GNRD-Brussels Provides Humanitarian Aid to Stranded Asylum Seekers

Brussels, Belgium, 3 September, 2015-GNRD-Brussels provided humanitarian aid to hundreds of stranded asylum seekers camped in front of the Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees, situated next to Gare Du Nord in Brussels. Responding to the urgent crisis that has unfolded over the past week, GNRD staff distributed food supplies to the men, women, and children living in a makeshift refugee camp, as they waited to apply for reception at the government offices.

 

While asylum seekers normally receive immediate relief from FEDASIL, the Federal agency dedicated to welcoming refugees and stateless persons in Belgium, the high influx of applicants over the past two weeks has prevented the Commissariat from processing all requests on a daily basis. Officials have consequently resorted to a backlog system that allows applicants to return within one or two days.

 

But with a high proportion of asylum seekers arriving in Belgium with nothing but the clothes on their backs, many are unable secure food, personal hygiene items, and accommodation. The situation quickly devolved into a humanitarian crisis, with asylum seekers sleeping out of donated and makeshift tents in front of the Commissariat General for Refugees and Stateless Persons, living off of supplies provided by civil society organizations and the local community.

 

GNRD staff arrived at the camp Thursday afternoon with warm meals, water and other supplies, and teamed up with local aid workers to distribute them throughout the camp. GNRD also hired a set of barbers to provide free haircuts for asylum seekers, many of whom have gone months without the opportunity to access a hairdresser. GNRD is committed to protecting the humanity and livelihoods of all vulnerable groups, and firmly believes that all persons deserve the right to dignity and decent standard of living.

 

“What we are witnessing here is unacceptable,” said Ramadan Abu Jazar, Director of GNRD-Brussels. “These refugees have fled from fear, death and persecution, and risked their lives on incredibly dangerous routes to get here. They should not be living here in conditions worse than where they came from.”

 

Following the distribution of food, GNRD staff spoke with several asylum seekers to determine the most desperately needed forms of aid, and learn more about their individual situations. One man, Refaat Abu Sheikh, took his children and fled for his life from a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria, after witnessing the murder of five of his friends at the hands of an ISIS affiliated group. He embarked on a smugglers boat to Turkey, where they were deprived of food and water for two days, leading to the death of some passengers, including children. He remarked that upon finally arriving in Belgium, he had hoped that he would receive the rights and security that he couldn’t get back home. “I’m looking for stability,” he stated, “not for me, but for my children.”

 

GNRD will continue to closely monitor the developing situation of asylum seekers and refugees in Brussels, and has pledged to collaborate with the Belgian Red Cross to provide any necessary further assistance. While GNRD commends the ministry of immigration’s recent decision to rapidly create 5,000 extra places in federal migration centres for asylum seekers, it calls on government officials to also quickly expand the working capacity of the Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees to avoid similar crises from reoccurring in the future. GNRD offices in Europe will also continue to pressure EU leaders to put an immediate end to the death and suffering of innocent migrants arriving at their borders.

 

- See more at: gnrd.net/seemore.php?id=1895#sthash.73jl1VJB.dpuf

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