Paper details

Paper authors	Dalal Rajab
In panel on	Everyday violence and resistance in Europe’s ‘migration management’ during the Covid-19 pandemic
Paper presenter(s) will be presenting	In-Person / Online

Abstract

Sudanese migrants in Brussels – together we are even more resilient
Dalal Rajab

Despite the hardship and misery of the daily lives of Sudanese migrants caused by having limited rights and access to basic services in Belgium, the Sudanese Action Group (SAG) tells a positive story from Brussels that this gloomy picture can be turned into a promising one. The paper sheds a light on a mall-scale solidarity action titled ‘Sudanese migrants in Belgium: together we are still more resilient’.

The paper explores how the project achieved its main objectives, namely, to break through the social self-isolation of the Sudanese migrants during the Covid-19 period and increase the level of their resilience. The Sudanese values of generosity, hospitality, and solidarity are the driving factors that brought Sudanese migrants together with other Brussels-based volunteers of Belgium Kitchen to make traditional Sudanese and international dishes for homeless people in Brussels. The paper reveals how SAG addressed the challenge of people’s unwillingness to speak out about their daily suffering; an unwillingness arguably stemming from the fact of growing up in a patriarchal community. By building trust, engaging people in meaningful dialogues in small groups, and by creating a multilingual accessible communicative atmosphere mixing different languages (Arabic, Dutch, French, and English), SAG managed to create a positive, secure and friendly atmosphere which is more conducive to dialogue on issues of concerns e.g. dissatisfaction of basic needs, police violence, languages obstacles, complicated asylum procedures, Covid-19 related aspects, the situation in Sudan, etc.

The paper emphasises that empowering Sudanese migrants based on their homeland core values, building trust between Sudanese migrants themselves and others contributed largely to strengthen their resilience, sense of identity and self-esteem'.

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