Wednesday 18 December marked International Migrants Day. To highlight the challenges that undocumented care workers face in Belgium, non-profit organisations Vluchtelingenwerk Vlaanderen and Brussels Poverty Platform arranged for a group to volunteer in a nursing home in the Marolles, central Brussels.
Between 12:00 and 14:00, the undocumented volunteers spoke to residents of the Monica nursing home. They helped with mealtime, participated in activities and put up Christmas decorations.
"These people are already contributing, either as volunteers or through undeclared work," Christa Matthys of Brussels Poverty Platform told The Brussels Times. "If they could work legally, they would pay taxes and contribute in a formalised way. It would cost society less to include them rather than exclude them."
'Come to our aid'
Working without papers means having no access to social protection or healthcare. A portion of undocumented people even end up in the hands of criminal gangs who take advantage of their vulnerability and push them into buying or selling drugs.
Iréné does not have legal residency and is a volunteer who took part in the exercise on Wednesday. He hoped that Belgian authorities would "listen to our heartfelt cry" so that they can escape from this "precarious situation".
Volunteers outside Monica nursing home. Credit: Brussels Poverty Platform
Around 120,000 undocumented migrants are working as informal carers in Belgium, a sector struggling with historically low staff numbers. Telling these people to "go home" to their country of origin is not a realistic solution, says Brussels Platform Poverty.
The organisations argue for clearer criteria on regularisation and a simplified process with an independent body to assess residency applications.
Use all resources
In October, the Bar of French- and German-speaking lawyers in Belgium (avocat.be) addressed an open letter to Belgian regional governments requesting that undocumented migrants be allowed to fill employment gaps in struggling sectors (including the care sector).
"In a world of fierce competition in which Europe is 'not in the lead', all resources should be put to good use," the letter read. The proposal has the backing of several major business associations across Belgium.
But outgoing State Secretary for Migration and Asylum Nicole De Moor (CD&V) opposes the initiative, arguing that it would incentivise people to pursue illegal routes to Belgium. She has since passed a raft of measures that aim to prevent migration to Belgium and repatriate refugees to their country of origin.
Matthys remains hopeful that the situation will improve. "If we can at least continue a dialogue with politicians and the public, it's a start. It paves the way for results despite an unfavourable situation at the moment."
An EU Summit will discuss the bloc's approach to migration on Thursday.
