00e9union\u2019s population was a major concern. Its demographic trends mirrored those of the Third World, with a considerable natural population growth, a very high birth rate, and a mortality rate in free fall.<\/p>\n<p>In 1967, people under the age of 20 accounted for 55.6% of the population. This situation was viewed as a threat by the authorities, who feared a worsening of social conditions and a breeding ground for demands for autonomy championed by the R\u00e9union Communist Party against the backdrop of the Cold War.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Michel Debr\u00e9's Responsibility<\/h2>\n<p>The idea of sending young people from R\u00e9union to mainland France dates back to the 1930s.<\/p>\n<p>The famous \u00ab1945 ordinance,\u00bb which established the maternal and child health service, was extended to R\u00e9union in 1947. But by 1960, the service had only 10 social workers for 340,000 residents.<\/p>\n<p>Starting in the 1960s, migration to mainland France was organized through a new agency: BUMIDOM (Office for Migration from the Overseas Departments). It was justified by demographic pressure from young people of working age. Very quickly, it began to include young people under state guardianship.<\/p>\n<p>Michel Debr\u00e9, who had not been prime minister since 1962 and who was elected to the National Assembly from R\u00e9union in May 1963, was therefore not the originator of the idea of migrating minors from R\u00e9union to mainland France, even though he used all his authority to develop a large-scale emigration policy.<\/p>\n<p>At the time, it was a particularly zealous civil servant, Jean Barthe\u2014who served as director of the DDASS in R\u00e9union in 1964 before being appointed to the same position in Creuse in 1966\u2014who specifically organized this relocation of minors.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-image__container\">\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"article-image lazy loaded lazy--loaded\" src=\"https:\/\/france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr\/image\/fzhzdxxeAFoAePF5mq1k7KTq3p0\/600x386\/regions\/2021\/04\/24\/60846332c1b91_runcouleur1-5287730.jpg\" alt=\"La R\u00e9union dans les ann\u00e9es 60\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" data-src=\"https:\/\/france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr\/image\/fzhzdxxeAFoAePF5mq1k7KTq3p0\/600x386\/regions\/2021\/04\/24\/60846332c1b91_runcouleur1-5287730.jpg\" data-was-processed=\"true\" \/><figcaption>\n<div class=\"article-image__credits\">Reunion Island in the 1960s <span class=\"separator\">\u2022 <\/span>\u00a9 France T\u00e9l\u00e9visions<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2>A story that took place between 1962 and 1984<\/h2>\n<p>The first organized migrations of minors to mainland France took place in 1962, with 135 boys and girls that year.<\/p>\n<p>In November 1981, a memo from the Ministry of Overseas Territories stated that, from then on, \u00abonly the economic development of the overseas departments and the creation of local jobs could be considered as real solutions\u00bb to reduce economic tensions and the consequences of high birth rates. It concluded: \u00abIntegration must take precedence over migration.\u00bb.<\/p>\n<p>Transfers of minors continued until 1984. Adoptions of children from R\u00e9union by families in mainland France continue to this day.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>The Use of the Term \u00abDeportation\u00bb<\/h2>\n<p>In their work, the authors of the report chose to use the term \u00abtransplantation\u00bb to refer to the exile endured by minors from R\u00e9union. But in R\u00e9union, this story has rekindled memories of slavery.<\/p>\n<p>In 1965, the communist daily newspaper from the island, *T\u00e9moignages*, wrote in its columns, \u00abJust as in the days of slavery, Creole children are being deported 10,000 km from their homeland.\u00bb.<\/p>\n<p>In 1975, Professor Denoix, Director General of Health, asked Michel Debr\u00e9 to put an end to the \u00abdeportation\u00bb (the word is in quotation marks) of children from R\u00e9union.<\/p>\n<p>Other doctors following the case have sounded the alarm, citing the latest research in child and adolescent psychiatry. The removal of the child from his or her family environment is beginning to be criticized, along with its consequences: significant psychological distress.<\/p>\n<p>It was Dr. Myriam David, a renowned child psychiatrist who was herself deported by the Nazis, who introduced the term in her work to denounce the French policy in effect within Child Welfare Services of \u00abplacement\u00bb in rural areas for children in distress? She likens it to deportation.<\/p>\n<p>Michel Debr\u00e9, a member of the Resistance and the grandson of a rabbi, naturally attached a completely different meaning to the word \u00abdeportation.\u00bb.<\/p>\n<p>As for the Creuse department, it was the one that took in, hid, and saved the most Jewish children in France from deportation during World War II.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-image__container\">\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"article-image lazy loaded lazy--loaded\" src=\"https:\/\/france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr\/image\/99JjwkoIJVegTwvUAqCOZLW1XVY\/600x448\/regions\/2021\/04\/24\/608463fb355ce_p1010561-5287734.jpg\" alt=\"Helle-Bourg, La R\u00e9union\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" data-src=\"https:\/\/france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr\/image\/99JjwkoIJVegTwvUAqCOZLW1XVY\/600x448\/regions\/2021\/04\/24\/608463fb355ce_p1010561-5287734.jpg\" data-was-processed=\"true\" \/><figcaption>\n<div class=\"article-image__credits\">Helle-Bourg, R\u00e9union <span class=\"separator\">\u2022 <\/span>\u00a9 Pascal Coussy \/ France T\u00e9l\u00e9visions<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2>Lying to minors and their families?<\/h2>\n<p>Today, after decades of uncertainty regarding their identity and administrative status, minors from R\u00e9union who have been separated from their families often face enormous difficulties in locating their individual files.<\/p>\n<p>Often, these files do not contain all the documents one might expect. Often, these documents shed light on questionable practices on the part of officials from the ASE (Child Welfare Services), whether in R\u00e9union or on the French mainland.<\/p>\n<p>Certain acts of parental relinquishment or authorization for minors to leave the country\u2014attested only by a simple fingerprint or a shaky signature\u2014raise doubts about their sincerity.<\/p>\n<p>Above all, they reflect the administration\u2019s indifference toward a segment of the population considered socially unfit, both in R\u00e9union and in mainland France.<\/p>\n<p>The term \u00abstay\u00bb used in the documents could in fact imply a return to R\u00e9union, which will not take place, especially since it is not planned. For BUMIDOM, whose goal is to relocate a \u00abdemographic surplus,\u00bb it was clear that nothing had been planned or budgeted to facilitate the return of minors to R\u00e9union.<\/p>\n<p>Another lie: the promise to \u00abgo to college\u00bb in mainland France. Even Jean Barthe, who served successively as director of the DDASS in R\u00e9union and then in Creuse\u2014and was a zealous architect of this relocation\u2014would eventually call on the press in 1966 to put an end to the \u00abdeceptive promises\u00bb made to the minors upon their departure, for, he said with prescient clarity, \u00abtheir disappointment will only be all the more acute afterward.\u00bb.<\/p>\n<p>As for the change in identity and place of birth\u2014which was particularly traumatic\u2014it affected one-third of the minors from R\u00e9union who were relocated. The method was also used for children from mainland France during the same period. Initially, it was intended only for \u00abfoundlings\u00bb or children for whom the mother had requested confidentiality, and the new identity was meant to be only temporary.<\/p>\n<p>The abuse of this practice by Child Welfare Services constituted a serious violation of minors\u2019 fundamental rights.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Separated Siblings<\/h2>\n<p>Very often, for minors from R\u00e9union, the pain of being separated from their brothers and sisters compounded the trauma of exile.<\/p>\n<p>But according to the book\u2019s authors, the fate of the young people from R\u00e9union who were placed in foster care was no different from that of other children in mainland France at the time. It simply highlights the practices and shortcomings of the Child Welfare Services.<\/p>\n<p>The figures indicate that 20% of the young transplanted children who arrived in Gu\u00e9ret between 1964 and 1970 were part of a family of at least five siblings. Although some documents suggest that they were aware of the problem, the Creuse ASE services therefore faced serious difficulties in finding family or professional placements that would not separate siblings.<\/p>\n<p>If we add to this the fact that the prevailing policy at the time was to remove children from their original environments, it becomes clear how many minors were isolated.<\/p>\n<p>For some, this separation was a tragedy\u2014or is becoming one today\u2014with the discovery of brothers, sisters, half-brothers, or half-sisters who have been out of their lives for decades.<\/p>\n<p>However, the authors also point out that, very often, the breakdown of sibling relationships had already begun in R\u00e9union, due to highly complex family situations involving blended families that did not always have the financial means or the desire to keep all the children within the family circle.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-image__container\">\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"article-image lazy loaded lazy--loaded\" src=\"https:\/\/france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr\/image\/vwA9eqdAkX6JLCTnCOKWtMo5wko\/600x448\/regions\/2021\/04\/24\/6084646e31aef_p1010573-5287738.jpg\" alt=\"Hell-Bourg, LA R\u00e9union\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" data-src=\"https:\/\/france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr\/image\/vwA9eqdAkX6JLCTnCOKWtMo5wko\/600x448\/regions\/2021\/04\/24\/6084646e31aef_p1010573-5287738.jpg\" data-was-processed=\"true\" \/><figcaption>\n<div class=\"article-image__credits\">Hell-Bourg, R\u00e9union <span class=\"separator\">\u2022 <\/span>\u00a9 Pascal Coussy \/ France T\u00e9l\u00e9visions<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2>Is poverty less painful under the sun of R\u00e9union?<\/h2>\n<p>In the 1950s and 1960s, in R\u00e9union, economic and social hardship resulted in a very low average standard of living, dilapidated or even unsanitary housing, incomplete or nonexistent schooling, widespread deprivation and domestic violence, and numerous emotional and psychological disorders. Poor families had to struggle to survive, to feed themselves, to clothe themselves, and to find shelter, and they did not necessarily provide their children with a very nurturing environment.<\/p>\n<p>But that didn't stop most families from offering affection, the joy of living together, and a zest for life.<\/p>\n<p>The situation was different when minors found themselves abandoned or excluded from their family environment. Many minors were placed in institutions. In 1961, out of 354 minors in care, 74% were suffering from severe emotional deprivation.<\/p>\n<p>These emotional deficiencies were exacerbated by placements in certain institutions on the island, where minors were sometimes subjected to violence and abuse.<\/p>\n<p>When they moved to France, the change of environment, the language barrier, and acculturation exacerbated their emotional, intellectual, and social instability.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, according to the authors, this relocation was motivated less by \u00abconcern for the children\u00bb and more by demographic considerations and the availability of places in institutions in mainland France\u2014places that were not available in sufficient numbers in R\u00e9union at that time.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Putting the Numbers into Perspective<\/h2>\n<p>Between 1962 and 1984, 2,015 minors were relocated from R\u00e9union to 83 departments in metropolitan France, including 10% in the Creuse department.<\/p>\n<p>This resettlement of minors was just one component of the proactive and ambitious migration policy pursued by the authorities at the time. It accounted for 3,25% of the 62,000 departures organized by BUMIDOM.<\/p>\n<p>In 1970, the DDASS services on R\u00e9union were caring for 3,136 children on the island. 119 of them\u2014or 3.79%\u2014were relocated to mainland France that year.<\/p>\n<p>Other countries around the world have implemented similar policies. Between 1870 and 1960, 50,000 Aboriginal children in Australia\u2014the \u00abStolen Generation\u00bb\u2014were taken from their parents and placed with families or in institutions where they received a \u00abWestern-style\u00bb education.<\/p>\n<p>The authors estimate that today, of the 2,050 children from R\u00e9union who were transplanted, 1,800 are still alive and 150 are physically identifiable. About 100 of them publicly disclose their status through four associations and one federation, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.federationdesenfantsderacinesdesdrom.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">FED DROM<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>But beyond the numbers, most of the minors have endured suffering and trauma. Abandoned or in danger on their island, they have also had to endure the hardships of relocation, acculturation, and\u2014for some\u2014abuse, humiliation, and a loss of identity.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-image__container\">\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"article-image lazy loaded lazy--loaded\" src=\"https:\/\/france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr\/image\/eQYCvPJKFWJqGlTWPApvc7uNx5I\/600x448\/regions\/2021\/04\/24\/608465284ad66_img_2256_3-5287742.jpg\" alt=\"La une de Lib\u00e9ration du 19 f\u00e9vrier 2014, lendemain du vote de la r\u00e9solution m\u00e9morielle en faveur des &quot;enfants de la Creuse&quot; \u00e0 l'Assembl\u00e9e Nationale\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" data-src=\"https:\/\/france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr\/image\/eQYCvPJKFWJqGlTWPApvc7uNx5I\/600x448\/regions\/2021\/04\/24\/608465284ad66_img_2256_3-5287742.jpg\" data-was-processed=\"true\" \/><figcaption>\n<div class=\"article-image__credits\">The front page of *Lib\u00e9ration* on February 19, 2014, the day after the National Assembly voted on the resolution commemorating the \u00abchildren of the Creuse\u00bb <span class=\"separator\">\u2022 <\/span>\u00a9 Pascal Coussy \/ France T\u00e9l\u00e9visions<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2>Weren't all minors who received transplants actually \u00abwards\u00bb?<\/h2>\n<p>Of the 2,015 minors who received transplants, 49% were between the ages of 6 and 15. It was undoubtedly for this group that life in exile was the most difficult to endure.<\/p>\n<p>But among these children, the law required that two categories of \u00abwards\u00bb be distinguished: Orphaned Wards (PO), whose parents had died, and Morally Abandoned Wards (PA). It was the latter group that sometimes faced an ambiguous and questionable fate. Many believe that they should not have been adopted since they had parents, even if those parents had lost their parental authority.<\/p>\n<p>Others\u2014minors \u00abin custody\u00bb (EG)\u2014were placed under the protection of government agencies by court order.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, minors classified as \u00abtemporarily placed\u00bb (RT) were, as their name suggests, placed in the care of the state\u2014in theory for a temporary, fixed period\u2014whether at the request of their parents or as a result of intervention by social services. In practice, however, these minors remained \u00abplaced\u00bb in foster families or institutions until they reached the age of majority.<\/p>\n<p>Once again, in R\u00e9union as well as in mainland France, right up until the 1970s, the guiding principle of Child Welfare Services was to keep children away from their parents, for \u00abtheir well-being\u00bb and their \u00abhealthy psychological development\u00a0.\u00bb.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Were mostly Black children deported?<\/h2>\n<p>For the authors of the book, the issue of skin color did not arise within social services. However, whether in R\u00e9union\u2014among the few families at the time seeking to adopt and capable of taking on this responsibility\u2014or in mainland France, Black children found it more difficult to find an adoptive family.<\/p>\n<p>Under pressure from the R\u00e9union Communist Party at the time, which accused the government of pursuing racist and colonialist policies, BUMIDOM\u2014the agency responsible for organizing migration\u2014had asked its departments to compile statistics on migrant departures based on skin color.<\/p>\n<p>These statistics show that 42% of the miners were \u00ablight-skinned Creoles\u00bb or \u00ablittle whites,\u00bb 44% were \u00abbrown Creoles\u00bb (Indo-Afro-Malagasy mixed-race individuals), 8% were Malabars (Indians), and 3% were \u00abbrowns.\u00bb Thus, 42% of the resettled minors were not considered \u00abblacks\u00bb by BUMIDOM.<\/p>\n<p>Contrary to stereotypical \u00abmetropolitan\u00bb perceptions, the population of R\u00e9union is multi-ethnic, multicultural, and largely of mixed heritage.<\/p>\n<p>Conversely\u2014and this is no coincidence\u2014it was the urban areas of R\u00e9union that provided the largest number of relocated minors: 54% of them came from the island\u2019s three major cities. In these cities, characterized by uncontrolled urban sprawl, endemic poverty flourished, bringing with it a trail of alcoholism, violence, and social and family breakdown. Rural areas provided fewer transferred minors despite overpopulation and a certain degree of rural poverty.<\/p>\n<p>The map showing the origins of the relocated miners thus mirrors the distribution of the greatest social deprivation at the time, rather than the skin color of R\u00e9union\u2019s inhabitants.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-image__container\">\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"article-image lazy loaded lazy--loaded\" src=\"https:\/\/france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr\/image\/EKcBYjbtmpyOFSgf_ODuRJ87p1Q\/600x449\/regions\/2021\/04\/24\/6084665cc4aa4_img_5705-5287746.jpg\" alt=\"Le rapport de la commission d'experts sur les &quot;Enfants dits de la Creuse&quot;, minist\u00e8re des Outre-Mers 10 avril 2018\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" data-src=\"https:\/\/france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr\/image\/EKcBYjbtmpyOFSgf_ODuRJ87p1Q\/600x449\/regions\/2021\/04\/24\/6084665cc4aa4_img_5705-5287746.jpg\" data-was-processed=\"true\" \/><figcaption>\n<div class=\"article-image__credits\">Report of the Expert Commission on the \u00abSo-Called Children of Creuse,\u00bb Ministry of Overseas Territories, April 10, 2018 <span class=\"separator\">\u2022 <\/span>\u00a9 Pascal Coussy \/ France T\u00e9l\u00e9visions<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2>Abuse by Foster Families in Rural Areas of France<\/h2>\n<p>As evidenced by newspaper articles from that time, in the 1950s and 1960s, all children in the public welfare system who were placed in rural areas of France were subjected to extremely harsh, even appalling, conditions. Beaten, abused, housed in barns, and malnourished\u2014the testimonies are shocking.<\/p>\n<p>The children from R\u00e9union who were relocated were no exception to the general rule of the time\u2014it was almost like a double punishment on top of the trauma of exile and acculturation.<\/p>\n<p>According to the authors, \u00abthe vast majority of minors from R\u00e9union who have been relocated to rural areas and are of an age to be placed in apprenticeships do indeed constitute a labor pool for farmers. Some have exploited them to make easy profits.\u00bb.<\/p>\n<p>But they add that, while this in no way diminishes the suffering experienced by transplanted people from R\u00e9union at that time, the farmers\u00ab biological children were also raised \u00bbthe hard way\u00ab and were sometimes even \u00bbexploited at will.\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>The destruction and disappearance of certain files on transplanted minors?<\/h2>\n<p>Today, some former child laborers from R\u00e9union who have moved elsewhere are having difficulty accessing their administrative files or the full contents of those files.<\/p>\n<p>When they manage to obtain these documents, they are sometimes taken aback by how little information they contain. This poses an obstacle to piecing together their life stories and identities, and creates an additional challenge in locating family members who remained in R\u00e9union.<\/p>\n<p>Officially, the administrative records documenting their care in France are kept in the host department.<\/p>\n<p>In R\u00e9union, the small staff of the Child Welfare Service in the 1960s (10 social workers for 280 minors \u00abplaced in care\u00bb and 5,000 \u00abrescued\u00bb in 1960), the lack of rigor and the absence of a culture of archival preservation fully account for the scarcity and loss of many case files.<\/p>\n<p>Although often mentioned, the 1966 fire that destroyed a wing of the Prefecture building housing the offices of the DDASS in R\u00e9union appears, however, to have had little impact on whether or not the majority of the archives held in R\u00e9union at the time were lost.<\/p>\n<p>For the authors, the R\u00e9union Departmental Archives have now chosen to collect as comprehensive a collection as possible of all documents related to the relocation issue. These documents serve as records that can help former child miners piece together their history and assist researchers in writing a political, social, and economic history of R\u00e9union.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-image__container\">\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"article-image lazy loaded lazy--loaded\" src=\"https:\/\/france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr\/image\/BWSAIs7FSRKosrQxH3LAzk_Iiv8\/600x448\/regions\/2021\/04\/24\/608466f2524fc_p1010626-5287750.jpg\" alt=\"La R\u00e9union\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" data-src=\"https:\/\/france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr\/image\/BWSAIs7FSRKosrQxH3LAzk_Iiv8\/600x448\/regions\/2021\/04\/24\/608466f2524fc_p1010626-5287750.jpg\" data-was-processed=\"true\" \/><figcaption>\n<div class=\"article-image__credits\">Reunion Island <span class=\"separator\">\u2022 <\/span>\u00a9 Pascal Coussy \/ France T\u00e9l\u00e9visions<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<h2><\/h2>\n<h2>In conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>The relocation of 2,015 minors from R\u00e9union to mainland France over a period of two decades caused a great deal of trauma and suffering.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the \u00abgood intentions\u00bb behind the utopian ideal of republican assimilation, this is a complex issue. It bears the mark of colonization. Above all, it reveals what the administration of Child Welfare was like\u2014its practices and its shortcomings\u2014both in R\u00e9union and in mainland France.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>That policy was a mistake<\/p>\n<p class=\"author\">Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic, 2017<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>In 2014, the National Assembly acknowledged that \u00abthe State had failed in its moral responsibility toward these wards.\u00bb.<\/p>\n<p>In 2017, the President of the Republic stated that \u00abthis policy was a mistake because, in many cases, it had exacerbated the distress of the children it was intended to help.\u00bb.<\/p>\n<p>Today, in the families of former miners, it is the children\u2014the second and third generations\u2014who sometimes bear the consequences of this history.<\/p>\n<p>Despite their efforts, many of them still cannot break free from a past that is destroying them\u2014\u00aba past that won't go away.\u00bb.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><u>See also <\/u>: The Story of the Miners of R\u00e9union in Comics<\/h2>\n<p>Those interested in the history of the \u00abReunionese children of the Creuse\u00bb can also learn a great deal from Tehem\u2019s graphic novel *Piments Zoizos*, published in September 2020 by Steinkis.<\/p>\n<p>Supervised by Gilles Gauvin, one of the historians who authored the report on the history of this case, it is particularly well-documented.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-image__container\">\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"article-image lazy loaded lazy--loaded\" src=\"https:\/\/france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr\/image\/BucySRsif8ogPdOfPXwSgGPAEuU\/600x446\/regions\/2021\/04\/25\/6085394801306_img_9449_1-5287916.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" data-src=\"https:\/\/france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr\/image\/BucySRsif8ogPdOfPXwSgGPAEuU\/600x446\/regions\/2021\/04\/25\/6085394801306_img_9449_1-5287916.jpg\" data-was-processed=\"true\" \/><figcaption>\n<div class=\"article-image__credits\">\u00a9 Pascal Coussy \/ France T\u00e9l\u00e9visions<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><u>To go to the source <\/u>: The official report on the history of the children from R\u00e9union who were relocated:<\/h2>\n<div>\n<div><a href=\"http:\/\/www.calameo.com\/books\/0008863793fc69e71a11f\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">A Study of Organ Transplants for Minors from R\u00e9union in Metropolitan France (1962\u20131984)<\/a><\/div>\n<div><a href=\"http:\/\/www.calameo.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Publish on Calameo<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Plusieurs ouvrages viennent de para\u00eetre sur le th\u00e8me des \u00ab\u00a0enfants r\u00e9unionnais de la Creuse\u00a0\u00bb. Parmi eux, un petit livre synth\u00e9tique, \u00e9crit par des experts auteurs d&rsquo;un rapport sur\u00a0cette douloureuse histoire, pour r\u00e9tablir les faits et combattre les id\u00e9es re\u00e7ues. Palmiers \u00e0 Saint-Paul, \u00eele de La R\u00e9union \u2022 \u00a9 Pascal Coussy \/ France T\u00e9l\u00e9visions Creuse Gu\u00e9ret<\/p>","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":26146,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":"","rank_math_focus_keyword":"","rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"","rank_math_canonical_url":"","rank_math_robots":null,"rank_math_facebook_title":"","rank_math_facebook_description":"","rank_math_twitter_title":"","rank_math_twitter_description":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-latribune"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/antilla-martinique.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/antilla-martinique.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/antilla-martinique.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antilla-martinique.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antilla-martinique.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26145"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/antilla-martinique.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26145\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antilla-martinique.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/antilla-martinique.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antilla-martinique.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/antilla-martinique.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}