Timecoded Transcript “Thank God I'm in Europe”

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We got into trouble with the police at night.

It was a nightmare. Everything was so stressful.

 

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SVO : Saba, Ethiopia

 

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While Belgians were asleep, we had to try to carry on. We had to try, try, try.

 

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It was go, go, go.

 

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It was too hard.

 

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We always had to make sure there were no police outside.

 

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SVO: Selam , Eritrea

 

 

 

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Sometimes accidents happened.

  We fell over when we tried to run away.

 

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Bad things happened. It was a hard time.

 

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The Sister’s House is like a family, a mother to me.

As if I had found a real family.

 

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I thank God for where I am now.

The future is in God’s hands. Thank you.

 

12.

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These young women have reached England illegally in trucks.

 

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Like many others they have lived in overcrowded refugee camps in Greece and Italy.

 

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From there they traveled to Northern Europe. Their asylum applications were turned down over and over again.

 

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In the UK they are sometimes granted asylum after all. It’s their last hope.

 

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TITLE:  Thank God I’m in Europe

 

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V .O. : I came across the Sister’s House through Caroline.

 

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VO: She had been volunteering at this Brussels refugee shelter for a year.

 

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VO: I couldn’t identify with the women she told me about.

 

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VO: n the summer we went to the Sister’s House for the first time.

 

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VO: It's a unique initiative in Europe, set up by citizens who want to take women off the streets

 

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VO: and give refugees a home for as long as they need.

 

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VO: They call themselves Civic Platform Brussels Refugees.

 

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VO: There I met young women and girls like me: sisters

 

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1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20. About twenty and it’s only half seven.

 

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SVO: Halima Hanbali

Volunteer

 

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V.O : Their faces cannot be filmed. These women have no ID papers at all

 

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VO: and are afraid of being recognized during their stay in Belgium.

 

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It’s ok for the girls.

Yes, great.

 

 

 

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17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22…I’ve lost count. I had twelve.

-No, I’ve lost count.

 

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One from downstairs is up here.

 

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I don’t want to be filmed.

Ok, but maybe your hands?

 

29.

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Like that. I’ll show you. Ok?

I’ll show you.

 

30.

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I was in prison for three years.

 

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SVO : Elsa, Eritrea

 

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You were in prison in Libya ?

-Yes

 

33.

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If you don’t pay them money, they put you in prison.

 

34.

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Did they beat you? - Yes.

 

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If you don’t give them money, they kill you.

 

 

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Many friends of mine have been killed.

 

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All the girls like the Sister’s House.

Because you know, we are all under stress.

 

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Here you feel a bit more free. You feel free here. That’s why.

 

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V.O. :Meron was forced to leave Ethiopia for Sudan because of the violence in her country.

 

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She didn’t have ID papers and risked being imprisoned in Sudan.

So she had to move on.

 

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SVO : Meron, Ethiopia

 

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From Sudan I went to Libya. Through the Sahara. That was hard.

Very hard.

 

43.

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The journey took 28 days. It was very, very hot.

 

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You couldn’t breathe. Not at all.

 

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 A child and a grown-up died. In Italy I got a passport as a political refugee.

 

46.

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I worked there for three years. After three years the work stopped.

 

 

47.

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I couldn’t find a job anymore.

That’s why you had to leave Italy.

 

 

 

48.

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Yes, that’s why I left.

I’m tired. Sorry.

 

49.

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Dreadful. Come here.

 

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V.O. :What strikes you is their fierce courage. The fact that they keep going and don’t lose hope.

 

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Sometimes they have fiery eyes. //Sometimes they seem worn out

from the hardship they have had to endure.

 

52.

SVO: Tina, Ethiopia00:05:06:14 – 00:05:12:03

 

 

53.

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I want a good life. I want to work in Europe.

 

54.

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I want ID papers. I want a house. Because I’m

tired.

 

55.

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Didn’t they have any garlic?

When did you start as a volunteer?

 

 

 

 

 

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In December 2017, because it was very cold.

 

 

57.

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Many people started housing refugees then

because it was really very, very cold.

 

58.

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SVO : Françoise Lecocq, volunteer

 

59.

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It was hard for me to know that people were having to sleep outside in the park in the

freezing cold.

 

60.

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I’m from the countryside and people there say that in winter you bring in the animals.

 

61.

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You don’t leave the animals outside. So I think that you don’t leave people outside either.

 

62.

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V.O.:  It’s winter. We are on our way to Maximilian Park.

 

63.

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 Here the refugees meet and spend the night when they have nowhere to go.

 

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You have to be very careful. Cameras are not welcome.

 

65.

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Too much negative coverage in the media has made the refugees bitter.

 

66.

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Hi guys. How are you? Did you sleep in the park last night?

 

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Is this yours? This blue canvas?

 

68.

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No, someone is sleeping there.

He’s still there. He is sleeping inside.

 

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You know him? No, I don’t know him.

 

 

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Why don’t you go to the station to warm up a little?

 

71.

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The police chased us out of there. They had big guns.

 

72.

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Ah, the soldiers chased you away!

 

73.

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Are you sick?

Yes, since yesterday. It’s a problem.

 

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Oh terrible. Yes, that’s a big problem because it’s very cold.

 

75.

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Yes, I know. It’s such a terrible thing.

 

 

76.

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For Christ’s sake.

VO: Here there are rats running around.

 

 

 

77.

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VO : Mud, rubbish and dirt everywhere. This is how they have to live here.

 

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Hello. Hi guys.

 

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VO.: WE meet Halima , volunteer at the Sister’s House.

 

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May God give you strength. You have a lot of courage.

 

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She had to leave two children behind. One is eight years old, the other nine.

 

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Two boys.

 

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Look where they’re living.

They come to seek a better life.

 

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SVO : Halima Hanbali, volunteer

 

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What they get is worse than back home. It’s quite unbearable.

 

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It’s quite unbearable. Intolerable.

 

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VO : We have an appointment at the Hub where different NGOs and the Citizens’

Platform BXL Refugees.

 

 

 

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provide assistance to the refugees.

A couple of the girls invite us along.

 

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Get in line please. Please. Please.

 

 

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VO : We follow the girls upstairs.

 

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Here the Civic Platform supplies clothing.

Twice a week sisters can come and take whatever they need.

 

92.

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All the clothes have been donated and are free.

 

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SVO : Women’s Space, Civic Platform BXL Refugees

 

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Are you sure?

 

95.

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What colour do you like? Black also?

 

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VO : Meron has been in Belgium for 15 months. Almost every day she tries to

reach England illegally, in a truck.

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How are you?

Fine

98.

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Please sit down

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VO: She is exhausted. We are allowed in.

This is unheard of.

 

 

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So, what can I do for you today?

 

 

101.

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SVO : Kim Keating, Doctors of the World

 

102.

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I need a doctor because I have pain in my eyes, ears, head and teeth.

 

103.

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Has it been recently or is this a pain you have had for a long time?

 

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How long have you had this pain? -Three months.

 

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SVO : Nikhat Kiros Sereke, Doctors Without Borders

 

106.

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Are you alone here, or with a partner or friends?

 

107.

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No, I have nobody except the Sister’s House.

If it’s full we sleep in the park.

 

108.

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Are you taking a chance for the UK or are you going to try to stay here?

 

109.

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I think I’m going to ask for asylum here. Until now I have always tried to go to the UK.

 

110.

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 I’m tired of trying. I’m tired.

There are lots of services here at the Hub.

 

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We’ll try and get you to see a doctor or a dentist...

 

112.

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...about the pain in your mouth…

 

113.

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So tired.

 

114.

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 Migrant women and refugee women are very vulnerable to exploitation.

 

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They are very often raped and tortured.

These women have never been able to trust anybody.

 

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They have been abused, often for so many years that it takes a lot for them to open up.

 

117.

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If we feel that we can help the girls in any way, even if it’s just for one day,

 

 

118.

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SVO: Kim Keating, Doctors of the World

 

119.

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if we can change their circumstances, find them a safe place, find them a family,

get them off the streets,

 

 

 

120.

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give them the treatment that they need,

just to make the next 24 hours better.

 

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V.O : Merwet, Elisabeth and Sanae want to call the children they had to leave with

their families.

 

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If you have your family on the phone, let them know where you are.

 

123.

 

00:11:03:09 – 00:11: 06:18

 

SVO : Anne Etienne, Belgian Red Cross, French-speaking section

 

124.

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I hope and I know it will not happen, but if you have to lose contact

 

125.

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 they’ll know that you were in Brussels last time you called.

 

126.

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VO : It’s the only time they can hear their children’s voices, even just for a minute.

 

127.

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It is very hard for them.

 

 

 128.

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How are your children? Are they well?

 

129.

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Good.

Mum is sick. Very, very sick.

 

 

130.

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SVO : Elisabeth, Sudan

 

131.

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Now she’s very sick. Her eyes.

She cannot go to the doctor.

 

132.

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No money.

Yes, it’s difficult.

 

133.

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Thank you girls. It was precious.

 

134.

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Number 5.

 

135.

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When we started working in the park,

we wanted to get the women somewhere safe.

 

136.

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When the girls come to us and register for the night, by around 3 or 5pm we already

know

 

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if we'll have enough beds for the night or not.

 

 

 

138.

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SVO : Delpine Demanche, Sister’s House coordinator

 

139.

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If we see that we don’t, we contact the families that we know can accommodate the

women for the night.

 

 

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Together we see what can be done.

 

141.

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Women with children we prefer to send either to the social emergency centre

or the Red Cross.

 

142.

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For the men, we have the Porte d’Ulysse emergency shelter.

Every night we can accommodate 350 people.

 

143.

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I think my biggest wish is to see a true European reception policy

and an end to the Fortress Europe bidding war

 

144.

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 – this thing of ‘them’ and ‘us’.

It would be better to stick with the values

 

145.

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we were taught at school when we were young.

You don’t really find them in what we see here every day.

 

146.

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VO : It’s winter and freezing cold.

The women line up in front of the Sister’s House

 

147.

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where they have been able to get hold of a bed for the night.

 

148.

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Ok, welcome.

 

 

 

 

149.

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Number 2557

 

 

150.

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Number 297 and 255. Ok.

 

151.

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Number 348

 

152.

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Ok, welcome.

 

153.

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Number 255

 

154.

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Welcome.

 

155.

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Number 348

 ok.

 

156.

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Wait, wait, wait

 

157.

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Ok. Alright.

 

158.

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Are you alright?

Are you tired?

 

159.

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Yes, because I slept outside for a week.

I kept trying, no chance. I tried, no chance.

 

160.

00:14:07:23 – 00:14: 09:06

Outside it’s too cold and raining.

 

161.

00:14:10:01 – 00:14:15:11

Right now I’m sick also, but what can I do?

Yes, I’m trying to go to the UK.

 

162.

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I do not give up. You know?

You want something to eat?

 

163.

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I left my country five years ago.

I went to Turkey. From Turkey to Greece.

 

 

164.

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SVO: Helen, Eritrea

 

165.

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From Greece to Italy.

From Italy to France and here.

 

166.

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Greece did not give me papers.

That’s why I came here.

 

167.

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I went to the Hub, registered and then came here.

Before I didn’t know about this place.

 

168.

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I slept in the park.

You know, in the park there is too much rain also.

 

169.

00:14:48:18 – 00:14:50:18

It’s dangerous.

Yes, too many boys also.

 

170.

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I’m afraid.

Afraid of?

 

171.

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Yes, too many boys.

There are a lot of boys there.

 

172.

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Before I didn’t know this life, you know?

 

173.

00:15:03:07 – 00:15:07:21

I have to try. I want to go to the UK,

because if I have my fingerprints taken in Belgium,

 

174.

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they won’t give me papers anyway.

I know that.

 

175.

00:15:06:21 – 00:15:11:21

SVO : Merwet, Ethiopia

 

 

176.

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In short, I have to start my life from the beginning.

Then life will be different for me.

 

177.

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Chicken, chicken, chicken.

 

178.

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V.O. : Volunteer Marina Blitz has brought leftovers from a supermarket.

They are free.

 

179.

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V.O . Thanks to the collection of unsold food the Civic Platform is able to keep the Sister’s

House open.

 

180.

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VO: The Civic Platform was founded out of necessity,

because Belgium refuses to take responsibility

 

181.

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for people who do not exist in its administration.

 

182.

00:15:39:24 – 00:15:42:13

Oh great. -Wow.

The tomatoes too

 

183.

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Lemons as well. They will be glad.

These are cherry tomatoes.

 

 

184.

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It all came from the Delhaize supermarket.

This came from the bakery and this from Delhaize.

 

 

185.

00:15:51:18 – 00:15:54:03

Thank you.

Good night and thanks.

 

 

186.

00:16:02:00 – 00:16:04:20

We now have 26 girls. Eight will go to families

 

187.

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and two other girls are still in the park and will be arriving soon. Yes.

 

 

188.

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One girl called me, but I didn’t understand a word.

She says she’s Megrit or Magnit.

 

 

189.

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I don’t know. And her friend.

 

 

 

190.

00:16:23:08 – 00:16:25:08

Have a good night.

Bye! Bye sweety.

 

 

191.

00:16:26:10 – 00:16:26:24

Bye bye.

 

 

192.

00:16:28:00 – 00:16:32:23

VO : The girls the Sister’s House cannot accommodate

are being picked up by host families for the night.

 

 

193.

00:16:33:20 – 00:16:37:02

VO: Another girl leaves for yet another family.

 

194.

00:16:42:13 – 00:16:46:01

 

VO : In the meantime, at the Sister’s House…

 

 

195.

00:16:48:05 – 00:16:53:05

VO : One of the beds has collapsed.

Let’s hope a solution will be found soon.

 

 

196.

00:16:56:15 – 00:17:03:02

Incredible. A new sofa bed has arrived in record time.

We are 40 000.

 

 

197.

00:17:03:16 – 00:17:06:11

40 000?

we are 40 000 people on the Civic Platform.

 

198.

00:17:05:06 – 00:17:10:02

SVO: Adriana Costa Santos, Sister’s House coordinator

 

199.

00:17:05:15 – 00:17:11:02

So when you ask 40 000 people for something, you get it.

 

 

200.

00:17:11:12 – 00:17: 16:16

I’ll show you something. I sent this message: ‘Looking for a Sister’s sofa’.

 

201.

00:17:17:06 – 00:17:26:03

A gentleman even answered:

‘If you don’t find a sofa, it’s Christmas time.

 

202.

00:17:26:11 – 00:17:32:07

So if each of us gives €5, we are 40 000 – we can easily buy a new sofa.

 

203.

00:17:34:01 – 00:17:40:20

Adriana, how many members does the platform have?

We have around 15 000 active volunteers.

 

204.

00:17:41:04 – 00:17:47:16

That means 15 000 people are contributing actively. On social media we have 40 000 people in different groups,

 

205.

00:17:48:05 – 00:17: 55:09

47 000 people on the platform and around 30 000 people who comment and share messages.

 

206.

00:17:56:16 – 00:18:00:00

VO : We ask Adriana for her greatest wish.

 

 

207.

00:18:00:23 – 00:18:05:05

For Belgium to activate the sovereignty clause of the Dublin Regulation.

 

208.

00:18:05:14 – 00:18:11:18

Meaning that Belgium would decide to take on the asylum applications of people on its territory.

 

 

209.

00:18:12:15 – 00:18:20:00

The asylum seekers would then be able to apply without being forced back to other countries.

 

 

 

210.

00:18:21:23 – 00:18:27:24

That’s my greatest wish. Apart from that I have small wishes for lots of different individuals.

 

 

211.

00:18:28:24 – 00:18:32:15

I wish the girls could forget many of the things they have had to go through

 

 

212.

00:18:33:04 – 00:18:36:15

or least be able to move past them.

 

213.

00:18:39:02 – 00:18:43:06

Did you go to school before you came here?

 

 

214.

00:18:57:00 – 00:19:00:05

VO: It’s half eleven.

The night shift starts.

 

 

215.

00:19:08:09 – 00:19:10:15

VO: Libya was very traumatising for Segen.

 

216.

00:19:11:00 – 00:19:14:09

She became a slave because she did not have the money to pay the ransom.

 

217.

00:19:15:00 – 00:19:18:22

I am finally free from Libya. It was so difficult for us.

 

218.

00:19:15:07- 00:19:20:06

SVO: Segen, Ethiopia

 

219.

00:19:19:06 – 00:19:21:05

They kill, they take everything.

They hit you.

 

220.

00:19:22:03 – 00:19:28:04

They smoke and afterwards they use you as an ashtray.

We are not ashtrays. We are humans.

 

 

221.

00:19:28:17 – 00:19:35:17

They mutilated me. My body... So much happened.

 

222.

00:19:36:01 - 00:19:37:12

 It’s so difficult…

 

 

223.

00:19:39:19 – 00:19:43:00

...for me.

It's too hard, you know.

 

 

224.

00:19:43:22 – 00:19:49:12

Sometimes I want to be on my own.

I lost my money, I lost my time, I lost…

 

 

224.

00:19:50:09 – 00:19:53:04

It’s too hard, you know.

 

 

225.

00:19:54:18 – 00:19:58:18

When I cannot sleep at the Sister’s House,

 I go and sleep in the park.

 

 

226.

00: 19:59:11 – 00:20:05:11

It’s so difficult. You know.

It's so cold, the weather. No shelter.

 

 

227.

00:20:05:23 – 00:20:12:00

No food. Here it is like home

I only want ID papers.

 

 

228.

00:20:13:01- 00:20:19:11

When they give me papers, I can relax.

 I will say again and again: ‘Thank God, I’m so happy’.

 

 

229.

00:20:20:01 – 00:20:22:05

After that I can die.

I don’t care.

 

 

 

230.

00:20:22:20 -  00:20:25:14

Yes, it’s my life.

 

 

231.

00:20:43:04 – 00:20:50:05

Hello Sister. Hello, good morning.

Hello, how are you? Good morning.

 

232.

00:20:50:15 – 00:20:55:15

Good morning. How are you?

Fine? Good.

 

 

233.

00:20:56:15 – 00:21:03:08

Cold? A bit cold – mmh? Cold?

Yes. You know, I slept outside for a week.

 

 

 

 

 

235.

00:21:03:19 – 00:21:07:21

And it’s cold outside.

 

 

236.

00:21:10:01 – 00:21:15:00

Ok, get some sleep.

She has a fever.

 

 

237.

00:21:22:23 – 00:21:29:19

Two days ago I slept in the police station.

You what?

 

238.

00:21:24:22 – 00:21:29:09

SVO : Inez, Ethiopia

 

239.

00:21:29:17 – 00:21:31:19

Police station.

Ah yes?

 

 

 

 

240.

00:21:32:03 – 00:21:35:20

One day and one night.

One night?

 

 

241.

00:21:36:13 – 00:21:46:05

Yesterday I saw a girl from the park. She got

on the train and once she was on board they arrested her.

 

242.

00:21:47:01 – 00:21:53:13

Later, near the trucks, they catch you

and keep you in handcuffs until you get to prison.

 

 

243.

00:21:54:18 – 00:21:58:18

They handcuff you, yes.

I don’t know if I could do that.

 

244.

00:21: 57:15 – 00:22:03:07

SVO : Françoise Lecocq, volunteer

 

245.

00:21:59:05 – 00:22:04:00

You are so strong.

This is our life. We have to run for our future.

 

246.

00:22:04:12 – 00:22:11:10

You cannot go back, yes.

 You have to go straight ahead, yes.

 

 

247.

00:22:17:03 – 00:22:20:19

VO : Right after we stopped shooting,

the coronavirus paralysed the country.

 

 

248.

00:22:21:05 – 00:22:22:23

For weeks thirty young women were in lockdown.

They couldn’t even reach the few trucks which went to England.

 

 

 

249.

00:22:26:22 – 00:22:33:00

In the meantime the contract between the Elsene municipality

in Brussels and the Civic Platform has ended.

 

 

250.

00:22:33:12 – 00:22:37:09

The Sister’s House had to move

and is now temporarily located in spaces

 

 

251.

00:22:37:18 – 00:22:38:00

 kindly provided by a medical centre in Brussels.

The Civic Platform BXL Refugees

 

 

252.

00:22:42:19 – 00:22:49:10

 is urgently looking for a new place. Otherwise

by September the sisters will once again be on the street.

 

253.

00:23:35:17 – 00:23:44:02

I want to work. I want a change in my life.

This is not a life.

 

 

254.

00:23:44:10 – 00:23:47:10

A film by Caroline van Gastel

Saar Van Eyck

www.tara-arts.org

 

 

255.

00:23:48:00 – 00:23:50:07

With special thanks to Civic Platform Bxl Refugees

With support from Fonds Pascal Decroos