France’s second-largest city, Marseille, is in the firing line after requiring its homeless population to wear "yellow triangle" ID cards detailing chronic diseases. Critics fear the cards, which should be worn visibly, are reminiscent of the Nazi era.
The cards, an initiative of Marseille's city hall and Samu, a
municipal humanitarian emergency service, identify homeless
people by displaying their names, photos, dates of birth and
whether they have any chronic diseases.
"A card where it's written if you have diseases and illnesses,
like, for example, if you have schizophrenia or AIDS... I would
be really worried, especially if the extreme right National Front
comes to power in the next elections in Marseille or in France,
what would they do with that sort of information about homeless
people," a political analyst from Marseille, Pierre
Schweitzer, told RT.
He described the yellow cards as "violation of privacy"
and "a very awkward, inappropriate initiative.”
“It obviously reminds people of the yellow star that the Jews
had to wear during the Nazi regime, and people's reaction comes
from this particular point,” Schweitzer said.
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French human rights group La Ligue des droits de l’Homme also
slammed the cards, saying they “inevitably recalled” the yellow
star sown onto Jewish people’s clothes during the Holocaust.
Over 100 of the yellow badges have been distributed so far. On
Wednesday, about a hundred activists and homeless people
protested against the cards outside Marseille’s city hall.
"What's the use of this card? To point the finger at the
homeless?" Eddy, a homeless man who has been living on the
streets for 14 years, told Le Parisien.
"I see fear in the eyes of others," he added. “With this,
people are going to pull back. If it can be of use, OK, but I
don't want others to beckon us."
"This is scandalous, it’s stigmatizing," head of the
homeless charity Collectif Morts de la Rue, Christophe Louis,
told The Local.
"Wearing something that shows the whole world what illnesses
you have is not only discriminating but it also breaches all
medical confidentiality," he said, adding that being
identified by either a star or a triangle "is horrific."
The yellow card goes against basic ethics, critics argue.
"The practice of medicine, even in the street, should respect
ethical and medical confidentiality of the homeless people and
others," a doctor from the Médecins du Monde association,
Pierre-François Pernet, told AFP.
"I’m shocked. Forcing homeless people to carry a yellow triangle
indicating the illnesses they might have is outrageous. You don’t
point the finger at the poorest," Social Affairs and Health
Minister Marisol Touraine told Le Parisien.
"Beyond the unpleasantness of seeing a yellow triangle on
clothing of some of our fellow citizens, I mean that it is not
acceptable that health state and pathologies of our citizens are
listed in black and white on their chest," Touraine said,
adding that she wants the initiative to be canceled.
Authorities insist that the purpose of the card is to help health
workers quickly and effectively help a homeless person in need.
According to Marseille’s city hall, the card “saves lives.”
"I’m appalled by the absurd controversy surrounding this help
card distributed by Samu," Marseille Deputy Mayor Xavier
Mery said. “We are going to change the look of this card. Our
aim was only to come to the aid of the destitute as efficiently
as possible. I really didn't see this row coming.”