A group of citizens in the Belgian capital has asked authorities for centers to host migrants arriving in the city.
Over 200 residents of Brussels have asked authorities for a center to host migrants just as European governments are divided on the immigration dossier. The proposal is to "open a small hosting center with a number of places between 15 and 30," according to the request presented to the municipality of Woluwe Saint Lambert, one of 19 in the metropolitan area of the Belgian capital. It would be the tenth set up on the initiative of citizens in Brussels and areas around the capital.
Municipalities showing solidarity in Brussels
Adriana Costas Santos, who works for the association Plateforme Citoyenne, said the centers are called "collective lodgings" and are "houses managed by volunteers." Some are offered by private citizens, others by municipalities. If municipalities offer the lodgings for a few months "we organize the logistics and everything necessary," she said, adding that 17 out 19 municipalities of Brussels have said they are willing to host migrants.
The "collective lodgings" are the latest development in an initiative based on the willingness of the city's residents to host migrants at home. The project began last September with a group of activists who gave hospitality to refugee women through friends. "After the first nights, we realized that we had found a room for every woman, so we started with the men," Santos said.
Solidarity on social networks
The initiative was first publicized on Facebook with hundreds and then thousands of people joining in. The group now has 47,000 followers, and every night at the Parc Maximilien, a little garden not far from the Gare du Nord, volunteers find a place to stay for hundreds of migrants. Some are hosted in private homes, others at a center. "Last night we found room for 430 people," said a volunteer, Delphine.
Hosts offer a place to stay, even only for a night, sometimes dinner, a shower and an internet connection necessary for migrants to contact their family. "I often host some of the boys. Most of them are young, sometimes they are minors," said Carla Goffi, an Italian woman who has been living in Belgium for several years. "There is a little bit of apprehension the first time, then you get to know them and understand they are more afraid than we are."