The portraits of exiled women students in France : the journey of Anna, who is committed to women’s rights.
On the occasion of International Women’s Day (March 8), the UEE offers you a series of four portraits of exiled women students who are returning to their studies, we will publish one per week during the month of March on our website.
Can you tell us about your journey up to your arrival in France? Why did you come to France? Did you come with your family?
My name is Anna, I am from Turkey and I am 28 years old. I arrived in France at the end of July 2021. My family has been in France for six years but I could not come to join them because I am of Kurdish origin and, for political reasons, I was forbidden to leave the territory.
I obtained my Baccalaureate +3 diploma in mechanical engineering then I worked for a year in the construction of cold rooms prior to my arrival in France. I obtained a refugee status in January 2022 and I started a training in market gardening, and that is how I discovered La Maison des Réfugiés. I then looked for FLE courses and DU Passerelle (DUP). My market gardening teacher then advised me to contact the Union des Étudiants Exilés to help me find my way. Consequently, I joined the DUP program of a school in Paris at the start of the 2022 academic year : I am learning French and I am also taking scientific subjects.
Why did you want to return to your studies in France? Did you come to France for this purpose? What were your hopes and desires?
I wanted to resume my studies to have academic opportunities, to progress but also to adapt to life here, to work, and to have a better integration. I spoke neither French nor English when I arrived in France. So, I wanted to learn the French language first.
How did it go for you? Were there any obstacles, surprises, encounters?
At the beginning, it was very difficult to apply for the DUP, especially when I was trying to write a cover letter or a CV because I had an A0 level in French. I also had to find a training adapted to my level because no university starts their training at the level A0.
In my DUP courses I’m not only learning French, we also have courses about French culture, history and literature. We do cultural outings in Paris once a month. We also met French students and we made pairs with them. There are also alumni pairs with former DU students who help us to have a network.
I had no problems with integrating or adapting because I am sociable so I did not find myself isolated.
What would you like to see in the future? What are your dreams and projects today?
Now I would like to do a specialized master’s degree in mechanical engineering or fluid mechanics in Paris. These are areas that I had already studied in Turkey but in France you have to specialize. However, I do not yet have a sufficient level of French, so I will do another year in DU Passerelle to have the B1 level. I would like to stay in Paris, my family lives here.
Do you have any advice for other exiled students who want to return to their studies in France?
Sometimes I was demoralized because it is not easy to move to another country and learn another language, but if you are determined you can do anything I think. But in France there are many associations that help exiled people to integrate and adapt, find work, resume their studies and offer activities, don’t hesitate! At the university, it is very practical to be in pairs with French students because they can give you a lot of advice, help to adapt and provide motivation.
What does International Women’s Day (March 8) mean to you?
In my country, we have also held demonstrations to obtain rights but now it is forbidden. In Turkey, the inequalities are stronger than they are in France. For example, on March 8, 2021, a woman had been killed and this is something that happens every day because there are no rights to protect women. Justice in Istanbul has taken away rights such as the right to abortion. Although, Turkish women had many rights and had obtained some of them before French women, such as the right to vote in 1934. Women’s rights declined when the president became a right-wing.
I would like to add that Daesh killed many women, especially Kurdish women because many are not Muslim. When we say International Women’s Day (March 8), we are talking about the right of all women!
On this International Women’s Day, I want to commemorate all the women who have been killed or assassinated, I have a special thought for the Yazidi women who were killed by Daesh in Shingal, women who died while fleeing their country and all the women who sacrificed themselves for freedom.
Woman, Life, Freedom! Jin, Jiyan, Azadi!
