Rural areas of france. They were taken from their island home as children and moved thousands of kilometres to france. Now, france is facing up to a scandal that robbed more than 2000 children of everything they knew. 0ur story starts in central france, just outside the city of limoges. Marlene morin moved to the area more than 50 years ago as an orphan from the tiny island of reunion in the indian ocean, after French Social Services sold her a lie. Did you ever see your sister again . Unlike marlene, marise was too young to choose her new french life. Her biological mother had put her into care in reunion when she was just a month old. Marise was resettled by social services to mainland france aged six. Maryse is one of the newest members of a group that has been battling for years to find out why 2150 children were uprooted from their island and moved to france. In a vicarage near toulouse, theyre accounting their stories. Not everyone had a bad experience, but many suffered terribly. There was racism, sexual abuse and violence, as well as loss of their culture and identity. Marlene is here, too. Both she and maryse will soon travel back to reunion for the first time courtesy of the french state, which is perhaps finally listening. For two years, a government appointed commission has been investigating what happened to these men and women at the hands of france. Many here have Shocking Stories to tell. Once a french colony, reunion became one of the countrys overseas departments in 1946. By the 1960s, with an exploding birth rate, this desperately poor island found its orphanages filling up with children, many of whom werent orphans at all. Their families simply couldnt provide for them. The islands french mp, michel debre, introduced a policy he thought would solve the problem. From 1963 until 1982, social services oversaw the resettlement of children to rural parts of mainland france, where populations were in decline. Some were adopted, others put into Childrens Homes and religious institutions. Amongst the footage from the time, in tv reports that portray the children of reunion as lucky to have been given a new life in a better place, marlenes 19 year old self. When shed first arrived four years before, she was given minimal schooling. Instead, she says, she worked the land in a rural convent. In the end, the education marlene was promised amounted to an agricultural diploma. She ended up working as a supermarket cashier and on a production line. Shed already done that in the convent. The nuns had had her glueing boxes for factory produced sugared almonds. Was it racist . Was it well meaning, but with dire consequences . Through the modern lens, uprooting children from their culture and whatever family ties they might have, leaving them thousands of miles across the world and then not fulfilling your promises, it looks, at best, ill judged, and at worst, wrong and cruel. And it went on into the 1980s. Jesse and her younger brother and sister were in the first resettled group from reunion to arrive at this Childrens Home in south western france in 1967. Jessie has spent years trying to discover the background to her family story. But her care files from this Childrens Home have disappeared. Do you think you can judge what happened back then through modern eyes . I came to paris to find out how the french government views the scandal now. In 2014, the parliament accepted the states moral responsibility for it. Those who were exiled hope president macron will apologise for what happened once the investigating commission delivers its report. Its a big moment. Marlenes first visit to her island in 52 years. Shes brought her daughter, aurore, for support. The scandal of reunions exiled children has become a story across france. The governments now paying airfares and some expenses so exiles can revisit their island every three years if they wish to. And some of marises sisters are at the airport to meet her for the first time. But there is no one to greet marlene. Five decades have meant huge change on an island that is culturally creole and very french. 0nce uninhabited, reunion now has a population of nearly 865,000. It is still much poorer here than mainland france. The economy is underpinned by french aid. In an attempt to help exiles find out about their past, the french government has demanded any documents the authorities hold are handed over to the individuals involved. Next, its marlenes turn. Marises biological father died in 2006. Before they had a chance to meet. His daughters are the living link in her search for an identity. But their first meeting didnt deliver the resemblance for which she yearned. Its a big step so soon after meeting sisters with whom she clearly already has a bond. What will happen if the dna test is negative and youre not related . Marlenes come to pay her respects to giselle, the sister who tried to persuade her not to go to france. Though shes been dead for years, there is only a bare plaque. But marlene knows she has another sister, marianique. Shes desperate to find her, but shes not sure whether she is alive or dead. We went to the town hall looking for clues. So you have an address for your sister. Two hours later came the phone call marlene had only dared to dream of. From marianique herself. So what is it like to see her now . With their suffering now starting to be acknowledged and the french government paying their airfares, 11 exiles returned to reunion in 2017. Another 30 are already planning trips this year. For many of them, the experience will be bittersweet. Good morning. At long last the weekend is upon us, but, as the saying goes, red sky at night, shepherds delight, i would get in touch with trading standards because while some of you had a lovely sunset to finish friday, whats about to come on saturday is far from delight. This is the cloud pushing in. Its a weather front moving in across cold air and thats bringing overnight some sleet and snow and an icy start for some into saturday morning. So temperatures at their lowest where it stays driest overnight, to eastern parts of england and eastern scotland. Elsewhere, temperatures wont rise much through the day. The weather front in scotland, western england and wales to begin with. Outbreaks of rain quite widely. There will be some sleet and snow mixed in, especially over the hills, but even to lower levels further north. At lunchtime, not a huge amount changes. Parts of north east scotland and aberdeenshire may get some brightness, staying dry through the day. It could brighten up in western parts of scotland, with sunshine and showers throughout the day in northern ireland. For much of england and wales, with the exception of lincolnshire and east anglia, where you could stay dry after some morning brightness. But grey, gloomy, cold, damp and a little bit wintry in places for many, with temperatures at lunchtime only about 2 3 degrees. The greater chance of snow mixed in with rain will be across the hills. Through the afternoon, the patchy rain and drizzle, sleet and snow, gradually fizzles out. Most will stick with the cloud and that will be of course evidenced if youre going to and from cardiff for the start of the six nations. Maybe a little bit damp here. A bit drier in paris, but here it will be similarly cold. As the weather front starts to lose a bit of oomph into sunday, well see a few more clear skies develop and there could be ice into sunday morning. This is the temperature profile across europe on sunday. The blue colours are the coldest conditions, towards the east. Thats significant because its an easterly wind which will develop particularly for england and wales into sunday and to take us into the start of next week. Pushing the weather front back westwards again. That means brighter skies across much of england on sunday. Brightness also breaking through at times in scotland and northern ireland, where the winds will be lightest. But that south eastern quadrant of england is where well see showers coming in on the raw wind. A mixture of rain on the coast, sleet and maybe snow. Nothing too significant at this stage. The big story for england and wales is how cold it will feel feeling close to freezing in many areas in that wind, which will still be with us in the south east on monday and there could be some potent snow showers here to begin the day. Most, after a frosty start, a dry and sunny day. Bye for now. This is bbc news. Im duncan golestani. 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