Over 150 persons in a manifestation for the people “without papers”

Today, Saturday 31, at Place Monnaie in Brussels, 150 persons have expressed their opinions about the problem of the people “sans papiers” in the continent.
Around Europe, in the main cities, more demonstrations for taking the attention about this problem that many Governments ignore.

With the banners: “Belgique, terre d’asile”, “No borders, no nations, stop deportations” or “Régularisation des sans-papiers, suppression des centres fermés”, and music from Africa to make nice this appointment in a rainy day in Brussels.

The main objective was to claim about the situation of people without papers, asking to for rights to everybody, no matter their country, and closing the “centres fermes”.

CLIC, the organization which made the manifestation, was satisfied with the results:
“We don’t hope a massive demonstration, it is better to make more specific ones, and make the people to be involved step by step. Not something big that happen today and anybody remember anymore. It something about changing the mentality”.

“I think the people in Belgium are not interested in this problem because really they don’t know what mean. They see the immigration like a problem: they have our jobs, there is more insecurity in the streets because of it...”, explained O’Brian, a guy involved in movements for the iranian people asking for their papers.

“The position of the Belgium Government is very contradictory, because they say they apply the law, but then, some people in the same conditions get the papers, and others, no. So, this is very strange. If it is the law, it should be the same for all”.

Why people in Belgium not come to these manifestations?

“Because there are not big media or political parties really interested on it. It is something for “alternative people” interested in these problems”, explained from the organization.

“I hope things will go better, yes, I have a positive view for the future. And specially after the European Social Forum in Paris, where people talked about all problems we have to resolve”.

arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)