On Monday, Brussels City Council will open a migrant reception and orientation centre, announced Karine Lalieux (PS).
She is the Alderwoman for Culture, Tourism, Major Events and Public Property and was speaking on Thursday on BX1. The alderwomen specifically pointed the finger at the federal government “that has done nothing” to welcome migrants in transit in Brussels.
Ms Lalieux announced, “Brussels City Council has rented a building from Citydev, at the Decathlon in Evere, to use as a reception and orientation centre.” She said, “This is what the federal government should be doing, with the assistance of the region (Brussels, editor’s note) but nothing has been done.” She denounced the fact that the federal government is simply “leaving Brussels City Council to manage the situation.”
She further inveighed, “Brussels City Council will take the hit because other levels of government poke fun at these men and these women, who are in a state of hopelessness and despair and total inhumanity.” She in particular targeted the Prime Minister, Charles Michel, the Minister for the Interior, Jan Jambon, and the Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration, Theo Francken, requesting that they “acknowledge their responsibilities.”
The Socialist alderwoman further stated that the centre will be managed by NGOs. She stressed, “Brussels City Council has two objectives: these are the non-development of a camp or a ‘jungle’ here but also responding to humanitarian concerns through the project.”
