This year, 2023, marks the 30th anniversary of the law on detention centres, prisons that deprive migrants of their freedom, where they are reduced to mere numbers and their basic humanity is ignored.
Semira, killed 25 years ago during a deportation attempt
Mawda, killed 5 years ago during a border chase
Tamazi, who died in a detention centre in February 2023.
Each disappearance is a painful reminder of the injustice and inhumanity that continue to prevail due to the brutal and racist policies of the Belgian federal state.
On 9 December, let us come together against the fact that people are criminalised and treated unworthily. Let us reject the idea of incarceration and detention based on origin or migration status; the outcome of a deadly migration policy perpetuated by neo-colonial institutions. Let us categorically reject the existence of detention centres that condemn us to live in a world where lives are sacrificed on the altar of racism and xenophobia.
On 9 December, our presence will be a cry of outrage, demanding :
– closure of detention centres for foreigners,
– freedom of movement and settlement for all,
– an end to inhumane deportations,
– an end to all forms of detention.On 9 December, let us make our voices heard
and our solidarity with people in detention.
