The Socialist Party mayors of the Midi Police Zone have tried in vain for over a year to get the Federal Government to do something about crime around Brussels-Midi station. Now they are exploring a new avenue: appealing to the CEO of SNCB for help.
Anderlecht and Saint-Gilles Mayors Fabrice Cumps and Jean Spinette (both PS) have co-signed a letter addressed to the CEO of railway operator SNCB, Sophie Dutordoir.
They want Dutordoir to join the chorus of voices calling for a national redistribution plan for "people staying in Belgium irregularly," arguing that a concentration of these individuals in the Midi Zone is a root cause of crime in the area.
Asylum seekers' shelter near the Federal Immigration Services building, October 2022. Credit: Lauren Walker
"Some people will use this situation to unfairly stigmatise all migrants and to denounce the alleged mismanagement of the Brussels-Capital Region, which they seem to want by concentrating all the problems there," the letter seen by La Libre stated. "Brussels municipalities have been calling for [a national distribution plan] for more than 20 years."
"The government paid attention to Dutordoir's SOS call last August," Spinette told The Brussels Times, explaining that her support might increase pressure on the Federal Government to spread migrants more evenly across Belgium and install a police station within Midi train station.
'Almost a tragicomedy'
Outgoing Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration Nicole de Moor (CD&V) has since responded to the letter, stating that "we must not disperse people without the right to stay to all the CPAS [unemployment and social services offices] and use up their resources. People without the right to be here should go back to their country of origin."
Credit: Belga / Nicolas Maeterlinck
"It's almost a tragicomedy," commented Spinette in reaction to the statement. "I am committed to welcoming migrants in great difficulty, but concentrating reception centres in a drug hotspot is not a good idea."
He added that people living precariously – particularly single male asylum seekers with nowhere to live and no authorisation to work – are easy recruits for drug dealers who tend to operate around these areas.
Samusocial is a homeless organisation located in the Midi Police Zone and agrees that the reception crisis is "inextricably linked" to Midi's problems. The organisation believes national redistribution is "crucial" to easing pressure on the Belgian capital and its services.
"The Federal Government is no longer fulfilling its duty to provide accommodation for single men seeking international protection," a spokesperson told The Brussels Times. "These men are adding to the already excessive homeless population in Brussels."
Empty promises?
The mayors' appeal is two-pronged: along with distributing migrants around the country, Midi station must be equipped with its own police station. Spreading police resources among three communes and "an international station with more passengers than Zaventem airport" (as is currently the case) is untenable, they say.
Midi train station is one of 15 "drug hotspots" in Brussels and is known for drug-related violence and the accompanying issue of endemic homelessness. There have been around 420 arrests in the area since January 2023, but police crackdowns have done little to improve security structurally.
In this context, "a real police station is not a luxury". Nevertheless, repeated promises to install such a service have failed to materialise.
"Federal police deal with security issues in Zaventem airport," said Spinette. "We are asking for the same treatment in all of Brussels' train stations."
