Moroccan Student’s Tragic Death in Orléans Reveals Struggles of International Education

From a modest family, Ismail Essiari, a young student from Agadir, had a very difficult journey in France where he was pursuing his higher education. Deceased on May 12, it was not until August 9 that his family learned the sad news. Paul Latouche, lawyer for the young man’s relatives, is working to establish a kind of chronology, so that his family can at least know what happened to him. "A third-year student in physics-chemistry at the University of Orléans, Ismail Essiari lived in a shared apartment in the Loiret until December 2019," he said.

The deceased, who suffered from a mental illness related to schizophrenia, was hospitalized twice at the Georges Daumezon psychiatric hospital in Fleury-les-Aubrais in January and February. During this time, the student’s visa expired. He was issued an Order to Leave French Territory (OQTF) after leaving the hospital. To get out of this situation, he applied for a laissez-passer to return to Morocco. France 3 reports that the Orléans consulate did not confirm the issuance of this laissez-passer. Ismail had not left France.

The police arrested him on March 5 because of the OQTF after he left another stay at the psychiatric hospital. He was hospitalized again. This time at the Vincennes detention center. The Association of Family Social Service Migrants (ASSFAM) had met him. "We met him the day after his arrival, he then applied for asylum on March 9, which was rejected on March 12," the association said. He was released on March 17 due to the impossibility of maintaining the removal measures during the lockdown.

What happened next? Paul Latouche recounts that the firefighters of Seine-Saint-Denis found him "in the tram or around a stop, it’s not very clear". He was admitted to the hospital in Saint-Denis. Ismail’s trials never end. As he was walking towards Orléans on May 12, he was hit by a truck. He died on the spot. According to the family’s lawyer, the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs plans to cover the costs of repatriating the deceased’s body. "This repatriation should take place in the coming days, as soon as a plane is available," assures Mr. Latouche.