At Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, near Paris, a floating parish run by the Assumptionists responds to the need of offering hospitality to hundreds of homeless Tibetan refugees.

Two Tibetan women walk on-board calmly, each wearing the same easily recognizable back-pack. In the chapel of the barge community known as Je sers ("I serve"), they were told that here they would not be turned away. From the foothills of the Himalayas of Nepal across the beaten roads of India, the name of this stopover circulates among the diaspora. Here, on the banks of the Seine, at Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, north of Paris, the door stays open.

All the places are taken

It is Hugues Fresneau, director of this floating establishment, who receives them in his office. In his cramped quarters where files are piled on top of each other, a photo of Pope Francis hangs next to one of the Dalai Lama. Embarrassed, he says, "We aren't the solution; nevertheless, we can't stand by twiddling our thumbs".

The two women won't be sleeping outside. A couple of men who are on their heels, however, won't be so lucky. They, too, crossed the top of the world by foot, making it first to Katmandu, then to Europe by plane or by train. "All I can give you is a tent so that you can sleep in the nearby woods with the others," he tells them in English. In the absence of alternatives, some fifty young people, in fact, sleep on the other bank under the trees, hidden from public view.

A parish at the ready

The house is full. The 60 beds reserved for the homeless are basically occupied by Tibetan refugees. Ditto with the other 25 beds reserved for young women on the Notre Dame des eaux ("Our Lady of the Seas"), an abandoned barge moored not far away along the same wharf. No room either in the two houses located in the neighboring commune of Andrésy. These 'beautiful' buildings were destined to be destroyed to make way for what was to be a highway, a project that was later abandoned. In no time, 40 men began to live there and 30 more set up tents in the gardens.

For the last four years the barge community has been filled to the gills. Even if Tibetans are almost assured of receiving the protection of the French government, the association known as "La pierre blanche" (The White Stone"), which oversees this aspect of the barge's activities, takes them under its wings for 8-9 months while their requests for asylum are being processed. Certain among them, even once they are granted refugee status, return here, a home away from home.

The welcoming committee is always on duty. Three Little Sisters of the Assumption are at their posts: Bernadette in charge of health issues and family services; Jacqueline who gives French lessons; Marie-Rose overseeing logistics. They can also count on the assistance of 30 volunteers.

Hospitality that covers even the smallest detail

Some of the barge community parishioners have been pooling their monies to rent more space to be placed at the disposition of these exiled wanderers. A few have, since last January, decided to welcome some refugees in their own homes. "We simply couldn't accept that women would sleep on train platforms," explains Raymond, who, together with Maryse and Yvette, form a 'dynamic threesome.'  They are happy to have foreseen the Pope's appeal to welcome migrants. Refugees have settled into the empty room set aside for their grandchildren.

Their initiative has inspired others. Since May, a network of 25 families has welcomed 50 young women. It's become like a well-oiled machine now. "At first, volunteers welcomed a young man who had the run of the entire house. The family became so inconvenienced that they later refused to accept anyone else, unfortunately, " Maryse points out. As a result, a list of rights and duties was drawn up and implemented. Stays should not go beyond two to three months, the time it takes to put into place social services.

When someone arrives at one's home, he/she is taken around the house and the guidelines are explained. If one of the families doesn't wish to welcome anyone at the moment, they just indicate it on a sign-up sheet: "If someone needs a break, that's normal. He can ask to be relieved for a week or so," Maryse adds. A little while ago, this network of assistance expanded to the entire region. Three refugees have left to live in a private home in Saint-Étienne, five or six to Britanny, still others to Tournus in Burgundy…

Fatigue and lack of time

Lunch-time on the barge means all hands on deck. 200-300 people have to be fed. Everyone has to pitch in, including the refugees. Everyday there are volunteers assigned to carry out certain duties during the meals. Then, afterwards, tables have to be cleared, dishes washed and put away. Today it's Fr. Willy who is the boss. This Assumptionist priest, originally from Peru, knows the barge well. It was here, in the main chapel, located at the front of the barge, where he was ordained six years ago. While he was still studying theology at the Catholic Institute of Paris, he began volunteering several hours a week on the boat. Since then he has never really left.

"At first, everything is beautiful, fantastic, but quickly one's patience is sorely tested and fatigue sets in," he makes clear. Unlike him, other religious couldn't stay the course. Welcoming refugees demands a complete investment of one's time and energy. For example, it's absolutely necessary to learn everyone's first name, as hard as they may be to pronounce. "When you forget someone's name, it's as if you have made them disappear as persons, especially for these people who are trying to become somebody in this new world

," Fr. Willy explains. So it is that he tries to recognize each one by name, Tashi, Dawa, Thuntsu and hundreds of others, who hound him with their every concern. This priest would wish, however, that such attempts to show interest were mutual. "There is certainly also missing moments of spiritual exchange so that we can share with them who we truly are, as Catholics," he believes.

Insufficient aid from the State services

The team in charge would especially like to receive more government assistance. They feel particularly abandoned. Why? Because the barge has become an unmanageable anchor for so many. To resolve the problem, the association, "La pierre blanche", does have at its disposal some facilities but, foreseen as family dwellings, they are poorly adapted for singles.

Up until this summer, the prefecture of Yvelines was envisaging the monastery of the Orants of the Assumption in Bonnelles, in the southern section of the department, to provide relief for Je sers. But this past September, the federal government stepped in and decided to use the 80 places for Syrian and Iraki refugees. France had just committed itself to receiving 1000 refugees from Munich, as a sign of support to Germany, where many first seek asylum.

Religious, parishioners, and other protestors finally showed how fed up they were with the situation this past October 10. 300 of them marched along the wharves to the Conflans-Sainte-Honorine city hall. Disappointment: "Apart from some guarantees that housing would be provided during cold spells, they promised us nothing," lamented Hugues Fresneau.

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History of the barge that became a parish

1919: Construction of this barge that was towed to Amfreville (Eure). It was built to carry coal. Its original name was Langemark.

1936: The boat, purchased by the L’Entraide sociale batelière/ESB (Waterways Mutual Aid), was renamed Je sers by the founding priest, Fr. Joseph Bellanger, and blessed by the bishop of Versailles, Most Rev. Benjamin Roland-Gosselin. A chapel under the direction of the Assumptionists was built. It was at one and the same time a parish and a social center for assistance to mariners and their families.

1986: Waterway commercial activity, on the decline since 1960s, was almost dead. The ESB had closed many of its outlets and this operation was in question. Fr. Arthur Hervet, an Assumptionist, took control and founded the association "La pierre blanche." Fr. Arthur's original idea was to be a comprehensive response (shelter, housing, food assistance, a clothing thrift shop…) to people in need, whether they be undocumented, homeless, ex-convicts, etc.

2011: After having experienced the arrival of many different ethnic refugee groups, the barge began to welcome Tibetans for the most part.

by JEAN-BAPTISTE FRANÇOIS and JULIEN DURIEZ
La Croix, November 14, 2015

(for more photos, go to http://www.bateaujesers.org/uploads/1/6/8/9/1689055/liberation.pdf)