Belgium Launches Online Campaign To Dissuade Potential Migrants From Coming
Faizan Hashmi Published April 19, 2019 | 11:55 PM
The Belgian government has launched a six-month online campaign to tell potential asylum seekers about the hurdles they might face if they want to live in the country
A new website, Facts About Belgium, is available in four languages. It addresses people considering whether to move, those on their way and the ones who want to return. The website has short articles on whether life is easy in Belgium ("Life in Belgium is not so easy"), the risks of contacting smugglers and legal options for those who want to claim asylum or return. It also has an article for migrants who want to pass through Belgium to the United Kingdom.
The Belgian foreign affairs office said that the campaign was meant to "counter the rumors and false information often disseminated on social networks, to allow people wishing to leave their country of origin to consider it with a good understanding of what it means and the risks implied."
Minister for Social Affairs and Health Maggie De Block reportedly said that "it is better to prevent than cure by telling migrants clearly that the chances of getting asylum are low and Belgium is not the land of plenty."
IMMIGRATION TROUBLES IN BELGIUM
A migration dispute split the government coalition in December last year. The New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) objected to the UN Global Compact on Migration and left the alliance, forcing Prime Minister Charles Michel to form a minority government. Health Minister De Block took on the duties of secretary of state for asylum and migration, Theo Francken from N-VA.
"I put the stress on the expulsion of criminal illegals. It was one of my priorities when I arrived at the department. An average of 1,564 criminals were deported each year between 2015 and 2018," Francken told Sputnik.
The former secretary of state added that he had stressed the importance of repatriation of those who had had their applications refused.
"It is the weak side of the European migration policy, in all countries.
Barely two in 10 people who don't have the right to stay actually leave Belgium. It is less than the European average and we need to work on that, because the result is an army of illegal immigrants who live in secrecy, do black work and are susceptible to all forms of abuse," Francken said.
Francken introduced a daily cap of 50 for how many asylum applications the immigration officials could handle. The limit was suspended after Francken's departure. According to De Block, the cap not only put women and children in danger because they had to sleep in the streets for days, but also created difficulties for the asylum services, increasing case backlog.
"Dealing with migrant cases is like pushing a stone up a mountain, and seeing it rolling down again every time," Nicola Tournay, the head of communications at People's Party, told Sputnik.
According to Tournay, the legislation in Belgium is too lenient on undocumented migrants, while family reunions bring still more people to the country and put too heavy a burden on Belgian taxpayers.
"Theo Francken had started to turn the situation around, but we don't trust Maggie De Block, the present minister. Her sudden firm positions have everything to do with demagogy, just before the general, regional and European elections in May. The Belgian citizens want a stop to immigration, but people like the prime minister don't care. They pursue their ideal of open borders," Tournay said.
Along with other European countries, Belgium has faced a large influx of migrants in the last several years. Migrant crisis has put relevant agencies under stress. According to Fedasil, the Federal agency for the reception of asylum seekers, Belgium has about 60 reception centers for migrants, which covers about two-thirds of the entire reception network. The rest of the places are provided by citizens, nonprofits or local authorities.
Meanwhile, Belgium will face both domestic and European elections in May, and the issue of migration may play an important role in both.
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