A woman in the Belgian village of Spy is causing controversy among other residents by hosting around 100 migrants in her garden while they attempt to illegally reach the UK.
The woman, named Améline, has hosted a number of migrants on her property for the better part of a year but the number has grown to where there are now nearly one hundred, mostly African, migrants camped in tents in the area, broadcaster RTL reports.
The migrants are fed, housed and cleaned for by Améline and her family. “We try to do our best, they are clean … we are always behind them, but it’s not easy for us, we are starting to become exhausted,” Améline said.
While at least one neighbour helps Améline, several others have demanded that the police act and move the illegal migrants from the village, with one resident arguing that the camp smelled terrible in the summer.
Améline has attempted to placate the neighbours by moving some of the migrant tents to a nearby motorway where migrants often attempt to hitch a ride on trucks headed for the UK.
“I respect the work of the police and the commune. If they come, they come but not on my private land! That’s for sure!” Améline said after police vowed to move some of the migrant tents from the area.
Other areas of Belgium are also dealing with migrant squatter camps, some in public parks such as Brussels’ Maximilien Park where organised gangs set up “intimate spaces” for migrants to have sex with local prostitutes last year.
The park has also become a hub for criminality and violence with a police officer being stabbed after attempting to wake up a pair of migrants.
Most of the migrants are actively attempting to reach the UK, rather than stay in Belgium. This led Kruibeke police chief Wim Pieteraerens to question why his officers should detain them and not allow them to pass to the UK.
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