Like a traffic controller, Czeslaw Zietek stands in front of the gate of the charity food bank BroodNeed, at the Wilhelminapark in Tilburg. One by one he lets in homeless migrant workers, who wait in a long line on the sidewalk.
The tens of thousands of migrant workers in Brabant are crucial to our economy. Yet they are treated as second-class citizens. Journalist Zoran Bogdanovic takes a look at the Broodnoot Foundation, which helps homeless migrant workers.
Zietek gives an elderly Romanian man a hug, “See you next time, bye bye!” and turns around. “People come to the Netherlands with dreams of a better life. If you are lucky, you will also get a nice job. But if you are unlucky, you will share a dormitory with seven others. Or you end up on the street.”
Anyone who ends up on the street can count on help from BroodNeed. In the garden there are tables with bread, fruit and vegetables and ready-made meals. On another table are clothes, shoes and some toys. The people who walk in are carrying everything they own: full shopping bags full of clothes, a backpack with a hairdryer sticking out and a single shopping cart full of personal items.
Sad stories
Years ago, Zietek worked at a distribution center through employment agency E&A. He suffered a knee injury in a work accident. Shortly afterwards his contract expired and he would become homeless himself, but fortunately he received help from a lawyer. He was paid for a while and in the meantime arranged a new home.
He has been working as a volunteer at BroodNee for a few years now. “We don’t just support people with things and food. We also help people prepare their CV so they can find a new job. If someone can stand on their own two feet again, that also feels like a victory to us. So many people come here with sad stories. Not everyone can cope equally well if he or she ends up on the streets in a foreign country. Being homeless means that alcohol, drugs and crime can become tempting.”
‘Like honey on your legs’
The Romanian man who gave Zietek a hug calls it an endless circle: “Stealing, drinking, drugs… If you end up in that as a homeless person, the addiction sticks to your legs like honey. Especially when you are in a foreign country. You stay stuck to the street.”
This theory seems to be correct. Zoran spoke to more than thirty homeless migrant workers for these stories. The majority said they survive by picking up and returning cans and bottles. A handful have been stealing and living on the streets for some time. Some said that in winter they sleep in the heated hallways in Tilburg apartment buildings.
Packed lunches
“These people often have to deal with very complicated problems,” says Hülya Özdemir, the coordinator of the Broodnoot Foundation. As the foster daughter of Tilburg Father Gerrit Poels, she continues her father’s life’s work: helping people in need. Five years ago, she started providing about ten packed lunches a day for homeless migrant workers. There are now fifty.
“You often see people who, in addition to their addiction, also have other mental problems. If someone ends up on the street, they can also start stealing or using drugs. You can’t always reach those people, even if they’re right in front of you, you know?”
Head above water
Özdemir is disappointed in the government. Disappointed that there are no facilities for these people to turn to. “The Social Support Act (WMO) is there for social care, but even for Dutch people it is difficult to get good help. And migrant workers are completely left out. In any case, we help them here to keep their heads above water.”
BroodNeed not only distributes food and clothing, but also helps migrant workers write a CV and advise on finding new work. Zietek, who is still struggling with his knee, also hopes to find a suitable job. Özdemir: “He is a treasure of a person. He has meant a lot to this group of people in recent years. We are also trying to arrange something for him.”
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