I meet Maly Chhum in the social and cultural center Guy Toffoleti, in Bagnolet.

 

I regularly go to this place. I am fascinated by those buildings : people coming from 60 different countries live together. Almost a third of the world is represented on a few square kilometers. I like to observe the way the center organise free activities so the inhabitants can get along and manage to live together.

 

Maly is a facilitator on the structure, referring families and adults. She comes from Cambodia.  She arrived in Bagnolet in the 80s, when her family was forced to emigrate from the regime of the Khmer Rouge. Her mother found a job in the sewing workshops installed under the slab of the city. Now, Maly works at the center: she offers workshops, organizes events and manages the animator's schedules.

 

She contributes to everyone's interest, helping everyone to understand his neighbors. Her action, as beneficial as indispensable, depends on the budget allocated by the town hall of the city.