Migrant hunger strike puts pressure on Belgian government

A hunger strike by hundreds of migrants living in Belgium without legal permission is putting increasing pressure on a government coalition weighing the wellbeing of those involved against the need to stick to immigration and asylum rules

BRUSSELS -- A hunger strike by hundreds of migrants living in Belgium without legal permission is putting increasing pressure on a government coalition weighing the wellbeing of those involved against the need to stick to immigration and asylum rules. The hunger strike started May 23 in two universities and a Brussels church, by migrants desperate to obtain legal residency papers to continue and improve their lives in a nation of 11.5 million where some say they have been working and living for a decade. To highlight their desperation, some hunger strikers stitched their lips together this week, and only accepted small amounts of liquids through a straw. Estimates of the number participating range as high as 400 but Migration and Asylum State Secretary Sammy Mahdi has used a figure of about 200. “I have started this, I have to do it till the end. I put my life at risk, I lost 15 kilos (33 pounds). I am able to lose another 15 (33 pounds) or 20 kilos (44 pounds) to be regularized," said Yasser Medouni, a 26-year-old from Algeria who said he arrived in Belgium five years ago.