Rabat – Over 400 undocumented workers residing in Belgium, primarily Moroccans and Algerians, have been participating in a mass hunger strike since May 21.
The workers, many of whom have been working undocumented in Belgium for years, are demanding local authorities to finally legalize their stay in the country. International media coverage has shown the protesters emaciated by the month-long hunger strike, with some having sewn their lips shut.
Two Belgian universities and a local church were among the locations of protests. According to Reuters, the majority of the 400 migrants have come from either South Asia or North Africa, having lived in Belgium for years, perhaps decades.
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“We are suffering, there are really some cases that can become dangerous now, the situation has now become serious, very serious,” Abderrahim El Hanine, one of the Moroccan workers on hunger strike, told WION. “That’s why I ask those in charge to take the responsibility with a little bit of humanity, to hear our demands, and to give us the right to live with dignity,” he added.
The heads of the six biggest French-speaking universities in Belgium have become involved in the case, with academics from the various institutions calling for an urgent solution to the undocumented worker’s plight.
“It’s not easy, but it’s not a choice,” explained Abdeslam, an Algerian migrant also participating in the protest. “We didn’t choose to go on a hunger strike for fun, or to hurt ourselves, we did it to make ourselves heard because no one is listening to us otherwise,” he told WION.
Reportedly, the Belgian government is not prepared to negotiate formal residency with the strikers, however, may hold limited talks to discuss certain aspects of the workers’ predicament.
