Paralysed Moroccan man faces homelessness in Belgium after accident
Paralysed from the abdomen down since an accident in Morocco, 42-year-old Rachid Lahboubi risks losing his home in Antwerp. Without a residence permit and despite serious health problems, he has been unable to find a facility willing to take him in. A woman who has been helping him for a year fears the worst.
“He won’t survive a night outside.” Amal is desperate. For the past year, this Antwerp resident has been helping 42-year-old Moroccan Rachid Lahboubi, who has been paralysed since a car accident. He lives rent-free in a small apartment in the Berchem neighbourhood, which has no central heating or hot water. But the landlord now wants the apartment back so he can move in with his wife. Rachid risks ending up on the street, reports Belgian newspaper Het Belang van Limburg.
The two met on TikTok. Since then, Amal has been helping Rachid with administrative and medical procedures. She is now trying to persuade the landlord to give him more time. But she cannot take him in herself. She is ill and widowed, lives alone and does not have the means to care for someone so dependent.
Rachid’s life changed in 2014. At the time, he was married and ran an electronics shop in Morocco. A terrible car accident, in which two of his friends were also involved, changed everything. One died, while the other escaped unharmed. Rachid lost the use of his legs. Since then, he has used a wheelchair and depends on a urinary catheter.
Belgium rejects his request for medical regularisation
Hoping to receive better care, Rachid moved to Belgium. In Antwerp, he is being treated by Médecins du Monde and has already spent two and a half months in the university hospital. His condition requires regular monitoring. Kidney stones cause blockages in his catheter, accompanied by bleeding and severe pain. Another check-up is scheduled for January, with the possibility of major surgery.
His application for residence on medical grounds was nevertheless rejected. The Belgian authorities consider that the treatment he needs is available in Morocco and that his condition does not pose an immediate threat to his life. Rachid receives only urgent medical assistance from the CPAS, which covers most of his healthcare costs.
The housing problem remains. Amal has made numerous efforts to find him accommodation suited to his disability, but without success. “There simply isn’t a place for him anywhere,” she says in this account, also carried by Sudinfo.
The threat of losing his apartment has now put Rachid in a critical situation. He needs help with everyday tasks and regular medical care. Amal continues to look for accommodation and is trying to secure more time before the landlord takes back the property.
