Brussels: Thousands march to voice support for refugees

ANKARA

Thousands of people marched in support of refugees and asylum seekers from conflict zones in the Belgian capital of Brussels on Sunday.

According to the official Twitter page of “BLXRefugees”, a citizen platform supporting Brussels' refugees and undocumented populations, the number of participants in the rally exceeded 20,000 people.

Several nongovernmental organizations, workers’ unions as well as political parties joined the march to show their support for people desperate to find shelter in European countries. Among them was Mayor of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, Emir Kir -- a young Belgian politician of Turkish origin -- who said: "It is a shame for Belgium that refugees are made to wait on its streets.”

The demonstrators urged Europe to welcome refugees and asked the Belgian government "to open its gates”, adding that people escaping wars in their countries had a right to asylum. Among the several banners held by people, one echoing the sentiments of refugees said: “We are not dangerous, We are in danger.”

Concerns have been increasing in Europe regarding the refugee crisis as heads of EU member states are urged to take steps to accept more refugees.

More than 500,000 refugees arrived in Europe this year and a new EU agreement is to relocate 160,000 more refugees across Europe, which would be the “first step” in dealing with the refugee crisis, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told parliament last week.

Turkey, meanwhile, is hosting the world’s largest refugee population, including 1.9 million Syrians, and has spent around $8 billion over the last five years.