Medical care in the squat next to the CD&V party headquarters in Brussels is increasing. So says Tjara Visser, spokesperson for the collective ‘Stop the Reception Crisis’. “These boys have slept on the street for a long time. It now appears that many have dental problems or other medical and psychological complaints.”
The collective ‘Stop the Reception Crisis’ has been squatting in the building next to the CD&V party headquarters on Wetstraat in Brussels for about two weeks now. With the action ‘Tok Tok Nicole’ they demand that Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration Nicole de Moor (CD&V) take more action to solve the reception crisis.
Initially, there was room for 80 asylum seekers in the squat, “but after a day the number increased to 100 people. To monitor the maximum capacity, we have developed a system with tapes and we also work with a registration list,” says Visser. “Every day there are new boys at our door to find a shelter with us. This shows that this reception crisis is still big.”
To streamline communication and the stay in the building, the asylum seekers are grouped per language and each sends its own representative to a meeting with the organizers.
Negotiations
The squat was tolerated by the city council, and negotiations were subsequently initiated with the real estate developer Atenor, owner of the property. “A few things still need to be clarified. For example, fire safety must be guaranteed, and discussions are underway to have a non-profit organization take over the responsibility of the shelter,” says Visser.
Hygiene in the squat would be fine. “But there are a lot of people with toothaches, medical and psychological complaints. We cannot provide the right support for 100 people in the meantime. We want to take care of people because the government fails to do so. We are not a shelter.” According to Visser, “it is not easy to take over the task of the government and only provide people with shelter through citizens’ initiatives.”
Politicians have shown “zero political will” for the time being, according to the collective. “There are so many political solutions on the table, but there is no political response at all,” says Visser. “In the squat there are people who have previously slept in the Paleizenstraat. According to de Moor, they have all been taken care of, but we have evidence that the Moor is actually just lying,” says Visser.
This article is originally published on bruzz.be
