Brussels, (Brussels Morning)- Just like last week, there will be no room for dozens of minors in Fedasil’s reception network on the coming night. It concerns about 30 “unaccompanied minors with age doubts”, according to the agency for the reception of asylum seekers. Some of them could go to relatives.
According to BRUZZ, the reception crisis reached a new low last week. Several minors and families with children were forced to spend the night on the streets because the reception network is saturated and Fedasil is struggling with an acute shortage of staff.
The core of the federal government then decided on Friday to place 150 men from other government services at Fedasil, although it is not clear when those extra personnel will start working.
Via Selor, the selection agency of the government, it appears that these staff members can respond to the calls until 6 or 11 November, depending on the position.
To the question whether that timing also means that the temporary Fedasil employees will actually only start after the indicated dates to strengthen the reception centres, the cabinet of Civil Service Minister Petra De Sutter (Green) was not yet able to answer.
Little Castle
In any case, on Monday it became clear that the situation at the Immigration Service Registration Centre remains precarious.
“It was reminiscent of the scenes at Klein Kasteeltje at the end of August,” says Thomas Willekens of Vluchtelingenwerk Vlaanderen.
“People who spend the night at the Immigration Department to be able to join very early, the necessary pushing and pulling work, a lot of police presence, and a tense atmosphere. So anything but optimal.”
At the end of August, precisely because of continuing security problems, the registration of asylum seekers was moved from Klein Kasteeltje to the offices of the Immigration Department in the Pacheco building.
Guardianship Service
Fedasil announced on Monday evening that 31 people can be cared for as a family today, as well as about 50 minors.
“That means there is a solution for all unaccompanied minors without age doubt who have registered today,” said spokeswoman Lies Gilis. Seven of them are given a place in the reception network, ten minors are received through the citizen platform BXL Refugees.
There is no place in the reception network for about 30 unaccompanied minors “with age doubts”. “They will have to register with the guardianship service. Some of them can go to their families.”
Midfield at ‘end of his rope’
Improvement does not seem to be in the air, precisely because of the staff shortage in the reception network and the hefty influx that will probably continue.
“We estimate the coming days to be very gloomy,” continues Willekens. “We hear from the government that there will be no additional measures. There is no urgency.”
The spokesman for Prime Minister Alexander De Croo (Open Vld) responds that an operational working group has been set to work on reception places, outflow and personnel.
“It must now do its job, without bringing the theme back to the table of the core cabinet. Progress must now be made mainly in the field, but we will of course follow this.”
The humanitarian organisations working for asylum seekers in Brussels have already informed Belga that “the civil society is at the end of its rope”. “The time of political procrastination is over.”
“Our organisations have too few resources. We no longer have the capacity to absorb the shortcomings of the asylum network. Tonight and in the coming evenings, dozens of families and unaccompanied minors will be added to the many homeless,” says BXL Refugees, Doctors of the World, Ciré and Doctors Without Borders.
