PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Unidentified French-Speaking Asylum Seeker on Shelter Conditions and Challenges
3:45:29
·
5 min
An unidentified French-speaking asylum seeker from Guinea testified about the difficult conditions in New York City shelters and the challenges faced by immigrants. The speaker described experiences of homelessness, frequent shelter transfers, and poor living conditions, emphasizing the need for stable housing, English language education, and improved shelter conditions.
- Reported spending nights on the street due to shelter evictions and transfers
- Described unsanitary conditions in shelters, including spoiled food and lack of shower access
- Expressed fear about the 60-day shelter limit and potential homelessness in winter
- Requested an extension of shelter stays and improvements to shelter conditions, particularly food quality
UNKNOWN (via French Interpreter)
3:45:29
Good afternoon, everyone.
3:45:37
I come from Guinea.
3:45:45
I came here, last February.
3:45:51
And I'm also in a temporary shelter.
3:45:59
My first 4 months were incredibly difficult here in New York.
3:46:13
So I was after, the first four months, I was, put out on the street, and I had no one to go to and and no place to sleep, so I spent 3 nights sleeping out on the street.
3:46:32
And someone, referred me to Africa, communications.
3:46:43
And, they found me more temporary shelter in Manhattan.
3:46:56
And it's very difficult for me without having any way of learning English, to find my way around.
3:47:02
I can't even navigate, the city.
3:47:05
And it's also important, I I'm unaware of what the law is.
3:47:09
I'm trying to comply with the law, but first I have to know what the law is in order to be compliant.
3:47:19
So, finally I was sent to Brooklyn and that's where I am currently.
UNKNOWN
3:47:39
No.
3:47:40
Okay.
Edafe Okporo
3:47:40
7 But
UNKNOWN (via French Interpreter)
3:47:41
we, we we wanna be able to take English lessons and training, and we can't do it because every time we wanna enroll somewhere, we're sent someplace else and it's no longer in, a traveling distance.
3:48:04
And then,
Mamadou Diallo
3:48:07
No.
UNKNOWN (via French Interpreter)
3:48:10
Also, at the temporary shelters, they sick they kick you out at 6 AM.
3:48:14
And where are you going to go at 6 AM?
3:48:16
And they don't let you back in again until it's time to go to sleep.
3:48:19
So where are we supposed to be during that time, especially in bad weather?
3:48:31
So we spend our days from 6 AM until 7 PM in the park.
3:48:43
And the food is so spoiled that we don't dare eat it.
3:48:53
So we're going through, trash cans looking, for for our next meal.
3:49:08
And there is, we can go days without having access to a working shower.
3:49:13
It's it's not, sanitary.
3:49:25
And now we're being told that after 70 days, we're gonna be put out permanently on the street, and that's gonna be the heart of winter.
3:49:32
Where are we supposed to go?
3:49:45
So that's why I'm here is to let you know the real conditions that we're experiencing in the
UNKNOWN
3:49:56
shelters.
UNKNOWN (via French Interpreter)
3:49:57
So we're asking for mercy from you and from the governor
Karim Walker
3:50:01
to,
UNKNOWN (via French Interpreter)
3:50:05
To, to show us some mercy in extending our, our, temporary shelter.
3:50:17
Because if you put us out, we're going to be sleeping on the street
UNKNOWN
3:50:20
for sure.
UNKNOWN (via French Interpreter)
3:50:26
So we're we're living in fear.
3:50:33
All we ask is the opportunity to learn English so that we can get work.
3:50:46
So we're asking for an extension of the, of of the permission to remain in the shelter, and also please take a hard look at improving the conditions there so that they're, sanitary and safe.
3:51:02
Especially the food.
3:51:07
Thank you very much.
