Actuality
Cédric Gerbehaye, Without papers, without rights, homeless, 2023
While there is a persistent tendency to equate “undocumented” people with insecurity and terrorism, the associations are calling for nuance and responsibility on the part of the authorities, institutions and citizens.
To this end, Samusocial, CIRÉ, Médecins du Monde, Ilot and the Brussels Platform Armoede have launched the Sans papiers, sans droits, sans abri (Without papers, without rights, without shelter) campaign to bear the truth about the reality of these people’s difficult lives and the often intolerable situations they face, as observed by our teams on the ground. While some have only just arrived, others have already been here for years. Children, isolated adults, the elderly or the sick, these men and women from all walks of life are on the whole very fragile and vulnerable. Their already troubled history is compounded by the fact that their status as “undocumented migrants” does not grant them the right to access housing, adding a second label – homeless.
The absence of solutions or simplified procedures for these people keeps them, sometimes for years, in homelessness and in emergency services unsuited to their situation and costly for the State. With no accommodation, no legally recognized identity and no psychological, medical or social support, these people are the rejects of Belgian society.
Today, with the number of vulnerable people on the rise, the status quo is no longer tenable.
While some twenty associations are fighting to protect undocumented migrants, their rights and their dignity, Cédric Gerbehaye followed Samusocial to portrayed people helped by these associations, with the aim of bearing witness to this difficult reality.
Campaign in partenariat with Samusocial.brussels, Ciré and Dysturb.
Gina, 32 years old
Hassan, 17 years old
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