This week, the situation at the arrival system improved a little bit, but sadly not enough. I was really happy at the end of last week when we decided to bring back the whole team of volunteers and start working together again to give seekers of international protection more information. Unfortunately, everything did not go to plan and we found ourselves in the same situation as before the strike. Ultimately, this meant that on Wednesday we, once again, had to make the difficult decision to stop going to the arrival centre.

Accepting this decision was very difficult for me as I wanted to be at the arrival centre even if I knew that we were not able to give people good quality information. I think a part of me believed that it was important to give people the opportunity to tell their story or complain about the situation even if, at the end of the conversation, we could not help them. Nonetheless, I understand why it was an important decision and that listening to traumatic stories and then having to tell people the bad news – that there is nothing we can do to help - is not good for our team’s morale.

"Having to tell people the bad news – that there is nothing we can do to help - is not good for our team’s morale"

I was very glad on Thursday to see that those working at the arrival center were holding a protest outside the secretary of State’s office. Seeing all these workers outside holding banners highlighting the situation and shouting for change reminded me that we are all working towards the same end goal, even if, we have different ways of going about the process.

I think we tend to think that those working at the arrival do not want to help and that it is their fault that there are not enough beds to house all the men trying to apply for international protection but this is not the case. Having seen so many workers at the protest, I now understand that they are limited by their role and the policies of the State. They cannot make accommodation appear out of thin air in the same way that we cannot.

I really hope that this week’s protest will have a positive impact and that the Secretary of State will implement a new policy to get men off the streets. In the meantime, our team is hoping to work more often at a Red Cross center where migrants can come and get a warm meal, hot beverages, showers and WIFI.

It is a very different environment compared to the arrival center and I hope that the open space and lack of a time constraint, will allow us all to have longer, more meaningful conversations with people. The other nice thing about the Red Cross center is that we get the opportunity to meet migrants who are transiting through Belgium and not just those who want to apply for asylum here. I think that meeting different people, will provide us with more opportunities to learn about why people prefer certain countries over others and which aspects of Belgium’s asylum procedure deter people.

"I found it extremely fascinating talking to people"

While at the Red Cross center this week, I found it extremely fascinating talking to people and learning how linguistic and cultural ties help determine where refugees choose to apply for international protection. I was very surprised to meet an Eritrean man who knew a lot about Ireland. He told me about the different buildings that Irish Aid had constructed in the Tigray region and how he had been taught by Irish relief workers in his home town. Even more surprising was the fact that he had pictures of the Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) and an Irish European Parliamentarian on his phone.

This man was able to tell me several stories about Irish politicians advocating on behalf of Tigrayan people. Meanwhile, I stood there slightly baffled trying to remember the names of the parliamentarians he was talking about as the only thing that came to my mind when I saw the pictures was that one of the politicians was famous at home for never wearing a suit.

All in all, this week was very stagnant but I am looking forward to seeing whether the protest will have a positive impact. I am also excited about trying to come up with new activities to keep our volunteers engaged over the next few days. Hopefully we will be able to make the most of our time away from the arrival center and use it to learn more and get to know the volunteers, who we will be working with in the future, better.

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