During the summer 2015, 900 people who ran away from war, massacres, dictatorships, economical and ecological disasters found refuge in a closed down high school in Paris. The high school Jean Quarré – renamed « Refugees’ House » – was evacuated during the autumn and its residents were scattered all over France. BAAM was created in November 2015 by a group in solidarity with those women and men who are completely neglected by public authority. We are legal experts, teachers, students, social workers, artists, journalists, unemployed people, french or foreigners. We are moved by the same will to welcome, with dignity, all migrant people : asylum seekers, refugees and undocumented immigrants or workers.

Our demands

Because European Community Policy is more and more restrictive and xenophobic and against governments’ inertia, we require :
  • The removal of the list of « safe » countries introduced by the OFPRA (French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless People). Asylum is immediately denied for migrants from these countries
  • The improvement of the reception measures : accommodation in dignified conditions, social accompaniment facilitating access to the asylum application or to the residence permit, employment, care, studies …
  • The right to work for asylum seekers and allowances (called ADA) based on the Revenu de Solidarité Active (524€)
  • The withdrawal of the Dublin III circular, which obliges migrants to apply for asylum in the first European country where they were forced to register their fingerprints
  • The withdrawal of the Valls circular, which sets very restrictive criteria for the regularization of undocumented migrants

Our actions

French teaching

With the project « Bienvenue chez toi », BAAM provides access to French lessons. We are also working with an inter-universities network in order to promote the access to education and to professional insertion. We coordinate conversation workshops, and offer specific lessons for women and unaccompanied minors.

Legal advice

We provide free legal assistance to migrants and give to our volunteers a solid background about the right of asylum and the right of foreigners.

LGBT rights

We  provide legal assistance specific to LGBT people, as part of broader actions for the rights of LGBT migrants and asylum seekers.

Access to care

BAAM takes care of proper orientation in the competent health care system, and will work to create a network of supportive doctors able to give free consultations for those who need it.

Culture

Organization of multi-cultural, recreational and sporting events: picnics, theatre workshop, concerts, movies, museum visits. Find out more here.

Social and administrative assistance

Weekly assistance in administrative procedures and in the search for housing: asylum seekers, refugees or undocumented people can find help to fill their administrative documents. We can apply for administrative and legal procedures to enforce their housing rights.

Access to employment

We provide weekly assistance to refugees with their job search. We help dealing with administrations, companies or training centres, as well as writing resumes and preparing for job interviews. We also help access to common-law institutions through the organization of outings and mediation.

Emergency

Interventions on street camps

How to support us

Do you speak English, Arabic, Dari, Pashto, Tigrigna, Oromo? Are you a legal expert? A musician? An artist? Can you help in the duty periods for access to employment or for social support? Do you know how to code? Do you draw? Are you motivated to organize concerts or solidarity meals? Do you have a working group project or just time to spend?  

Join one of the working groups or give us a bit of help.

You can also make a donation. BAAM does not receive public subsidies, we only operate through private donations.

Articles

You can read and download the articles of the association here