Asylum seekers received a tasty surprise before Christmas when 11 charities teamed up to distribute 1,000 meals at the Palais des Droits in Schaerbeek.
The initiative was the brainchild of Michelin-starred chef Isabelle Arpin, who provided the recipes, children’s commissioner Bernard de Vos, and several rights organisations. Volunteers at Community Kitchen helped prepare and distribute the meals.
Due to a lack of accommodation, many new arrivals fleeing war and persecution have been forced to take shelter in public buildings during the harsh winter months. This includes 1,000 people currently sleeping in the empty building in Schaerbeek. The Belgian government has a legal obligation to provide food and lodging to registered asylum seekers. However, in hundreds of cases it has failed to do so.
“Despite the declarations of the federal government, the reception of asylum seekers is still not effective for more than 2,700 people (Fedasil figures) who are still sleeping outside or in unhealthy and undignified places. This is notably the case for the 1,000 people living in the ‘Palais des Droits’ occupation. The aim of this action is to highlight and denounce the inhuman conditions in which children, women and men have been living for months due to the flagrant failures of the authorities and to remind that material aid (including housing and food) is a fundamental right that the federal government flouts every day”, the organisers said in a statement.
Watch BX1’s video of the event.
If you would like to offer help with food preparation and distribution to asylum seekers and homeless people, we would love to welcome you as a volunteer.
