Approximately 150 illegal immigrants from Front des Migrants (a network grouping 5 organisations of illegal immigrants and people supporting them) protested in front of the Labour Department of the Brussels regional government on Monday morning, demanding their residence in Belgium be made legal via an official work permit. A delegation of protesters met with Brussels Labour Minister Didier Gosuin. “Last Thursday, after 200 people protested in front of the office of Theo Francken, Secretary of State for Asylum, Migration and Administrative Simplification, a delegation from Front des Migrants was able to meet Freddy Roosemont, the current Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons. Immigrants without legal documentation were guaranteed work papers if they could find jobs in economic sectors suffering from a shortage of workers. This decision leaves the door open for undocumented immigrants who have been living in Belgium under inhumane conditions for many years,” explained Oscar Flores, spokesperson for Front des Migrants.
“Didier Gosuin stated he was willing to give work papers to immigrants working in sectors where there is a shortage of workers, and to look closely at applications from people who did not benefit from the regularisation process in 2009, if they have been able to secure a job in the meantime. According to him, undocumented immigrants who live in Brussels will be offered vocational training in the sectors in need,” he added.
A Moroccan woman who has been on a hunger strike for 35 days at the Molenbeek-Saint-Jean sit-in protest, tried to commit suicide on Sunday night. She was taken to hospital and her life is not in danger.
(Source: Belga)
