Of the many sights we encounter on our daily business, few are so stark a reminder of the gap between haves and have-nots as homelessness, highlighting both the flaws of social protections and the general apathy to fix the problem.
As often happens in major cities, the issue is particularly pronounced in Brussels with camps of rough sleepers historically building up in key areas. Perhaps most visible was the line of tents and makeshift shelters that spread the length of the canal opposite the Petit Château at the start of the year.
The growing camp was impossible to ignore and raised the issue of Belgium's broken asylum system in the public conscience. But although the tents were cleared, and in some cases the occupants entered into the official asylum process, homelessness remains a clear problem in the capital.
Most recently under the media spotlight has been the Midi/South Station, which has become notorious for crime and rough sleeping. Amid calls from various politicians (notably Flemish MPs presenting the situation as proof of Brussels incompetence) the official response has been more stick than carrot.
Police presence in the area has increased significantly in recent weeks, with arrests made and rough sleepers dispersed. Though this might have the short-lived effect of cleaning up the station – which as Belgium's main international rail hub is the first impression many arrivals have of the country – it does much less to answer the need for a durable housing solution.
Civil organisations have repeatedly made this point whilst criticising the tendency for finger-pointing among authorities, with local administrators citing decisions by national bodies that have a disproportionate effect in Brussels whilst federal ministers assert that practical measures must be initiated at the municipal level.
The net result is a heated debate that does little to tackle root causes and stokes misleading claims that homelessness is directly linked to (responsible for) violence. As a researcher analysing homelessness across Europe stressed, this is "a cruel lack of intellectual rigour" that feeds some of the most virulent nationalist biases.
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