Our exhibition “The Imaginary Pilgrimage” has been officially opened since yesterday in the Our Lady of Good Assistance Church (Kolenmarkt 91, 1000 Brussels). About 50 people attended the vernissage. The atmosphere was good. Initiator Siska Deknudt and artists Yelena Schmitz, Nicolas Marquez and Boris Vermeersch explained more about the exhibition. As icing on the cake, the detainees treated to chocolates. Visitors also received a free drink when leaving the exhibition.

Be sure to visit the exhibition. Learn about the inner lives of prisoners, their deeply human feelings of guilt, trauma, shame and confusion. It is open until December 22, every weekday and Saturday between 9am and 5pm. On Sunday from 12 noon to 5 pm.

The exhibition is a realization of Siska Deknudt, Yelena Schmitz, Nicolas Marquez and Boris Vermeersch. We bring their work in collaboration with Pax Christi.

After months of waiting, the first responses to the activists’ regularization requests are now coming in. 14 of the 15 results received are negative. The dejection is great. Factors that, according to the Immigration Department, would have played a role – such as the number of years in Belgium, their integration here, having family here and job prospects – appear to have made no difference. Even some model files were rejected. The next few days will be spent thinking about next actions. Anyone who wants to help is welcome every Thursday at 6 p.m. on the forecourt of the church for the meeting of the support committee.

The Coordination of People without Papers, Sans-Papiers TV and its many supporters organized a national demonstration “We Are Belgium Too,” at the North Station in Brussels on Sunday, October 3. With this, they demand the regularization of undocumented migrants in Belgium based on clear and permanent criteria such as durable ties, work, irremovability. On the day itself, according to the press, there were 3000 demonstrators. According to participants, there were probably more. In any case, the demonstration was a great success!

Little Amal is a giant doll who travels 8,000 km to draw attention to refugees. She comes from Syria and is currently crossing Europe. The doll represents a young refugee in search of her mother. On her way (‘La Marche‘) she visits artists, cultural institutions and humanitarian organizations. On October 7, little Amal paid a visit to House of Compassion. With this she wants to put a heart to the occupiers of the Begijnhofkerk. Click here for video images of the visit. For more spectacular photos, see below. You can follow the further adventures of Kleine Amal on this Facebook page.

On October 15, we had the honor of hosting Naima Charkaoui at House of Compassion for a docudrama called Tandwolf, in which she talks about her book Het open grenzen manifest (The open borders manifest). Naima Charkaoui was a guest of House of Compassion in the spring. Revisit the lecture she gave then here.

You have already heard it in the newspapers and on television. On July 21, the thirst strike was stopped and the hunger strike interrupted. This decision was made after hours of negotiations. The Secretary of State promised that the existing rules on regularization will be interpreted in a more humane way in the future. The law will not change, but its application will take into account long-term residence and integration in Belgium. Over time, more people will be recognized in this way. Thus, progress has been made not only for the hunger strikers, but also for others. However, the files of the hunger strikers will all be declared admissible, while for the non-hunger strikers, it is still applicable that they have to prove that they cannot submit their application from their country of origin.
Currently, the activists are each preparing an individual file. We have asked them to leave the church before August 15. However, in order to prepare files, it is important that everyone can be reached quickly and easily. Especially for the most vulnerable people, there is a risk that the lawyers will lose contact and the quality of the cases will be compromised. This is why the occupation will continue for a few more weeks. We will keep you informed of further developments.

Le vernissage de “On est là!” a été un succès. Merci à celles et ceux qui ont été présents. L’expo montre des photos et des histoires de femmes sans papiers qui protestent dans l’église. Une visite de l’expo est encore possible jusqu’au 17 juin inclus, tous les jours entre 9h00 et 17h00. Nous vous conseillons vivement de combiner cette visite avec une visite de l’expo “Re Set” qui est également à découvrir à De Markten. Nous tenons encore à remercier De Markten pour avoir prêté son espace à l’exposition, Machteld Van den Camp pour avoir traduit les textes, Jean-Claude Deblander pour la relecture et Sihame Jebari Serroukh pour le graphisme.

Où? Cage d’escalier de De Markten, Rue du vieux marché aux grains 5, 1000 Bruxelles.

Quand? Tous les jours entre 9h00 et 17h00, jusqu’au 17 juin inclus.

Le 23 mai, l’Union des sans-papiers pour la régularisation a entamé une grève de la faim à House of Compassion, à l’ULB et à la VUB. Cette décision a été prise suite à une profonde déception vu le manque d’impact de leurs nombreuses actions entamées jusqu’ici. Dans un communiqué de presse, ils expriment également leur déception en lien à des réactions parfois toxiques auxquelles ils sont parfois confrontés. Ils décrivent cette grève de la faim comme leur dernier acte de résistance. L’action exprime leur désespoir total.

A la House of Compassion nous sommes profondément attristés par la souffrance des activistes et l’impasse politique concernant leur situation. Pendant des grèves de la faim précédentes, la paroisse du Béguinage a souvent été questionnée sur sa position vis-à-vis des grèves de la faim. Elle a toujours indiqué qu’elle n’était pas en faveur d’une grève de la faim comme méthode de pression politique, vu les conséquences que celle-ci peut avoir sur la santé et la vie des activistes. Toutefois, elle a toujours voulu rester solidaire. C’est également la position que House of Compassion défendra aujourd’hui: “Nous ne sommes pas en faveur d’une grève de la faim, mais nous sommes là.” Car derrière chaque décision de procéder à une grève de la faim se cache une souffrance immense. Ces personnes en détresse valent la peine d’être écoutés, comme tout le monde.

Vous pouvez soutenir les personnes sans papiers en signant la lettre ouverte “We are Belgium too.”

Since January, undocumented migrants have been occupying the Béguinage chuch. Mohammed Amine has been living there with his mother. After a couple of weeks, he had the idea to write down the stories of 8 women in the church. Stories that show how undocumented migrants are being treated. Mohammed Amine also made beautiful pictures. Some of his stories and pictures will now be published in De Vijfhoek, the monthly magazine of De Markten, in the May and June edition. But that is not all. Starting from May 7, his work will also be exhibited at the staircase hall of De Markten. The exhibition called “We are here!” is Mohammed Amine’s very first exhibition. Will you go and have a look there, too?