Afghans continue their march to stay in Belgium

For the second time in the past month, they walked for days to protest their case. Hundreds of Afghan asylum seekers accompanied by their supporters to the streets, walking from 70km from Brussels to Ghent.

Beginning their march on January 11, the protesters once again hoped their actions would put the spotlight on their plight, and attract the government to take action and grant them legal residency. Last month the same group of asylum seekers made a similar walk from Belgium’s capital to the city of Mons, home to Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo.

Although they never had the opportunity to meet the head of the Belgian government, the prime minister did acknowledge their situation, expressing sympathy. However, the group’s target this time, Maggie De Block, the secretary of state for asylum and migration and for social integration, is not showing the same level of understanding, especially after the Afghans delivered her a symbolic ticket to Afghanistan’s capital city of Kabul.

Many of the protesters have been ordered back to asylum despite the continuing security risks in Afghanistan.