The new Facebook challenge in France: Cook for migrants
Oliver Gee - [email protected]
Published: 11 Oct, 2016 CET.
Updated: Tue 11 Oct 2016 13:04 CET
People in the suburbs of Paris are taking the migrant crisis into their own hands, all thanks to a new Facebook challenge that's quickly going viral.
It all started when a delivery driver called Malik Diallo, who lives in Sarcelles in the northern suburbs of Paris, decided to get his friends together and get them cooking.
They prepared a series of 150 simple meals, packed them into paper plates, tin foil, and plastic bags then headed into Paris to share them with migrants.
The group doled out the meals near the Stalingrad Metro station in the 18th arrondissement to a warm reception from the no doubt hungry migrants.
Diallo then shared a ten-minute video of the process on Facebook, a clip that quickly became an online hit, attracting over 70,000 views and hundreds of shares and comments.
"Without the help of any associations, we want to show the world that our neighbourhood has a heart and above all a good education," he said in the post accompanying the video.
See it below.
In the post on Facebook, Diallo challenged another nearby neighbourhood, Sablons, to do the same and to keep the challenge running.
"This isn't about making money or creating a buzz, it's a matter of doing good and it's free to take part," he told the France Bleu channel.
And the contagion of the challenge appears to be catching, with residents of Sablons taking on the task themselves on Thursday.
"Some people chipped in €10, others €20. Even the little kids donated something," one resident told Le Parisien newspaper, which covered the process the second time around.
"Here, we know the value of solidarity, our parents were migrants," the resident added.
Organizers there nominated another nearby area for the next challenge.
Migrants at the Stalingrad Metro station in Paris. Photo: AFP
And the idea is gathering steam, according to Diallo, who says dozens of people from all over the Paris region have expressed interest. So much so that he has set up a page to monitor progress and spread the word.
Of course, collecting money, cooking food, sharing it, then posting a video online takes considerably more time and effort than other challenges that have surfaced recently - but this shouldn't faze you if you want to get involved.
In fact, Diallo said no one needs to wait for an invite to take part.
As the project grows in popularity, many will no doubt find it a welcome relief compared to the international squabbling between governments when it comes to solving the migrant crisis.
France is still in the long process of relocating the thousands of people at the Calais migrant camp, and has recently called on the UK to follow up its "moral duty" of bringing migrant minors across the Channel for a new life in England.
Meanwhile, there have been protests across France in several of the small villages where migrants are set to be resettled, with angry locals demonstrating in the streets in a bid to keep them out.
If you'd rather help the cause than wait to find out what happens next, click here to find out more about the "Grand défi" (The Big Challenge) of feeding migrants, and maybe get involved yourself.
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It all started when a delivery driver called Malik Diallo, who lives in Sarcelles in the northern suburbs of Paris, decided to get his friends together and get them cooking.
They prepared a series of 150 simple meals, packed them into paper plates, tin foil, and plastic bags then headed into Paris to share them with migrants.
The group doled out the meals near the Stalingrad Metro station in the 18th arrondissement to a warm reception from the no doubt hungry migrants.
Diallo then shared a ten-minute video of the process on Facebook, a clip that quickly became an online hit, attracting over 70,000 views and hundreds of shares and comments.
"Without the help of any associations, we want to show the world that our neighbourhood has a heart and above all a good education," he said in the post accompanying the video.
See it below.
In the post on Facebook, Diallo challenged another nearby neighbourhood, Sablons, to do the same and to keep the challenge running.
"This isn't about making money or creating a buzz, it's a matter of doing good and it's free to take part," he told the France Bleu channel.
And the contagion of the challenge appears to be catching, with residents of Sablons taking on the task themselves on Thursday.
"Some people chipped in €10, others €20. Even the little kids donated something," one resident told Le Parisien newspaper, which covered the process the second time around.
"Here, we know the value of solidarity, our parents were migrants," the resident added.
Organizers there nominated another nearby area for the next challenge.
Migrants at the Stalingrad Metro station in Paris. Photo: AFP
And the idea is gathering steam, according to Diallo, who says dozens of people from all over the Paris region have expressed interest. So much so that he has set up a page to monitor progress and spread the word.
Of course, collecting money, cooking food, sharing it, then posting a video online takes considerably more time and effort than other challenges that have surfaced recently - but this shouldn't faze you if you want to get involved.
In fact, Diallo said no one needs to wait for an invite to take part.
As the project grows in popularity, many will no doubt find it a welcome relief compared to the international squabbling between governments when it comes to solving the migrant crisis.
France is still in the long process of relocating the thousands of people at the Calais migrant camp, and has recently called on the UK to follow up its "moral duty" of bringing migrant minors across the Channel for a new life in England.
Meanwhile, there have been protests across France in several of the small villages where migrants are set to be resettled, with angry locals demonstrating in the streets in a bid to keep them out.
If you'd rather help the cause than wait to find out what happens next, click here to find out more about the "Grand défi" (The Big Challenge) of feeding migrants, and maybe get involved yourself.
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