Eritrean refugees living in overcrowded conditions in Luxembourg, group says

Eritrean refugees are living in cramped and overcrowded conditions in Luxembourg, with up to 30 people sharing a single room, and others lacking shelter at all, a group representing those affected has said.

The refugees held a press conference on Wednesday to appeal to the Luxembourg government for help in addressing what they described as their “shocking” living conditions and difficulties finding suitable housing in the Grand Duchy.

The press conference was held after more than 160 refugees signed an open letter that was delivered to the government at the end of August.

Some Eritrean refugees in Luxembourg, including those with children, have been “thrown out onto the streets due to lack of housing,” Fessehaye Ghebregergis, one of the group’s leaders, said at the press conference, according to a transcript provided by organisers.

“Even though the people and government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg welcome us, the life of Eritreans refugees in the camps [shelters] is very shocking,” said Ghebregergis.

Overcrowded shelters

Due to overcrowding, families are housed together, sometimes with “ten people living in a single room,” leaving them with no privacy. “We cannot even cook healthy, fresh foods for our kids,” Ghebregergis said. Authorities have allegedly told families to leave the sites and Ghebregergis said “they have been warned that if they don’t leave […] their children will be taken away by the government.”

Abede Gaim Araya, who lives at the Gasperich refugee shelter, said “we have great respect for the government and the Luxembourg population,” but added that “currently, our biggest problem is housing”, with parents sharing the same rooms as children.

Abede Gaim, Yodit Andemariam, Sirak Tedros, Marie Yosiefm Solomon Mokonen and Fessehaye Ghebregergis spoke at a press conference on Eritrean refugees’ housing conditions on Wednesday © Photo credit: Christophe Olinger

Refugees have also been told to leave the Gasperich site, Gaim Araya said. “So, where can we go in Luxembourg? How can we leave the camp [shelter] while we have no house and it is very difficult to get a house. Where can we go with young children? We are in a very difficult situation.”

Roughly 30 single Eritrean women “are forced to live in a single large room” in the ONA facility in Soleuvre, Ghebregergis claimed.

“Many of us work 40 hours a week, but we have no housing, we have no place to take showers, we don’t eat properly, and we are afraid of missing jobs due to a lack of a fixed address,” Marie Yosief stated. “We risked our lives to arrive here. Even though we think we have international protection, many of us have no shelter.”

Nowhere to go

Angosom Gebre “used to live in Soleuvre” but said he was “forced to leave” by the ONA, the National Reception Office which is responsible for housing refugees and asylum seekers and falls under the family ministry. “At the moment, I am living on the street, without any address,” he said, while waiting for replies from social service organisations.

Gebre said: “I have work but imagine how difficult is to go to work while you have no house. It’s really complicated and I am begging prospectively and politely to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg or any non-governmental organisation to resolve our terrible situation before the arrival of winter, please.”

The refugees called on Luxembourg officials to “personally and inspect all the camps [shelters], especially the most difficult ones, such as Soleuvre, Don Bosco, Mondercange, Kirchberg and Ettelbruck,” Ghebregergis stated.

The Luxembourg Times has contacted the family ministry for comment.