Flemish Government looking into whether existing refugee villages for Ukrainians can be expanded
The Flemish Government is examining whether the existing emergency prefab villages built to house refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine can be expanded. On Friday, a decision will be made on expanding capacity at the refugee villages on Antwerp’s Left Bank and in Mechelen (Antwerp Province). The Flemish Government will also ook into the possibility of creating similar accommodation for Ukrainians elsewhere.
The issue surrounding accommodation for Ukrainian war refugees hasn’t arisen from any new influx of refugees from Ukraine, but rather from the need to find a more long term solution for those that are already here.
Many host families that took refugees from Ukraine into their homes assumed that this would only be for a short period of a few weeks or at the most a couple of months. However, it is becoming ever more apparent that the refugees are likely to remain in Flanders for some time yet. Private homes are often too small to provide (semi)permanent accommodation and some refugees that were put up by host families have outstayed their welcome.
Another issue is that many host families now want to go away on holiday and don’t want to leave their Ukrainian guests home alone in their house or flat.