When the French government decided to close

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There were no welcome mats or refugee services for Youssoufi or Wali when they arrived in France in 2015 and 2016, respectively.

Wali spent his first 10 months in a huge makeshift migrant camp in the northern port of Calais. The camp of thousands, nicknamed “The Jungle”, was known for its size and dirty, sometimes violent, conditions. The asylum seekers who gathered there had put their hopes in a new life in Britain, across the Channel.

the camp, Wali helped authorities load thousands of other migrants onto buses to assigned homes across France. He pulled the last bus out of “The Jungle” on October 27, 2016 after departing migrants set fire to the remaining structures. His government bus takes him to Strasbourg, a town with half-timbered houses on the German border and seat of the European Parliament.

He only had with him his clothes on his back, his official papers and the phone number library yellow vest he wore to help evacuate. He then took the vest of his asylum application – precious proof of his work on behalf of the French government.

Wali remembers crying on the long bus ride to a new stranger. But obtaining refugee status in Strasbourg changed her life, allowing her to find a job in a small restaurant and put a roof on her head.

“Now I’m so happy to be here,” he said. “You are not afraid at night” as in the Calais migrant camp. “You have your job. You have your job, you go home. You pay your rent. You are a normal person.