December 23, 2024
Since the beginning of the year, the First Reception Service for Asylum Seekers (FSAS) in Cayenne has recorded over 20,000 applications—three times more than in 2023. This significant increase is largely due to the worsening living conditions in Haiti, which have driven many Haitian nationals already present in French Guiana to seek international protection.
Faced with this massive influx, the reception system is under severe strain, resulting in significant delays in processing applications. Asylum seekers, hoping to obtain refugee status or subsidiary protection, face prolonged waiting periods. This saturation complicates the functioning of services and presents local authorities with a major humanitarian and logistical challenge.
This crisis highlights the difficulties faced by local institutions in meeting both the needs of the applicants and the demands of maintaining public order. Authorities must balance the necessity of ensuring the fundamental rights of refugees with managing the social and economic tensions this influx creates in the region.
This situation calls for a comprehensive and coordinated response, involving both local authorities and the State, to better manage this wave of refugees while minimizing the impact on French Guiana’s resources.