Espace Diwan asbl:
Emergency accommodation project for migrants
in Woluwé-Saint-Lambert
Our charity focuses on helping migrants, particularly those in need of legal aid.
Faced by the inertia of the majority of European and Belgian Politicians when it comes to migration, the citizens of Woluwe St. Lambert decided to set up a system to help migrants in need of housing.
Espace DIWAN is a house where migrants can find a safe space to rest, eat, process their situation, and feel safe. DIWAN is also a citizen’s movement with clear aims and political demands for authorities of all levels to address the issues around migration. We also organise events to raise awareness about the global migration situation.
Help us now!
They’re reaching us like a defeated army…
Their shoes are threadbare; their coats ripped; their hats gone; gloves lost; phones confiscated; chargers and headphones vanished; backpacks torn or dropped when they fled; sleeping bags abandoned in the woods ‘*I don’t know where’*or in the lorries heading in the wrong direction.
At Diwan, we are here to comfort these people, but also to get them back on their feet and return some dignity to them. Ripped jeans are for young Europeans who have never lived through the humiliation of betraying their poverty.
Of course, we receive a significant number of second-hand clothes but our friends are so thin that it’s difficult to find their size or shoes that fit. So we need to buy them backpacks, sleeping bags, and all the resources that were stolen from them to fill the wine cellars of the Belgian police. Our volunteers must help them rebuild their nests. And since solidarity is, thankfully, contagious, our guests pass on clothes and shoes that they have spares of to their friends.
That is where a part of your donations go. Thank you for donating to this project of empowerment! Thank you!
What do we do?
Through our actions, we aim to change global migration politics and the stigma around migration. We aim to carry out integration efforts worthy of the migrants who settle in Belgium and more broadly speaking across Europe— regardless of their status.
These are our areas of focus:
* Sourcing housing for migrants/ refugees
* Coordinating welcome events
* Informing the public about the situation
* Organising education **(I think we could be more specific here but I didn’t fully understand)**
* Collaborating with other charities
* Helping migrant people in various ways etc.
This change involves the engagement of numerous parties with all levels of power among the public sector.
Our history
Already in 2018, Woluwe-Saint-Lambert had made an unoccupied house available to us. Thanks to this stroke of luck, we were able to house and feed 12 migrants for 6 months.
In May 2019, Diwan organised a conference at HECS titled ‘From Brexit to a Migration Pact: Politics of Migration on a Global, Local, and Human Level’. In October of the same year, we were able to continue our mission when we came across another small house in need of renovation.
And again in February 2020, the Bewogen cultural festival connected new and old Brusseleirs throughout two days of artistic activities including painting, poetry, theatre, music, and food!
You too can help
We welcome all goodwill, inside or outside WSL: volunteers for stewardship, communication, actions, transport, donations, educational or sports activities, contacts, … Contact our president, Mathieu, via the link below.