Word: montforte
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Immigration may be the hot topic in France's presidential campaign, but who'd have thought it would spark such a fury in the quiet, pastoral Breton town of Montfort-sur-Meu? But unlike the tough, often vaguely xenophobic, immigration positions of some of the presidential candidates, the good people of Montfort are demanding the return and regularization of 23 illegal Malians arrested for deportation when they turned up for work last month...
...These people are our neighbors, our friends, respected members of this community, and we want them back now!" urges Claudine Rochefort, who leads the Mali-Montfort Association that has rallied townsfolk to denounce the arrests. "This isn't about politics. It's about people reacting with their hearts to what they see as tragic unfairness...
...here's the curious thing: None of the almost 6,000 Montfort residents (out of a total population of 6,500) who have demanded the Malians' return dispute the fact that those arrested had been in France illegally, some of them using forged identity papers and work permits. They may have broken the law, say their supporters, but look at their contribution to the community. Most have lived in Montfort since 2002, when they were recruited by the local abattoir struggling fill the positions. Even though much of the work involved slaughtering pigs, the Muslim Malians worked their long, early...
...Every time you turn on the TV, radio, or open a paper, people are talking about the threat of immigration and how immigrants and their children aren't integrating into French society," notes Serge Houngbedji, a business manager who is one of Montfort's few French-born black residents. "Here you have 23 cases of total integration of immigrants fulfilling functions the community needs, and they're rounded up an deported because they don't have the right documents. There's something wrong with that." Added a young Montfortais Malian, "People must know that when these Malians were arrested...
Alum of Brothers of St. Gabriel Montfort College, Chiang...