Belgium is 'full': Government launches social media campaign urging people not to seek asylum

Belgium’s new minister for asylum and migration, Anneleen Van Bossuyt (N-VA), has launched a new social media campaign discouraging people from seeking asylum in Belgium because its reception centres are overwhelmed.

“The asylum centres are full,” the campaign reads. Belgium has been experiencing a refugee crisis for some time now, with no space left in its centres and too few staff to process applications.

Information on immigration and dissuasive messages are being disseminated directly to potential asylum seekers via YouTube and WhatsApp, which is permitted under the new federal government agreement.

These channels are mainly used to correct misunderstandings and false expectations regarding asylum applications in Belgium, Van Bossuyt said.

Campaigns are currently being conducted in Greece and Bulgaria, targeting Cameroonian and Guinean asylum seekers in particular and spreading the message that the reception centres in Belgium are full, the minister explained.

Van Bossuyt said the videos were viewed almost 17,000 times in just a few days.