Currently more than 1000 asylum seekers in Brussels have nowhere to go and are surviving on the streets, a crisis which has been dragging out for months and is only getting worse. With winter rapidly approaching, and in the absence of concrete solutions from the authorities, five NGOs – Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), CIRE, Vluchtelingenwerk Vlaanderen, Médecins du Monde and Caritas International – have decided to build a refugee camp in the heart of Brussels to provide urgently needed care for asylum seekers.
The camp will be set up on Wednesday 18th November, from 6am in Parc Gaucheret, 1030, in Brussels. A total of 12 family tents and three tents for healthcare, judicial and social advice, and food support will be erected by the organisations involved.
Last Friday, the five organisations involved urged the relevant government ministries to stop avoiding their responsibilities and work to find an acceptable solution for the housing of asylum seekers whose applications are being reviewed. As an EU member, Belgium is obliged to provide adequate shelter for men, women and children seeking asylum, many of whom have fled active conflict zones.
The camp is intended as a temporary measure, given the urgency of the situation, and is not a sustainable solution. The camp will also not have the capacity to give shelter to all who need it. The NGOs involved have requested that the Belgian government immediately make vacant buildings available for asylum seekers to take shelter in, stressing that it is ultimately the responsibility of the Belgian government to provide a humane and safe environment for all asylum seekers awaiting decision.
For more information, please contact Olivia Blanchard on 44 (0)207 067 4217