Page 7 - DS2.black team booklet

Introduction

This booklet builds upon a previous piece of Inspired by various ideas of projects VSP has
work where we analyzed different spaces that shared with us, combined with existing reference
had been occupied by a group of undocumented projects elsewhere, entailing housing for refuge-
migrants*, Voix des Sans Papier (VSP), es and migrants as well as positive interactions
throughout the region of the Brussels capital. By with others, we have projected three different
mapping different locations and combining them scenarios.
with a timeline indicating how long they lived at
each location, it became clear that even though The first scenario assumes the building is bought
some Brussels communes declare themselves as by a private company, who opens up a hotel. This
“hospitable”, this specific group of people is not scenario is greatly inspired by magdas Hotel in
necessarily welcome in Brussels. During a period Vienna. The majority of the staff are newcomers
of three years they moved from building to from a variety of origins, who manage the hotel’s
building, from commune to commune, and until spaces, and make guests feel welcome. The bar of
today they have not obtained nor regularisation the hotel is also open for inhabitants of the nei-
by the Belgian state nor a permanent roof above ghbourhood and other guests. A second scenario
their heads. assumes the region buys up this building, and
uses it to complement the current programme
There are about 150,000 undocumented migrants for USquare, with a special focus on welcoming
living in Belgium , but hardly any options for international newcomers and providing spaces
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decent housing seem to be available to them. for positive interaction between different cultu-
By occupying empty buildings in Brussels, Voix res. Despite the efforts to welcome newcomers in
des Sans Papiers makes a political statement. the first two scenarios, most probably they won’t
The many out of use buildings represent a stark be able to provide housing for undocumented
contrast with the lack of housing, not only for migrants. The third scenario, where a housing
(undocumented) migrants but also for a variety cooperative buys up the building and a collective
of other (vulnerable) groups. of people manages the space, includes the possi-
bility to house undocumented migrants. This last
VSP does not only occupy the buildings out of scenario is therefore developed more profoundly.
necessity, but also gives life back to the building.
The latest and current occupation, for example, Throughout the scenarios, we look for ‘border-
is being situated at Rue Fritz Toussaint 45-47 in lands’: spaces where newcomers and others cir-
the commune of Ixelles. The building is situated culate, and where (positive) interaction can take
in a mainly residential neighborhood. Upon place. From interviews carried out last semester
arrival, VSP has announced their presence to the with undocumented migrants we understood
neighborhood by posting letters in neighbours’ they have a general feeling of not being welcome
post boxes and by hanging a note on the front anywhere, as they are “not allowed” to be on Bel-
door, stating they are welcome. Since their gian territory anyway. Physical elements such as
arrival they have been managing the building barriers or cameras didn’t necessarily deter our
and opening it up to organizations in need of interviewees, as long as there was a destination
space. attached to passing them. Throughout this book-
let, we will therefore assume undocumented mi-
The building is located opposite former military grants will not go somewhere, unless they have a
barracks, which are currently being repurposed destination there.
into a vibrant, international neighborhood.
USquare, as it willl be called, is a collaborative * We would like to highlight here that throughout this document
project between the two Brussels universities - we use both the terms ‘(undocumented) migrants’ and ‘newco-
mers’ to describe a wide variety of people, who because of one
ULB and VUB - and the region of Brussels. The reason or another have arrived in Belgium from another (non-
premises are currently occupied by a temporary European) country, and do or do not have documents that give
programme, referred to as “SeeU”. them access to citizen rights. To specifically refer to those who
do not have these documents, and who are for the moment de-
nied any form of citizenship, we use the term ‘undocumented mi-
grants’. The French term the members of this group themselves
use to refer to their legal status is ‘sans-papiers’.
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