Nasson still lives at home with his parents in the suburb of La Calade outside Marseille. From the living room window, they can see the large port, where over 4 billion euros worth of legal goods are transported a year. This is also one of the biggest smuggling routes for drugs from North Africa to Europe. From la Calade you look straight down on the port of Marseilles. Photo: Andras D.Hajdu La Calade is one of the most notorious neighborhoods in Marseille. Here, everyday life is characterized by poverty and gang crime. This is where many of the young people who have burned cars and looted shops in the center of the city live. The largest concentration of poverty in France is found in Marseille, according to the think tank “Observatory of Inequality.” Nassom studies business economics and has not participated in the demonstrations in the past week. Work together with parents and siblings. In total, the family has five children. Photo: Andras D.Hajdu / news – Systematic discrimination But he knows many people from the neighborhood who have been part of the big riots in Marseille. Among other things, the largest library in the city was set on fire. And there have been fierce clashes between immigrant youth and the police in Marseille after 17-year-old Nahel was shot by the police in Paris. Nasson says people needed to protest against what they believe is systematic discrimination. Job Nassom emphasizes that it is a tough environment in La Calade, but that it is entirely possible to live as a youth without becoming part of the criminal gang environment. Photo: Andras D.Hajdu / news Because he has dark skin, he believes the security guards regularly check his shopping bag when he has been to the grocery store. The goods are carefully checked against the receipt. At the same time, “white” French people can walk right by, he says. – In this sense, many people have a legitimate reason to take to the streets to demonstrate. But there are many criminals who at the same time use the opportunity for looting and vandalism. Drugs and gang crime tempt young people Father, Hilaire Nasson, is a journalist and says that it is very easy to be tempted by drugs and easy money in the neighbourhood. Res Champagne leveque is a gigantic block of flats in the suburb of La Calade, barely 10 kilometers from the center of Marseille. These are municipal housing in very poor condition. Photo: Andras D.Hajdu / news He takes news to a huge block of flats which is notorious for drug dealing. Here the rubbish is floating and it looks as if there has been a fire in several flats. The playground is empty, but armed drug dealers are walking around the city. This is their territory, we learn. Photo: Andras D.Hajdu / news As soon as we take out the camera, we are stopped by young men who ask us to stop. One of them has a gun in his waistband and politely asks us to leave the area. Here, drugs are sold quite openly and it is the criminal gangs who decide, not the police. A person on crutches acts as a lookout for drug dealers in the area. Hilaire Nasson asks if he can speak with the boss about whether we can come in and take a picture. The answer is a flat no. Drugs are sold here and the gangs are afraid of being identified by the police. Photo: Andras D.Hajdu / news On the other side of the street we meet the physiotherapist Pierre Andre Cassar. He says that it is particularly demanding to run a business in the area. – Of course we are scared! They shoot each other with Kalashnikovs! This is not normal, he says. Physiotherapist Pierre Andre Cassar works at a clinic right next to the large block of flats. He says he is afraid of the drug dealers and the violence that comes with gang crime. Photo: Andras D.Hajdu / news A woman at the same office does not want to speak publicly, but she is clearly upset. – I think these immigrants hate everything French, she says. Why do they come here when they hate us? Just down the street is a tobacco shop that was robbed three times during the riots by local men. The owner does not want to be interviewed. He just wants to forget the whole thing and now things have calmed down. This tobacco shop was robbed three times by the same young people at the weekend. The business is located in the suburb of La Calade by the port of Marseille. The owner does not want to speak to the media. Photo: Andras D.Hajdu / news – Young people must take responsibility for their own lives Back in the flat, Job has just taken a shower. He is going to the cinema with friends to see Spiderman. He believes that it is certainly possible for young people in the neighborhood to live without getting involved in gang crime. Graffiti in La Calade Photo: Andras D.Hajdu – As I see it, both sides have made mistakes. It is the state’s fault that some young people feel forgotten by the authorities. But the young can also get on, but they don’t want to because they’d rather make quick money. One can get on. It’s not easy, but it’s not impossible, says Job. Father Hilaire interjects: – The state must give more money to the young people from burdened environments so that they can manage. – Yes, but the young people must also do their part, travel themselves and take responsibility for their own lives. They have to break out of the role they have been placed in, either by the state or by others because they have parents with an immigrant background who may not be able to read and write. Father and son have a good relationship. Father Hilaire hopes his son will get a good job after his studies so that he can move to a slightly better neighbourhood. Photo: Andras D.Hajdu – Today’s youth, we are the future. And I really believe that nothing is impossible. If you want to, you can create change, says 21-year-old Job Nassom to news.
ttn-69
Immigrant youth frustrated in France – Job Nasson believes he is discriminated against on a daily basis – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
