The asylum reception crisis continues. Last month there was no fall in the number of asylum seekers waiting for a place at a government reception centre. Last month 624 single men were told that no reception place was available after they had registered with the immigration department. In all 2,700 registered asylum seekers are still waiting for a place. In the meantime a night out on the streets or in a squat beckons.
Last month’s figure relating to single men for who there is no reception place was up 70 on the month. Asylum seekers can go on a waiting list for a reception place but in the meantime, they have to fend for themselves.
Last month 1,594 registered asylum seekers were given a reception place: single women, families, vulnerable men and people already on the waiting list. Meanwhile asylum secretary De Moor insists she is continuing her search for reception places. Last month the government also closed a number of loopholes that allowed people whose asylum application had been turned down to stay on at a reception centre.
In recent months the asylum crisis was clearly visible in the media thanks to the tent camp outside reception entre Klein Kasteeltje in central Brussels and the squat in a block in the Paleizenstraat (Schaarbeek). The squat has been cleared and the tent camp has gone. “The asylum reception crisis has become far less visible” says Thomas Willekens of refugee organisation Vluchtelingenwerk Vlaanderen. “Many asylum seekers who don’t get a place disappear under the radar. It makes them less visible and there’s an increased threat of exploitation and abuse”.
Willekens believes many asylum seekers of their own accord go looking for a place to stay with friends or family. Others stay at squats. Some asylum seekers will move on to other countries.
Asylum seekers are looking for help in Brussels but also in Antwerp and Ghent. Kathleen Torfs of the charity "Gent Samen Solidair" says there are some 200 asylum seekers in Ghent without a roof over their head. “They sleep out on the streets, in squats or at friends. Our organisation like many in civil society is under tremendous pressure. The cost of medical aid and food distributions are shooting up”.
Also at the Migration Advice Centre in Antwerp asylum seekers without accommodation are turning up. “All we can do is help them find a lawyer to press for their right to board and lodging to be met” says Grietje Cant.