Children of La Réunion 'abducted' by France demand apologies

A group of children from the island of La Réunion off the coast of East Africa demand an apology from the French government. They were 'taken' by the French authorities in the 1960s and 1970s and moved to the French countryside. Parents were often made false promises. After their arrival in France, the children were sometimes declared orphans or given a new identity.

"We are now 50 years later. Not one government has done anything for us. It is high time for an apology," says Inel Annette. He is a member of an interest group founded by the children of the time.

They have engaged the National Ombudsman in France. It is too late for legal proceedings: the facts are time-barred. But apologies and possible compensation should take away some of the suffering.

An investigation has shown that between 1962 and 1984 the French authorities collected a total of more than 2000 children from La Réunion, which is part of France as an overseas department. The children were almost all under 15; there were also babies and toddlers.

Inel Annette, one of the children of La Réunion FRANK RENOUT/NOS

At that time there was great poverty on the island and there was overcrowding. Too few people lived in the French countryside, 9000 kilometers away. This is how the idea of ??moving the children arose in Paris. They had to get out of their 'underprivileged' environment; at the same time, the French countryside would receive a new impulse.

But the parents at La Réunion were often lied to. For example, the children would be allowed to return to their families once a year, which never happened.

"I was put on a plane with three sisters myself. I was not told anything, I did not receive any explanation," says Annette. "I was nine years old at the time. To convince my mother to give her children away, the French authorities gave her a chicken."

Hidden for decades

Annette (65) calls it a kidnapping. "I was taken from my mother, taken from the island where I was born, and once in France also taken away from my sisters. You can say a lot about it, but that's a kidnapping."

Once in France, problems arose. There are testimonies of children who were almost put to work as slaves on farms. There are also stories of abuse and mistreatment . Supervision by the French authorities was inadequate.

The story of the children of La Réunion has been hushed up in France for decades. The children themselves were often told later about their true identity and background. And much later it also became clear that they were not alone, but that more than 2000 children had been taken from La Réunion.

Group photo of children from La Réunion FRANK RENOUT/NOS

It wasn't until 2014, half a century after the operation started, that the French parliament passed a resolution recognizing that mistakes had been made. Then a commission of inquiry was set up with a voluminous report and painful facts. But successive governments did nothing.

The children, and in particular their interest groups, are no longer satisfied with that. They have engaged a lawyer and have filed a file with the Ombudsman. They want the government and President Macron to take responsibility.

"We as children have felt guilty for a long time," explains Annette. "We thought we had done something wrong, that's why we were taken from La Réunion. With an apology, the government would show that we don't have to feel guilty."

memorial stone

The association has already achieved a breakthrough. A memorial stone will be unveiled at the end of the summer at Orly Airport near Paris, where the children landed at the time. A minister will also be present at the unveiling. "That finally feels like recognition," says Annette.

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