Audiotestimony from a closed centre /February 2018
Hello to all,
I am here, admitted to the centre Vottem. I was arrested in Brussels because I did not have any papers. I am not a delinquent, I am not a criminal, not a murderer, not an assassin, they put me here in a closed centre but it’s worse than prison.
It’s all closed off, we are abused, the officers do not respect us, we are like animals and people who do not understand French are insulted. But when they see someone who speaks good French, who knows his laws and rights, well, they do not like it!
So I had a problem the day before yesterday, they brought me in, I spoke with an officer since I was talking about my rights. He did not like it. He went to see the manager, they wrote on my report “in emergency cell “.
Why? Because, sir, he defends himself with his tongue, because he knows how to speak French well, because he knows his rights. Because, people who do not know French, I help them translate into French, I help them, telling them here we must do that, we must not accept, we must not do that, so they brought me to the prison, the officers threatened it is necessary, they did not even allow me to go to the manager to express my point of view in relation to what happened, they just told me “sir, you’re going to Bruges because you’re threatening”, even though that’s not true!
I speak on behalf of the people here. There are men who have families, they have children, who have been in Belgium for 10 years, 15 years, but they are here locked up like animals. Even the animals I find here in Belgium, even an animal here in Belgium has its laws, we have no law. It is unacceptable, it is unfair, it is unfair. The problem is that the Belgian citizen only sees what sees on TV.
The Belgian citizen he does not know exactly what happens in closed centres. That’s why they do not let journalists or people in, because they know what’s going on here. They have banned camera phones because they are afraid of filming what’s going on.
We are badly treated, they speak badly to us, they treat us like animals. They do not know what respect is, even we are foreigners, we know what respect is.
It’s unfair, I think it’s happening on the government side, they’re crowding people into closed centres, why? Because for them it’s a business, it’s a business for them to lock people up like that. We are not terrorists, we are not delinquents. We are just simple people looking for a life, a job, a future. The Belgian state does not care, even if you shout, even if people march in the streets, they will not listen because for them, it suits them, because it is a business. The centre is made to earn money and the state is ready to do anything to make money.
We are treated like animals and I really hate it because they want us to come out with hate, really they want us come out with hate. When I was in Morocco, when I heard about Belgium I thought it was a country with human rights, but there are no human rights here! Nothing, nothing at all. Just hatred against us, it’s fascists working with us, agents, real fascists.
Please, we are not asking you to release us, but we are just asking that they respect our rights, our laws.
It’s true we are human beings, we are all human beings we are descendants of Adam and Eve. It’s true there are Moroccans, Algerians, Chinese, Afghans but we do not ask you to free us, we just ask you to treat us a bit as we should. There, there is no respect, the agents, in the morning they speak to you aggressively. Afterwards, when you speak with them, they respond in a way that wouldn’’t even dare to do! Sorry because I’m a little upset, I’m not against Belgians, Belgians are good people, because of what they do for us, that I’ll never forget, but I’m talking about the state.
For me, the Belgian state is a mafia state, that’s what I mean, I say it clearly and clearly, the state is a mafia state. They treat people like animals. I would love to have a face-to-face interview, but they won’t allow it.
