With our correspondent in New York, Loubna Anaki
A few blocks from Times Square, the Roosevelt Hotel has become the symbol of New York’s migration crisis. This iconic hotel, closed since the Covid-19 pandemic, has been transformed by the city into a reception center for asylum seekers.
« I would never have imagined being in this situation. They took a month to give me a room. For them to help me. I slept on the street. It’s ugly to end up sleeping on the street explains Maïté, an Ecuadorian migrant. She has been living in this hotel for two weeks. She and her husband are not the only ones to have had to sleep on the street before getting housing. A few days ago, the line outside the Roosevelt Hotel stretched for several blocks.
Scenes that shocked New Yorkers and migrants like Charon, a 16-year-old Colombian: “ It’s very sad to see people who have gone through such hard things and find themselves sleeping on the ground in the street. Yes, that saddens me a lot. These people deserve better after all they’ve been through. »
New York City has been overwhelmed by the massive arrivals of migrants for months. Their care could cost the city more than $12 billion over three years. Too heavy a cost according to the mayor, Eric Adams: “ Our compassion is infinite, but our resources are not. We have reached our limits. »
Eric Adams is once again calling on the federal government for help. Calls which, for the moment, remain unanswered.
2023-08-13 02:58:45
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