From the Sudan at war to Aubervilliers, the tragic fate of Doni, 29, drowned in the Saint-Denis canal

The few photos gleaned from Facebook show a smiling young man, sometimes surrounded by friends, obviously a football fan and PSG supporter… A tribute will be paid this Sunday to Doni Neckson, a young Sudanese who died on July 10, drowned in the Saint Canal -Denis in Aubervilliers.

The circumstances in which he fell into the water remain unclear. But there is little mystery about the conditions in which Doni lived his last days. Like hundreds of men from East Africa, Afghanistan and the Maghreb, he was stranded on the banks of the canal, in a miserable encampment which has rapidly expanded since the end of confinement.

Thanks to the work of volunteers from the Solidarité Migrants Wilson collective, who wanted to give the deceased back his identity and questioned his friends, we know a little more about Doni. He “was 29 years old, was Catholic, loved football, had fled the war in his country, had been in France for five years”, sums up a press release, which specifies that before arriving in the Paris region, Doni lived for a while in Châlons-en-Champagne (Marne). His Facebook page soberly mentions a “move to Saint-Denis” in November 2019.

“Unfortunately, he is not the first exile to die in the canal. Above all, he risks not being the last, if the exiles, driven from Paris, are not quickly taken care of, ”worries the collective in its press release.

800 to 1,000 people on the banks of the canal

The latter was one of the 16 associations which had seized the administrative court of Paris, by means of a “summary liberty”, accusing the State and the communities of having been “failing”, by not meeting the needs. of homeless migrants during the health crisis. On June 5, the courts agreed with them partially, by ordering the cities of Saint-Denis, Aubervilliers and the prefectures of Seine-Saint-Denis and the region to install water points, toilets, and distribute hydroalcoholic gel. and masks …

“But that is not enough to improve the conditions for their survival in this place”, continues the collective, which demands, like the humanitarian organization Médecins du Monde, “a dignified care for exiled people and an end to harassment. and police violence ”. However, even if the regional prefecture indicates having “sheltered” 1,020 people during confinement, and 249 afterwards, it is clear that the camps are constantly growing.

The UDI mayor of Aubervilliers Karine Franclet announced that she had to meet quickly with the prefect of Seine-Saint-Denis Georges-François Leclerc on this subject, deemed “sensitive and priority”. According to associations’ estimates, 800 to 1,000 people would populate the canvas camps stretching from the Porte d’Aubervilliers to the Maltournée basin in Saint-Denis.