Refugees in Brussels Need Our Support

Today our volunteers really outdid themselves. We gave out over 200 winter coats in Maximilien park in Brussels – a long distribution but so needed when the police have been confiscating belongings.
This was after spending two hours walking the area to find refugees and give them advice leaflets in Arabic for if they are detained by the police. Unfortunately many had run away after the spate of arrests in the past few days and we had to go looking for them.
We finished a long day with just over an hour on the generator charging peoples phones and a debrief with the medical team who worked alongside us all day. Hard work but it felt like much was achieved.
There are now over 600 refugees sleeping rough in Brussels – pretty much as many as in Calais – and the conditions are just as bad. No reliable food supply, no showers or sanitation, no changes of clothes, skin disease and fungal infections are rife. The effects on health and mental health are just as bad as we are used to seeing in Calais.
We would like to thank Dunkirk Refugee Ground Support Network and Plateforme citoyenne de soutien aux réfugiés Bruxelles for working with us today.
To volunteer or donate please see www.care4calais.org