The Belgian government has said
Nigerians have the highest number of people in forced prostitution in the
European country.
Addressing a press conference in Abuja on
Friday, Mr Freddy Roosemont, the Director-General of the Belgian
Office for Foreigners, said most Nigerians were deceived into the country with
the promise of job placements.
He said most of them are
however being forced into prostitution by traffickers once they arrived in the
country.
“The dream is not real, it’s not easy to survive in Europe without a decent
job. The dream is fake.
“Belgium is not land of milk and
honey, nor is Europe. This was not the case before, but is even less so now, in
a world with many crisis hotspots with severe economic consequences”, Roosemont said.
He lamented that more Nigerians were currently
seeking asylum in Belgium, adding that it makes little sense.
“Asylum is determined on the basis of the
Geneva Convention and economic motives are not included. Therefore the
recognition rate for asylum is very low and the chances of obtaining a
residence permit are almost non-existent,” the Belgian official said.
He said no fewer than 362 Nigerian migrants
sought asylum in 2022 while 380 of them applied in 2023, adding that only a few
of them got their application granted.
“As a consequence, people are forced to live
in irregular stay, without a social safety net, in precarious conditions. They
risk economic exploitation and women risk ending up in prostitution”, he said.
He charged Nigerians to ignore those trying to
deceive them into embarking on the journey to Europe without admission to a
university, a job offer from a Belgian company or an invitation from a family
member to relocate.
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