Not the welcome he expected

Refugees Welcome - Vluchtelingenwerk Vlaanderen

Since January, the Cabinet has decided to exclude applicants for international protection who have either applied for or been granted international protection in another EU member state. Vluchtelingenwerk Vlaanderen believes that this decision is illegal, but, moreover, it is inhumane and puts people’s lives at risk. The new system discriminates against single male applicants as women and children are not currently affected.

The assumption that male applicants are not vulnerable and do not deserve reception is unfair and unjust. The Startpunt-team have heard countless stories of men who have multiple reasons for leaving other EU member states. They all have different stories but they all have one thing in common – they have been let down by the State. Here is the story of one of the men that we met. A man who ended up in Belgium by accident, who knew nobody in Belgium before arriving and was shocked to be turned away from Klein Kasteeltje and left to sleep on the streets.

Goodluck was a prominent member of the youth wing of the People’s Democratic Party in Nigeria when the party lost the general election in 2015. He was involved at local and national level and as a result had met many prominent party figures at various different events. That being said he did not know any of these politicians personally. Nonetheless, after the All Progressive Congress came to power in March 2015, in what is internationally credited to be the first peaceful transfer of power to an elected member of the opposition in Nigerian history, Goodluck found himself fearing for his life in his local community.

A few days after the transition, police officers presented at Goodluck’s house asking him if he knew the whereabouts of the former Chief of Government. He did not, he did not even have the phone number of the former president. Despite this, the police continued to question him until one day there was an armed raid on his house. Goodluck tried to escape by jumping over the fence in his back garden, but, he was shot in the knee.

He managed to keep moving despite the excruciating pain but he could not seek medical attention out of fear of being arrested and tortured. Eventually, he found a woman living in a small hut, in the bush, who offered to help him. She let him spend the night in her hut and gave him some traditional medicine to disinfect the wound. They had nothing to stitch to wound closed so the next day Goodluck had to continue his journey with an open wound.

"The assumption that male applicants are not vulnerable and do not deserve reception is unfair and unjust"

The scar on his knee is still clearly visible and acts as a constant reminder as to why he cannot return to Nigeria. After spending that night in the bush, friends advised Goodluck to flee Nigeria forever. They all agreed that he was not safe there. First, Goodluck went to Abuja, where he started planning his flight but none of the options presented to him were easy. Goodluck travelled to Libya where he was recruited into a militia group. He recalls that there were only two options – fight for the group or be killed by them. He chose to fight but it was never a battle he wanted to be a part of. After some months, the leader of his unit, told him that it was time for him to take the boat.

Goodluck is well educated and knew the risks associated with crossing the Mediterranean. He also knew that there would be more risks waiting for him on the other side – Europe is not a safe haven for everybody!  When Goodluck arrived in Italy there was no welcome and nobody to advise him on his rights or where to go. He was detained for several nights. Once he was free, he noticed that everybody was talking about Milan. It was pitched as being the land of opportunity so he went there but Milan was not how it was described. The only act of kindness he experienced was the one that allowed him to leave Italy. A man that he met at the station, bought him a one way ticket to Germany.

Goodluck was happy in Germany and if given the option he would have stayed there and never considered coming to Belgium, however, nobody gave him this option. Goodluck applied for asylum and, although, he was denied refugee status, he was granted tolerated status. This status gives people the right to live and work in Germany for an undetermined period of time. If a person has the status for 12 months or more, they are normally given a residency permit. However, the person can be ordered to leave the territory at any time during their first 12 months.

Goodluck worked with a construction company for 11 months. He was happy there and enjoyed working with his team. He learned German and also had the opportunity to get his license to drive a forklift. Then one day, his lawyer phoned him to inform him that he was issued an order to leave Germany and return to Nigeria. At first Goodluck thought that it was all a big understanding which had stemmed from the fact that he had bought the wrong ticket for a train a few weeks previously. He tried to explain to his lawyer that he had received a fine and that he had considered phoning his lawyer to appeal the fine but, ultimately, decided not to do this after talking to an official.

The lawyer did not know whether the two events were linked but he was positive that there was nothing else Goodluck could do to stay in Germany.  Goodluck’s employer even offered to provide statements of good character to try find a way of keeping him in the country but his lawyer said that a work permit was not an option. The only legal avenue that the lawyer could think of was if Goodluck married a German citizen or had a child. Goodluck had neither a girlfriend nor a child in Germany. In fact, he still had a finacé waiting for him in Nigeria.

"Then he realised that the smuggler wanted him to provide sexual compensation for the journey"

A few days later, his neighbour informed him that there were eight police officers outside his home. Goodluck no longer felt safe and decided that he could not return to his house or his place of work. He met a smuggler who arranged to take him to the UK. After making some arrangements and negotiating the payment, Goodluck met the smuggler one evening and the two of them set off in a car, in the direction of the UK. Except they never made it there. The smuggler stopped the car in the middle of the night in an undisclosed location and told Goodluck to follow him into a room. He did.

Then he realised that the smuggler wanted him to provide sexual compensation for the journey. Goodluck refused and once again found himself running away from danger. When he left the location, he lost most of his belongings as they were still in the trunk of the smuggler’s car. Trying to get them back was not worth the risk.

With only a small travel bag, Goodluck ran and eventually asked a passer-by where he was. He was shocked to find out that he was still in Belgium as he expected to be in the UK already. He made his way to Brussels where he met a fellow African who told him about Klein Kasteeltje. That night he slept at North Station with the hope of being given accommodation by Fedasil the following day.

Unfortunately, this was not the case. Goodluck entered Klein Kasteeltje to request asylum but when his information appeared in the Eurodac system he was informed that he would not be given access to a reception centre. The only advice he was given was to send an email to Fedasil in order to be placed on a waiting list. Nobody told him how long he would be on the waiting list. Nobody told him where he could get food either or what he should do if no NGO could host him. He was left abandoned.

He was referred to a lawyer through Vluchtelingenwerk, however, he spent almost two weeks sleeping on the streets before he got the court decision he needed to secure accommodation. This was not the welcome he expected in Belgium. It is not the welcome anybody expects in Belgium.

"It is not the welcome anybody expects in Belgium"

Goodluck is now in a centre and he is happy to have somewhere safe to sleep each night. He is not concerned by anything else and does not comment on any of the negative aspects of life in a centre. He believes in the power of positivity and that good things will come his way if he works hard and tries to make his colleagues laugh. Goodluck is hoping to be able to settle in Belgium and is already looking for ways to learn French and Dutch. At the same time, he hopes to be able to find a job similar to the one he had in Germany but his dream is to eventually become a lorry driver. After everything that happened to him in Nigeria, he is no longer interested in pursuing a career in politics and craves a simpler life in Belgium.

Goodluck is just one of over two hundred men who have been denied access to the reception system since the end of January. These men are systemically denied their right to reception because they have either applied of been granted international protection elsewhere. This system does not take into consideration personal circumstances – why people had to flee other countries in the European Union. It also fails to take into consideration that those who are turned away are human beings who have the right to a dignified life in Belgium.

Regardless of where a person has been, they have the right to apply for international protection and at the same time the State has a duty to provide protection to applicants up until a decision is made regarding their status. Leaving vulnerable people to sleep on the streets with no information as to where they can get assistance, no food and no money to pay for food or accommodation is not okay.