Our Story

First steps toward a structured organization

In Februa­ry 2016, Maxi­mi­lien Hall clo­sed its doors. A tem­po­ra­ry occu­pa­tion was nego­tia­ted in a buil­ding in Jette, mar­king the begin­ning of a more struc­tu­red res­ponse. Five acti­vi­ty areas emer­ged : legal assis­tance, schoo­ling for adults and chil­dren, mate­rial aid, hos­ting in fami­lies, and a women’s space.

During the win­ter, the Plat­form soun­ded the alarm about the huma­ni­ta­rian emer­gen­cy. This mobi­li­za­tion led to the ope­ning of a 250-bed recep­tion cen­ter by Samu­so­cial, with Bel­Re­fu­gees teams coor­di­na­ting dai­ly on the ground. This came in a tense context, short­ly after the dis­mant­ling of the Calais “jungle.”

It was also the year that a struc­tu­red citi­zen hos­ting pro­gram was laun­ched, along with dai­ly mate­rial aid dis­tri­bu­tion to meet essen­tial needs of people on the move.

Citizen resistance and the creation of lasting tools

In the face of near-dai­ly police raids tar­ge­ting migrants, the Plat­form esta­bli­shed conti­nuous moni­to­ring at Maxi­mi­lien Park and imple­men­ted an active stra­te­gy of visi­bi­li­ty and media outreach.

That year, Bel­Re­fu­gees ope­ned Porte d’Ulysse, an emer­gen­cy shel­ter cen­ter, and co-crea­ted the Huma­ni­ta­rian Hub, a day­time wel­come space sha­red with Méde­cins Sans Fron­tières, Méde­cins du Monde, SOS Jeunes, the Red Cross, and the Plat­form itself.

At the same time, citi­zen hos­ting grew on an unpre­ce­den­ted scale, thanks to a dedi­ca­ted Face­book page. Up to 400 people were hos­ted eve­ry night, with near­ly 10,000 hou­se­holds across Bel­gium ope­ning their doors to exi­led people.

In recog­ni­tion of this excep­tio­nal mobi­li­za­tion, Bel­Re­fu­gees was named Brus­sels Citi­zen of the Year 2017.

Mass mobilization against the criminalization of solidarity

The year was mar­ked by increa­sed repres­sion of citi­zen actions sup­por­ting exi­led people. Seve­ral acti­vists were pro­se­cu­ted in what became known as the soli­da­ri­ty trial. In res­ponse, mobi­li­za­tions mul­ti­plied across the country.

The govern­ment attemp­ted to pass a bill autho­ri­zing “home visits” of citi­zens hos­ting migrants. But public pres­sure, fue­led by broad cam­pai­gns and actions, for­ced the with­dra­wal of the proposal.

Meanw­hile, the Plat­form remai­ned active on the ground, conti­nuing to pro­vide shel­ter and pro­tec­tion. That year, a human chain of 4,000 people suc­cess­ful­ly pre­ven­ted a large-scale raid, illus­tra­ting the strength and deter­mi­na­tion of the soli­da­ri­ty movement.

Structuring collective shelters

Bel­Re­fu­gees conso­li­da­ted its sup­port struc­tures : the Porte d’Ulysse team was rein­for­ced, and col­lec­tive shel­ters expan­ded, laying the foun­da­tions for a more stable and sus­tai­nable approach than emer­gen­cy citi­zen hosting.

It was also the year of the first steps of the Sister’s House, a pio­nee­ring pro­ject of gen­der-sen­si­tive, safe recep­tion for migrant women. Two apart­ments in Ixelles ope­ned to wel­come the first resi­dents, roo­ted in a dee­ply femi­nist and soli­da­ri­ty-based approach.

Solidarity response to the pandemic

The Covid-19 cri­sis hit the most vul­ne­rable groups har­dest. Bel­Re­fu­gees adap­ted qui­ck­ly : cen­ters moved to 24/7 recep­tion, a medi­cal post ope­ned at Tour & Taxis in part­ner­ship with Méde­cins Sans Fron­tières and Samu Social, and 200 hotel rooms were secu­red with the Brus­sels Hotels Asso­cia­tion for safe emer­gen­cy shelter.

The year also mar­ked the offi­cial ope­ning of the Sister’s House, which became a pillar of safe recep­tion for single women. The Van Belle Hotel was mobi­li­zed to rein­force capa­ci­ty and meet urgent social needs.

Mobilizations for undocumented people and expansion in Wallonia

The year was mar­ked by the hun­ger strike of 500 undo­cu­men­ted people, acti­ve­ly sup­por­ted by Bel­Re­fu­gees through mate­rial aid, accom­pa­niment, media­tion, and par­ti­ci­pa­tion in negotiations.

At the same time, the asso­cia­tion ope­ned its first day cen­ter in Wal­lo­nie Picarde, mar­king a new regio­nal pre­sence and expan­ding beyond Brussels.

As the recep­tion cri­sis wor­se­ned, Bel­Re­fu­gees car­ried out actions at Petit Châ­teau : dis­tri­bu­tions, sit-ins, and media watch to denounce the chro­nic satu­ra­tion of the sys­tem and call for las­ting solutions.

Inclusive response to the Ukrainian emergency

The inva­sion of Ukraine trig­ge­red a mas­sive influx of dis­pla­ced people. Within just 48 hours, 1,800 citi­zen hos­ting offers were made. Bel­Re­fu­gees mobi­li­zed ful­ly, while reaf­fir­ming one essen­tial condi­tion : equal treat­ment for all people on the move, regard­less of origin.

The asso­cia­tion hel­ped open a recep­tion cen­ter at Gare du Midi, laun­ched the Amran Cen­ter for unac­com­pa­nied minors (UAMs) in Brus­sels, and co-crea­ted Casa Tamam with ASBL Deux euros cin­quante : a semi-self-mana­ged col­lec­tive living space offe­ring safe­ty and solidarity.

New crises, new responses

The year was mar­ked by unpre­ce­den­ted satu­ra­tion of the recep­tion sys­tem. In res­ponse, Bel­Re­fu­gees, toge­ther with Samu Social and the Red Cross, ope­ned the Citoyens Cen­ter, pro­vi­ding pre-recep­tion for 140 people left without solu­tions by Fedasil.

A fire at Porte d’Ulysse for­ced emer­gen­cy relo­ca­tion of resi­dents, first to a gym­na­sium, then to Hotel Léo­pold. At the same time, a new faci­li­ty, Eve­ne­poel, was set up to wel­come people without resi­dence per­mits, expan­ding the scope of shel­ter provision.

The year also saw the pro­duc­tion of a pod­cast series dedi­ca­ted to the Sister’s House, rai­sing awa­re­ness of this unique safe space for women.

Strengthened response to a persistent crisis

In 2024, Bel­Re­fu­gees conti­nued to streng­then its faci­li­ties in the face of an ever-dee­pe­ning recep­tion cri­sis. The asso­cia­tion expan­ded its struc­tures, impro­ved resident sup­port, and diver­si­fied the groups wel­co­med, with spe­cial atten­tion to unac­com­pa­nied minors, single women, and families.

Advo­ca­cy work grew, denoun­cing rights vio­la­tions and pro­po­sing concrete alter­na­tives. Edu­ca­tion, culture, and awa­re­ness-rai­sing remai­ned cen­tral to the inclu­sion strategy.

The year was also mar­ked by the ope­ning of the Bis­sé Cen­ter (200 beds) and the NEMO House, a new col­lec­tive shel­ter facility.