Why are refugee camps reappearing in the center of Belgium?

Hundreds of illegal immigrants recently set up a temporary camp in a park in the center of Brussels, the capital of Belgium. There are concerns that scenes similar to those in the "Jungle" refugee camp in Calais, France, will happen again in Belgium.

The Russia Today TV website reported on August 31 that 400 to 500 illegal immigrants recently occupied Maximilian Park in Belgium. The park is located near a train station in Belgium, only 15 minutes away from the European Commission building.

Jonathan Hardingene, liaison officer of the "Doctors of the World" organization that provides assistance to illegal immigrants, said that most of these illegal immigrants are Sudanese and Eritreans. There used to be only a small number of illegal immigrants here, but the number has surged recently. The number of illegal immigrants in Maximilian Park has more than tripled since the beginning of July.

“They (illegal immigrants) sleep here at night and stay here during the day, without basic life guarantees such as food, showers and medical care,” Hardingenne said. “The Belgian government has not taken any measures to help them. They, because the government believes that if these illegal immigrants need help, they will choose to apply for asylum locally.”

According to Russia Today, the “Doctors of the World” organization headquartered in Paris, France, asked the local government to provide assistance. This group of illegal immigrants opened a reception center but were turned away. “The final destination of these illegal immigrants is the United Kingdom, not Belgium,” Belgium’s Federal Secretary of State for Immigration Theo Franken told Belgium’s French-speaking Radio and Television Station. “They are located very close to the asylum application office and can completely reach it. There was a refugee camp nicknamed "The Jungle" near the northern French city of Calais. It will bring in 7,000 to 10,000 refugees and illegal immigrants, many of whom plan to take advantage of opportunities to smuggle themselves into the UK. The French government cleared the "Jungle" refugee camp at the end of October last year.

Among the illegal immigrants occupying Maximilian Park, some come from the closed "Jungle" refugee camp, while the rest are transferred from the northern French city of Dunkirk or Italy.

“France’s lack of policies to solve the refugee problem has led to illegal immigrants leaving to try their luck in Belgium.” said Pierre Verberen, director of the Belgian branch of the “Doctors of the World” organization. If the Belgian government does not take measures, it is feared that the number of illegal immigrants entering Maximilian Park will double in winter.