Brussels Grapples with Rising Violence Involving Unaccompanied Moroccan Minors

RTBF has done a report on unaccompanied minors from Morocco and Algeria left to their own devices. "Here at the Midi station, it’s often a public that comes from Morocco or Algeria, [...] they come for rather economic reasons. They are very vulnerable because they are very young and alone," confides Anna*, who is part of the SOS Jeunes team. She and her colleague walk the same route - the tunnel of the rue des vétérinaires, on the Anderlecht side, a corridor of darkness - every Friday, to meet the foreign minors around the Midi station. Anna has made it known that there are many young people sleeping in the middle of the tunnel, "because it’s sheltered from the wind, sheltered from the cold".

These homeless minors benefit from several services every Friday afternoon. A van equipped with a washing machine and another a mobile hairdressing salon move to the Esplanade de l’Europe, next to the Midi station. Not to mention the distribution of meals. The SOS Jeunes team goes to meet a group of young people. Among them, a young man who lost a finger in an "accident", "probably a settling of scores that went wrong". "He received care [...] That’s also part of our work, we try to accompany them for medical procedures," says Anna. Two others, for their part, ask to "change accommodation center", "because they are in a Fedasil center where there are very strict rules that make it difficult to stay there," she adds.

While many foreign minors are homeless, some manage to be housed at Fedasil, the Red Cross, the SAMU social or elsewhere. "We only manage to house a small part. It really depends on the days. And especially after the fire that occurred at the citizen platform at the Porte d’Ulysse center. There was a loss of 250 places," explains Maddalena, from SOS Jeunes. But not all reception centers are habitable. This is the case of DoucheFLUX. "Every day there are fights, violence, all that... And thieves. You understand? That’s why I don’t go there!" says Ibrahim*, a 17-year-old Algerian, who has joined the SOS Jeunes team.

*Pseudonym