On the beach of Koksijde, one local has placed wooden crosses with life jackets attached that belonged to refugees as a striking initiative to denounce people smuggling across the Channel.
This weekend, a red trail was created from the dunes to the sea in Koksijde. Red life jackets with fictitious names on them were hung from wooden crosses marked with "RIP". The work belongs to Philip Gadeyne, who aims to highlight the multi-layered problem of refugees trying to cross the Channel – often dying in the attempt.
"It may be shocking, but it has to be to wake people up," Gadeyne told VRT. "I read in the Sunday newspaper that six more refugees died when their boat capsized from France. It shocked me that such a thing still happens and I wanted people to take notice. So my action was mainly aimed at the general public."
One of the things that bothered him about the news was that the fact that six people drowned off the French coast received little coverage – "as if it was just a little incident," he said. "Even more so: that it seems like this is the most normal thing in the world."
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"But these are human lives, that should never be small news. These people are just looking for a better life and are taking the incredible risks of crossing the world's busiest sea route to do so. Imagine how desperate they must be to get in a rickety boat with 30 others. They risk their lives and we just let it happen. That is not acceptable."
Gadeyne found all the material he used for the set-up on walks in the dunes just across the French border, Het Nieuwsblad reports. "The life jackets are just hidden there. I also often see nappies or baby bottles lying in the sand there."
While he said he understands that it must be upsetting for certain people to see the crosses and the lifejackets, Gadeyne stressed that the reality is even more upsetting. "Sometimes you have to shake the tree very hard before people understand. Fortunately, I did not get any negative reaction. On the contrary: most passers-by support the action."
