In 2005 Sanghott Souleyman arrived in Paris from the former French colony of Mauritania, in West Africa, hoping for a better life. Since then he has lived in a permanent state of limbo, trying to obtain the papers that would allow him to live and work in France - a process which is likely to take at least ten years. Sanghott is an illegal worker, one of the 'Sans Papiers' (the 'Undocumented') who must collect inordinate numbers of documents to wade through the immigration process. Many, like Sanghott, who shares his accommodation with his sister's young family, live in what would be almost intolerable conditions for many people, but believe that if they can persevere and gain the papers they need, they will be able to work legally in France and provide for themselves and the families that they left behind in Mauritania.
In 2005 Sanghott Souleyman, arrived in Paris from the former French colony of Mauritania, hoping for a better life. Since then he has lived as an illegal immigrant, in a permanent state of limbo as he tries to obtain the papers that would allow him to live and work in France, a process which is likely to take at least ten years.
Sanghott speaks four languages, has taught himself English and French, and desperately wants to work. Every day, in the tiny room he calls home and which he shares with his sister’s young family, Sanghott studies ‘Science Administrative’ by Jacques Chevalier, to teach himself about political and social administration in France. Then he travels on the Metro to the 'Square Andre Tollet', in central Paris where he and the other Sans Papiers ( The 'Undocumented') in his community, get together and work on their situations. They must collect vast numbers of papers and documents they must provide for the police departments, to wade through the beurocratic process. Sanghott lives in what would be almost intolerable conditions for many people, but he does not see any reason to complain. He believes that if can persevere and gain the papers he needs he will be able to work legally in France and provide for his family that remain in Mauritania. He wants one day to drive a family sized car and have a home of his own but in the mean time, in no-mans land, he waits.