Operation “Uambushu”: in the Comoros, the compromise of the government and the anger of the returnees from Mayotte

Agitated, screaming, wandering in the port of Mutsamudu, in the Comoros Archipelago. in the humid heat Citadel Just landed on the island of Anjouan, 60 km from Mayotte, on board the 90 deportees from the French island. This is the ship’s fourth trip in a week.

The gendarmes are detaining the customs territory of Comoros. A port that is normally open is no longer available. Not to the families, not to the media, not to the governor of Anjouan, a fierce opponent of Operation “Wouambushu” (“Recovery”, in Mahorais), which intends to demolish unsanitary housing and illegal immigration and insecurity. Mayotte. Initially, French authorities wanted to carry out 20,000 deportations at the border before halving that target. Since the expulsions began, on Monday, May 22, about 200 deportees reached Anjouan.

The Comoros government first tried to confront France, refusing to accept the exiles and closing its ports to ships from the neighboring island for three weeks. But he finally gave in under pressure from Paris. As of May 17, the Comoros officially accepted candidates for “voluntary departure” from Mayotte, whose territory they still claim sovereignty over.

“I’ll be back there as soon as possible”

No one is fooled in Mutsamudu. Foreigners in an irregular situation rejected by France did not choose to return to Comoros. “Volunteer”, Ibrahim Said Hamad is absolutely not. He arrives at Mutsamudu, exhausted, angry, dressed only in a Coca-Cola T-shirt and a blue pocketbook containing some documents.

“I spent twenty-four days in the Mayotte Detention Center. They threatened to keep me in prison for another month if I did not return to Comoros., he roars. When the boat docked in Mutsamudu, Comoros customs confiscated her travel documents. You should leave no trace of this trip. “It said ‘volunteer’, but I didn’t agree at all!” »screams

A young man landed illegally in Mayotte in 2018 Kvasa-Kvasa (a light boat used for crossing), left a wife, French, and three children, also French. his Banga (metal house) in Dujani district, Mamudzu, 101st capital^e The French department, which was demolished by the authorities in March, as part of the fight against already unsanitary housing.