arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)
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Struggle for rights and freedom of Iranian refugees in Belgium by Klaas Friday November 14, 2003 at 10:48 AM |
Since two months, 250 Iranian refugees are occupying some rooms in a university in Brussels. 31 of them are on hunger strike since 25 days.
They didn’t get asylum in Belgium and don't have papers: they cannot even work legally, follow education or receive health care. Neither can they return to their country. There is no agreement (yet) between the Belgian and the Iranian government on the forced repatriation of refugees. Luckily, because the Iranians are about sure to be prosecuted when expulsed to their country. In a recent statement, the Iranian ambassador in Brussels described the Iranian activists as “terrorists”.
Most of the Iranian refugees in Belgium have fled because of the political situation in Iran: a lack of freedom and democracy and severe human rights violations. In Belgium they did not find what they were seeking for: international protection and support for the struggle they had been fighting in Iran. (Some of the Iranians have taken part in the massive student protests of the past years (1999, july 2003). But there are several other ways how you can be a victim of the crazy regime in Iran: young men end up in jail because they had long hair, women because they dressed up for a party, people from a religious minority because they talked about their religion in public, etc.
In Belgium, almost no Iranian refugee gets asylum. That’s why a broad range of actions started. Visible actions in different cities have to make clear their situation to the Belgian population. At different places, Iranians witness on the situation in Iran, why they fled away and how they are living their life without papers in Belgium. There has been a massive manifestation in Brussels where a lot of other sans-papiers showed their solidarity, and some smaller manifestions. With these actions, the Iranians want the Belgian governement to acknowledge the human rights violations in Iran, and consequentely want to receive a staying permit until the situation in Iran is better.
The minister of Interior, Patrick Dewael, didn’t react at all the first month of the actions. Only when the hunger strike started, he felt obliged to react. “I will not start negotiations as long as the hungerstrike continues”, he states continuously, accusing the hunger strikers of blackmailing him. The hunger strikers are determined to continue their action, not trusting the Belgian government at all. Meanwhile, their situation is worsening. Last week they wrote a testament to the Belgian population and government: “if we're not allowed to live on Belgian territory, please let us be buried in the Belgian ground”.
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hungerstrik finished/accord reached by duende - posted klaas Saturday November 15, 2003 at 02:02 PM |
After 8 weeks of struggle and 25 days of hunger strike, the deadlock has been broken. The Iranian refugees' lawyers reached an agreement with the authorities.
All the refugees will make a new asylum request taking into account a new element: the ambassador of Iran described them as "terrorists". Because of these threatening words, it is likely that the new asylum requests will be granted and that the Iranian refugees will get the rights and the protection they demand.
This agreement with the Belgian authorities is a relief, but the Iranian refugees remain watchful
the accord in French: