The last update on the story of the Afghan asylum seekers was when we saw them being evicted from their Schaerbeek squat mid-November.
Today, they are living in the Church of Saint John the Baptist at the Béguinage, where they have been staying for the last few weeks. Serve the City has been visiting them weekly with hot drinks and snacks. These last two weeks, we have been quite a big group of around 20 people from different countries. It was very nice to have a lot of students as well and to be joined by Serve the City from South Africa!
Last week we were warmly welcomed as usual, and we talked with their spokesperson Samir as well as several of the mothers to find out how they are and what their current situation is.
As the Christmas season is approaching fast, Samir was not sure that they can stay in the church very long, but at this time they have no certain information regarding that, so they are, as usual, living in a suspended state, uncertain of where they will sleep in the future. Speaking to Samir and some of the mothers, we made some notes about what they need at their new lodgings and how we can help in their daily lives.
As there are quite a few small children, there’s a need for children’s dippers and baby bottles. As they can’t go to school, they also get bored and need some stimulation and ways to pass the time, so some simple games like memory games or puzzles would help them pass the time. As there’s not much space in the church, and they have made room dividers that are not entirely solid, please don’t bring them balls or other action games as they cannot really run around. Without running water, they could also use things like wet wipes. Disposable plastic cups area also in demand, as they cannot wash dishes.
This Saturday, December 7th, a big group was going back to the church, and in the afternoon we also distributed Christmas presents to the Afghans. Apart from that, we will continue to go each Tuesday evening (meeting point at Micro Marché at 19:30). Please contact Simone for more information on how you can contribute and please visit their website.
