Page 7 - Black group Booklet

Introduction

This booklet builds upon a previous piece of The building is located opposite former milita-
work where we analyzed different spaces that ry barracks, which are currently being repurpo-
had been occupied by a group of undocumented sed into a vibrant, international neighborhood.
migrants*, Voix des Sans Papier (VSP), throu- USquare, as it willl be called, is a collaborative
ghout the region of the Brussels capital. By map- project between the two Brussels universities -
ping different locations and combining them ULB and VUB - and the region of Brussels. The
with a timeline indicating how long they lived at premises are currently occupied by a temporary
each location, it became clear that even though programme, referred to as “SeeU”.
some Brussels communes declare themselves as
“hospitable”, this specific group of people is not Inspired by various ideas of projects VSP has
necessarily welcome in Brussels. During a period shared with us, combined with existing reference
of three years they moved from building to bu- projects elsewhere, entailing housing for refuge-
ilding, from commune to commune, and until es and migrants as well as positive interactions
today they have not obtained nor regularisation with others, we have projected three different
by the Belgian state nor a permanent roof above scenarios.
their heads.

There are about 150,000 undocumented mi- The first scenario assumes the building is bought
grants living in Belgium , but hardly any options by a private company, who opens up a hotel. This
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for decent housing seem to be available to them. scenario is greatly inspired by magdas Hotel in
By occupying empty buildings in Brussels, Voix Vienna. The majority of the staff are newcomers
des Sans Papiers makes a political statement. from a variety of origins, who manage the hotel’s
The many out of use buildings represent a stark spaces, and make guests feel welcome. The bar of
contrast with the lack of housing, not only for the hotel is also open for inhabitants of the nei-
(undocumented) migrants but also for a variety ghbourhood and other guests. A second scenario
of other (vulnerable) groups. assumes the region buys up this building, and
uses it to complement the current programme
VSP does not only occupy the buildings out of for USquare, with a special focus on welcoming
necessity, but also gives life back to the building. international newcomers and providing spaces
The latest and current occupation, for example, for positive interaction between different cultu-
is being situated at Rue Fritz Toussaint 45-47 in res. Despite the efforts to welcome newcomers in
the commune of Ixelles. The building is situated the first two scenarios, most probably they won’t
in a mainly residential neighborhood. Upon ar- be able to provide housing for undocumented
rival, VSP has announced their presence to the migrants. The third scenario, where a housing
neighborhood by posting letters in neighbours’ cooperative buys up the building and a collective
post boxes and by hanging a note on the front of people manages the space, includes the possi-
door, stating they are welcome. Since their ar- bility to house undocumented migrants. This last
rival they have been managing the building and scenario is therefore developed more profoundly.
opening it up to organizations in need of space.
Throughout the scenarios, we look for ‘border-
lands’: spaces where newcomers and others cir-
culate, and where (positive) interaction can take
place. From interviews carried out last semester
* We would like to highlight here that throughout this document we understood there is a general feeling of ‘un-
we use both the terms ‘(undocumented) migrants’ and ‘newco- welcomeness’, as they are “not allowed” to be on
mers’ to describe a wide variety of people, who because of one
reason or another have arrived in Belgium from another (non- Belgian territory in any case. Physical elements
European) country, and do or do not have documents that give didn’t necessarily deter our interviewees, as long
them access to citizen rights. To specifically refer to those who as there was a destination attached to passing
do not have these documents, and who are for the momen t de-
nied any form of citizenship, we use the term ‘undocumented mi- them. Throughout this booklet, we will assume
grants’. The French term the members of this group themselves undocumented migrants will not go somewhere,
use to refer to their legal status is ‘sans-papiers’. unless they have a destination there.
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