Monastère Squat 🇧🇪

This site in Belgium was once a very crowded and controversial squat. The building is a former Jesuit convent, annexed to its church built in 1860. In the middle of the last century, the church was desecrated and put up for sale. It was in 2010 that the former monastery (then in the hands of Swiss investors) began to welcome families and individuals with low means, as well as artists. The process seemed solidary, but the project dies quicly. The high concentration of people in the building brings problems of safety and unhealthiness within the area. The decision of eviction came in 2013 and nearly 220 occupants including 90 children were expropriated by a procession of 200 police officers one early morning in November.

Today, the site is in a bad state and very dirty. The furniture of the families who had settled there is still there, although heavily ransacked, and the renovation project seems to be lagging behind, if it’s still ongoing. The location of the monastery is not really a mystery (the place had been talked about a lot in the press at the time). However, its accesses are well condemned to prevent any vandalism and, to be honest, the inventory is hardly attractive. It was a coincidence that brought me into this building when I didn’t even know it existed. Besides, I was not prepared because I did not have my camera with me. It was therefore with my smartphone and a lowest quality that I was able to immortalize this place. Only the church could not be visited.