Testimonies

Words preserved

We gather and preserve survivors' words with absolute respect for their dignity. The accounts published here are shared with the explicit consent of those who wrote them.

The account at the origin of the association

From Libya to the founding of Le Prix des Promesses d'Exil

By Ibrahim SOUNTARA, founder.

Read his story

Testimony · Member of the association

« I am here today, standing »

Portrait of Clarisse, deliberately blurred — Portrait deliberately blurred to protect her anonymity.

Hello everyone,

My name is Clarisse. I was lucky enough to be put in touch with Le Prix des Promesses d'Exil by Father Luc, priest of the Saint-Luc parish in Villejean.

I am very glad to be among you and to discover your solidarity. Today I am very happy to be part of this association. You give me strength.

I lived in Libya, where I went through very hard times. I was put in prison, I was humiliated and even sold.

That experience marked me deeply. Since then I have not been able to find real sleep again. What I lived through is still present in me.

But thank God, I am here today, standing.

My testimony is the story of my resilience and of how I survived all of that.

If I am among you today, it is also because I believe our stories must be heard, and that the memory of those who did not have the luck to arrive must be acknowledged.

Our fight to make these stories known matters a great deal to me.

I am proud to be at your side to carry it.

I am happy to be able to move forward with you, to share, to exchange and to be part of this collective. Your presence and your solidarity mean a lot to me.

Thank you for welcoming me among you.

Thank you for your support.

Presentation preview

The form the next accounts will take

The four cards below are fictional examples. They show how forthcoming testimonies will be presented, once gathered and approved under the protocol described further down.

Amadou

Guinea

We had been promised light. We walked through fire. What is left to me is the names of those who did not arrive — I carry them for them.

Fatou

Côte d'Ivoire

There were words I had never said. The association received them without rushing them. Today they are no longer only mine: they are a testimony.

Samir

Sudan

In the prison in Libya I left my body and my sleep. Here, I was given back my dignity and a right I thought was lost: the right to stay silent, or to speak, when I choose.

Mariam

Eritrea

I became a member of the association because my voice, heard at last, could be of use to others. We are no longer alone.

Our commitment

The dignity protocol

Every testimony follows a strict path, designed to protect the person, to prevent any re-traumatisation and to give them back control over their own words.

Informed consent

Every account is shared under documented consent, freely revocable at any time.

Anonymisation

Places, dates and identifying details are changed whenever the safety of the person or of their relatives requires it.

Psychological support

Gathering testimony is always overseen by professionals trained in listening to survivors of torture.

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If you wish to be heard

Whether you are a survivor, a relative or a witness, our team is here to receive you with respect and in confidence. No words are required of you: only those you are willing to entrust to us.

Write to us in confidence

You can also turn to independent institutions: the French Defender of Rights, a constitutional authority which anyone may petition free of charge when their rights have been infringed; the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which provides information on international protection; and the French National Consultative Commission on Human Rights (CNCDH), which publishes opinions and reports on the rights of exiled people.