On November 24, 2015, the site avocats.be published a text entitled “Message of lawyers to asylum seekers: Welcome to the asylum seekers in Belgium. You should not discourage you.” Written by Patrick Henry and Jean-Marc Picard, president and administrator of this site.http://avocats.be/fr/actualites
The title is encouraging, but for the rest we must ask ourselves what the authors take before going to work? According to them, the difficulty of the course of asylum applications come from a wrong message from the government, Because, apart from the message of the government, Belgium is a “democratic state”, “applicate the international conventions, [which] make people who come to apply for asylum are received with dignity and respect and that their application is processed correctly “. Also: “Lawyers believe that the Commissioner-General for Refugees and Stateless Persons […] and fedasil […] properly fulfill their role.”
So, do not worry ladies and gentlemen asylum–seekers, Belgium is a democracy and your story will be heard and you will be welcomed in dignity. (but beware if you come from Iraq or Afghanistan!) “Many come to seek asylum in Belgium . Belgium has an efficient asylum system where you can submit your request for protection in the best conditions in accordance with European standards. “(We Salute the flexibility of the European standards)
We probably invented that people are more than six months to wait to get an answer to their asylum application, that some people are deported before their asylum application was finished, that people are sent back to countries that will not deal with their asylum claim (eg “Dublin” to Hungary etc …).We probably invented the Immigration Department filter the good and bad asylum seekers, according to the decisions of Théo Francken (Dublin, Afghans, Iraqis, economic / political refugees, countries considered “safe” ….).We probably invented they get some of the asylum seekers in detention centers on the arbitrary decisions of Immigration.We probably invented that CGVS treat the request with a first consideration that they are liars until they prove otherwise, and that the Council of Disputes (where everyone can do appeal against a decision of Foreign office or CGRS) are all profiteers. We have probably found out that it’s not easy to find a lawyer, even more difficult a lawyer who is concerned about the fate of his client .. And when those lawyers exist, we can also imagine how difficult it must be faced to be with a Kafkaesque policy where laws are not even respected. The race against the decisions of Foreign Affairs, tore families, people returned to their own death … yes, we all invented it ..
So thank you lawyers thanks to write about the reality .And thanks for this lesson of optimism and enthusiasm for democracy.
And for those of ill will: Can it not be a call to undocumented and refugees to encourage them to come forward and to be registered by the Foreigners’ Office with the consequences thereof?
