Families are throwing in the towel for lack of support from the public authorities.
As soon as the first Ukrainian refugees arrived in Belgium at the end of February, many citizens mobilized to offer them emergency or short-term accommodation, thinking that the public authorities would quickly take over. A few weeks later, reality took precedence over promises and this welcome, which was intended to be temporary, continued in more difficult conditions than expected.
“There are wonderful stories, but there are also less beautiful ones. There is a series of families who manage on their own and others who need support. Welcoming refugees involves taking a lot of steps: it You have to find accommodation, a school for the children, take care of medical and psychological problems… It’s a huge burden that the host families have to bear almost without support from the public authorities”, summarizes Dominique Simonard, volunteer manager of the placement of Ukrainian refugees in Belgian families.
Many families say they underestimated the complexity of the steps to be taken and the time needed to complete them. “We have been hosting a couple and their child for over a month. We both work full time and have two young children of our own. is not enough. They would need someone who could accompany them to the CPAS, to the bank and to the municipality”admits a mother from Brussels.
“I had to take several days off to accompany the refugees that I host at the CPAS, at the bank, at the doctor’s… The language barrier complicates things”confirms Dimitri, who hosts two mothers and three children in his house in Rixensart.