There are not enough places for Ukrainian refugees in Belgium – there are cases when Ukrainians had to spend nights in homeless shelters or at the train station in Brussels, reports VRT.
“Fortunately, the Ukrainian community is very active and supportive, so most people have plans and find a solution. Others, unfortunately, often spend the night in the South Station building in Brussels or in our homeless shelters,” said Magali Pratte of SamuSocial.
She clarified that in Belgium it is the regions – Brussels, Flanders and Wallonia – that are responsible for hosting Ukrainian refugees.
“In Wallonia, for example, there are obviously still places available, but many refugees don’t know this and so they go to Brussels,” Pratte added.
The Brussels South Station confirmed that refugees from Ukraine do sometimes spend the night there, but said they are people who arrived late and have not yet had time to register.
Belgian government spokeswoman Nicole de Moor, who is in charge of refugee issues, acknowledges the problem with overcrowded shelters, but says the regions are responsible.
“If this is not happening, then temporary asylum will naturally fill up. Especially in Wallonia, where there were not enough places at first, but now there is a commitment to create more places to receive refugees,” she stressed.
Some 78,000 refugees from Ukraine had arrived in Belgium as of October.