Chayan Khairul Habib
From Britanny, France
Britanny, May 11 (bdnews24.com)—Fahim Mohammed Alam, the Bangladeshi chess prodigy, has finally been given temporary documents to stay legally in France, ending uncertainty about his future for being the son of an illegal immigrant.
The French Under-12 chess champion's legal status means the planned deportation from France of his illegal immigrant father Nur Alam is also put on hold.
They were handed valid documents at the local government's headquarters at the Préfecture du Val-de-Marne – Créteil, south of Paris, on Friday
The 11-year old is now set to represent France in the European Youth Chess Championship slated for August in Prague, the capital of Czech Republic .
Paris's Créteil Mayor Laurent Cathala has promised Fahim's father to provide him with a permanent job there. He also assured them of providing accommodation in the municipal area.
"I am so happy that my father has been handed over a three-month work permit," an excited Fahim told reporters after getting the documents on Friday.
Local journalists said Fahim and his father have been allowed to stay in France for three months on a temporary basis but their stay permit will be extended.
Alam taught his son Fahim how to play chess in Bangladesh, where the boy eventually became a top competitive player. Alam then decided to leave the country with his family, which moved to India, then Hungary, and finally sought refuge in France in 2008.
Alam applied for political asylum -- and registered his son both at school and the local chess club. The father's asylum application was rejected in 2010, and he was ordered to leave France, though Fahim was protected as a school-attending minor.
Alam lived for two years in fear of being deported. But things began to change after Fahim became the France Under-12 national chess champion.
Pressure from the school parents and reports in the local press followed, and Prime Minister François Fillon even said that the case would be closely re-examined. On Friday, Alam was received by the local Prefecture and handed a three-month work permit.
Alam won the junior French championship last month and would be able to join the national team in tournaments abroad if he had valid travel documents, according to the French Chess Federation.
bdnews24.com/corr/shs/bd/0119h
