Lhe violence linked to the drug scene in the vicinity of Brussels-South station is increasingly terrible and also affects children on the street, the newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws reported on Friday based on interviews with healthcare providers, the federal police and Child Focus. These are mainly young people from Morocco, Algeria or Afghanistan who come alone to our country where they are brutally exploited.
Criminal organizations use these unaccompanied minors in their drug trafficking activities, according to a federal police report. These young people are mainly used as lookouts but sometimes also to sell drugs. They are put under pressure by resorting to brutality. An anonymous source who knows the problem well explains to Het Laatste Nieuws that he witnesses acts of torture “almost every week”. This ranges from beatings to rapes, filmed.
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Often in squats
These street children live in squats near the Brussels-South train station. According to Child Focus, many of these young people fly under the radar. Last year, Child Focus recorded a worrying 332 disappearances of unaccompanied minors, but the real number is undoubtedly much higher. Among these disappearances, 256 concerned children and 30 young people under 13 years old. “We are greatly concerned. These children must be taken off the streets,” we argue at Child Focus.
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