UPDATEA major fight broke out at the new tent camp in Ixelles, near Flagey Square, on Saturday morning. Six people were injured. One of them was in critical condition for a while, but is now said to be “out of danger”. The precise circumstances of the incident are not yet clear. A judicial investigation was started.
“At 6.30 am our teams received a report of a fight at the tent camp on the Heilige-Kruisplein in Ixelles,” says Ilse Van de Keere, spokeswoman for the Brussels Capital Ixelles police zone. “Around ten people were involved in the incident. Ultimately, six people were injured. One of them is in mortal danger.” The collective ‘Stop the Shelter Crisis’ has now reported that this person is no longer in danger of death, although this has not yet been confirmed. These are probably asylum seekers who stayed in the tent camp.
“Broken in to steal”
According to ‘Stop the Shelter Crisis’, some people from outside the camp broke into the tents and tried to steal phones. “Tensions rose and a fight broke out,” the collective wrote in a press release.
According to the police services, it has not yet been confirmed that it concerns people from outside the camp. “The investigation is ongoing,” it said. According to the police, the perpetrators of violence may also come from the camp itself. Six people were taken to hospital, including one person with life-threatening injuries. The public prosecutor’s office is investigating the precise circumstances of the incident.
Expulsion
On Friday evening, activists and residents of the squat in Wetstraat moved to a new tent camp for asylum seekers on Place Sainte-Croix in Ixelles, next to Place Flagey. Previously, the justice of the peace decided that the asylum seekers had to leave the building in Wetstraat. “These asylum seekers are part of the 2,100 people who currently have to survive on the streets because they do not receive shelter from Fedasil and the federal government,” says Stop the Shelter Crisis.
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The police closed the camp on Saturday morning. “The asylum seekers who stayed in the tents no longer have access to the tents or their belongings. The municipality of Ixelles is threatening to clear the camp today without offering an alternative to the residents,” it said on Saturday morning.
“Meanwhile, negotiations are underway with the municipality of Ixelles, which is trying to find alternative housing for the people living in the camp,” the collective says. “The threat of deportation has been lifted. The residents of the camp have expressed their intention not to leave without a concrete solution for rehousing.” The talks are now continuing at the federal level – the federal government is responsible for the treatment of asylum seekers – and at the Brussels regional level.
Tip of the iceberg
“This violence is mostly invisible and takes place every day in abandoned buildings and hidden camps. The Flagey camp is just the tip of the iceberg,” explains Sacha, spokesperson for Stop the Shelter Crisis. “By expelling and dispersing people from this camp, they will be left alone in the face of this kind of violence,” the collective believes.
Sien De Ridder, who is also part of the collective, also agrees with this. “It shows once again how dangerous it is to live on the street. What took place here makes visible what happens every day in Brussels in terms of violence towards the homeless. This is not the first incident involving injuries. There are many people who are physically ill and have suffered injuries from living on the streets. We hope that urgent solutions will now be found.”
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“Safer in the camp”
Mohamad Al Qarra, a Palestinian refugee, was present at the tent camp on Saturday morning and testified. “Around 5 am, people came from outside the camp and attacked some Afghan camp residents to steal their phones. Suddenly there was glass and blood everywhere. The police then arrived and some people were arrested. I don’t know where the aggressors came from. They may have been drunks.”
Now that peace has returned, Mohamad is determined to stay in the camp. “They told us to leave, but we have no other place to go. The positive thing about this place is that we have media attention here and help from various citizens. It’s safer here. If we leave and something happens, no one will care.”
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