Maya Magassouba at her bakery trainer, Salem Khalfat. – BC
- A 19-year-old Guinean apprentice in the North was to be expelled.
- Employed in a bakery in Grande-Synthe, he took a CAP to become a baker.
- His boss is at the origin of a citizen mobilization which allowed the young man to obtain a three-month reprieve.
A few months of reprieve and maybe more. Maya Magassouba, 19, from Guinea was subject to an Obligation to Leave French Territory (OQTF) issued by the sub-prefect of Dunkirk, in the North. Strong citizen mobilization, initiated by his apprentice bakery master, enabled the young man to obtain a temporary residence permit for three months.
Maya Magassouba left her country in 2017 after her mother disappeared during ethnic conflicts. Regularly beaten by his father and brother, nothing held him back in Guinea Conakry. A minor when he landed in France, he was taken care of by child welfare and placed in a home in Dunkirk. Attracted by the profession of baker, he sought and found, as best he could, an apprenticeship contract. This is how he arrived at Salem Khalfat, a baker in Grande Synthe.
A “courageous and very hard-working” young man
The latter describes him as a young man “courageous and very hardworking” who “never counted his hours”. Well noted in practice, it is nevertheless the theoretical tests that prevented Maya from obtaining her CAP in 2020. Now of full age, he was caught up by the administration which issued him a return ticket for Guinea Conakry. “He re-registered to succeed in 2021. At the end of his apprenticeship contract, I want to hire him on a permanent contract because he is a good worker,” pleads his boss.
Supported by several associations, the baker has posted a petition that has collected more than 22,000 signatures and started steps to ensure that his apprentice is not expelled. On Thursday, the good news fell: the prefect grants the young man a temporary residence permit for three months. “The issue of a longer-term residence permit will come at the end of these three months. We must remain vigilant and active so that the commitments […] are required ”, declared in a joint statement the associations, in particular the LDH Dunkirk, the MRAP and Attac Flandre.