2023-08-31 16:00:00
The occupants of a squat in the rue de la Loi in Brussels were to be evicted this Thursday, August 31, on the decision of a justice of the peace earlier this week. The evacuation was to take place around 5:00 p.m., without police intervention following an agreement with the owner of the premises. Eventually they decided to stay, for lack of another place to go.
“We will go out with the occupants to demonstrate because we still want to show our anger towards this eviction, it is the only housing for the people who live here at the moment. And after the demonstration, since the government has not offered any solution, people will have to sleep in the street“, explains Sien, member of the collective “Toc Toc Nicole”.
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The collective “Stop the reception crisis” did not expect such an outcome. A little earlier, the justice of the peace ordered the Belgian State to pay the costs generated by the building’s water and electricity consumption.
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In early July, the Brussels labor court gave the federal government the task of improving living conditions in the squat. At the end of June, he imposed on the government and the Federal Agency for the reception of asylum seekers, Fedasil, to take over the management of the building.
The Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration, Nicole de Moor (CD&V), had appealed against these decisions and the justice of the peace ruled in her favor.
“This is an illegal and shameful situation that has serious human consequences“said one of its members, Sacha. “Every day, new asylum seekers join the thousands of people already living on the streets, more hidden than ever“, he denounces. The action group also criticizes that “no concrete measures have yet been put on the table” to remedy the situation “adistressing and insecure” of the squat. According to him, the federal government refuses to take a stand in favor of a dignified and humane reception policy. “This for fear of losing voters“, believes the collective.
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Occupants will stay until further notice
For lack of a place to go, the occupants decided to stay at the squat located rue de la Loi.
The mayor of Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, Catherine Moureaux (PS) announced that she refused that they go to her territory.
The occupiers hope to have some time before the police forcefully evict them.
■ Report and duplex of Maria Bemba, Charles Carpreau, Loic Bourlard and Stephanie Mira
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