Eight-fold rise in Burundians seeking Belgium asylum

The number of Burundian asylum seekers arriving in Belgium through Serbia have drastically increased, overwhelming reception centres, authorities say.

Hundreds of Burundians are reportedly sleeping on roads and public parks in Brussels as they wait to be processed.

Josephine Nkunzimana is one of Belgium’s residents from Burundi who are offering basic needs for her compatriots “after an exhausting journey that takes them to cross more than five countries to arrive here”, she tells BBC Great Lakes.

Belgian authorities recorded 263 asylum seekers from Burundi in July, up from just 34 in May and 112 in June. This is eight times more than the previous three months, the Belgian newspaper La Libre Belgique reports.

The paper quotes Dirk Van den Bulck, the Belgian commissioner for refugees, as saying that Burundian nationals do not need a visa to enter Serbia and once there, “they enter European territory via Romania”.

In June, the Burundian parliament ratified agreements on different sectors with the Serbian government.

Burundi, a former Belgian colony, is the poorest country in the world according to the World Bank’s GDP per capita report.

Most travellers are young people seeking a better life abroad with Belgium giving them hope as 96% of the Burundian asylum cases were accepted last year.

“But it is hard this time as many can be denied, [because] refugees from Ukraine are prioritised,” Mrs Nkunzimana says.

Media in Burundi cite ONLCT, a local anti-illegal migrant organisation, urging the government to manage its deal with Serbia so “it doesn’t cause problems” for Europe.