Around 20 immigrants took part in a tourist tour of the centre of Brussels on Saturday afternoon. It was organised by the Citizen Immigrant Support Platform and tourist platform Guruwalk.
The first tourist tour, for 7 immigrants, happened at the end of September. The second tour included two amateur guides and a French/Arab translator.
“I’m going to live in this town, so I want to get to know the important tourist places in Brussels” says a 25-year-old Egyptian (who now has his papers).
The tour started at 2pm. The group went to the Saints-Michel-et-Gudule Cathedral, Brussels Parliament, the Royal Park to see the Palace, Mont des Arts, Manneken-Pis and ended at the Christmas market at Plaisirs d’hiver.
“They become tourists and forget they are immigrants for a few hours”, says Bernard Sury, the organiser. “The participants are learning French, which is why we have the tour in French and a translator helps them to understand our explanations. We want to show them that Brussels is cosmopolitan and they have the right to feel at home here”.
The Brussels Times
