🤝 Monday, July 7 at 10:30 AM Our action continues in Ghent, where a group of young people will begin a 5-day hunger strike starting Monday, July 7, as part of “Hunger Strike 4 Justice in Palestine”. We invite you to a symbolic handover moment at 10:30 AM at Kapel OLV van Schreiboom, Kortrijksepoortstraat 252, 9000 Ghent (10–15 minutes walking from the train station). It will be a meaningful moment to mark the continuity of our collective commitment. Everyone is welcome.
📲 More info:
“From June 16 to 21, a hunger week took place in the Beguinage Church for Gaza. Scheutist Jan Reynebeau kept a diary. This is how the first day unfolded”, which you can read day by day on the Otheo website.
© Otheo
HEAVENLY HUMAN
CERAMICS AND PHOTOS
This group of sculptures refer to Cycladic art (4 centuries BC). These human figures
appear to be looking up at the Sun or the Universe in which our Earth orbits as a tiny
planet. They are universal images, perhaps even witnesses to a goddess cult. The
sculptor Gilbert Degraeuwe was fascinated by them and made them again and again.
We invite you to a moment of silence with these images. Let them speak to you. Or turn
towards the light from the West and look in the direction these figures are looking. Adopt
the attitude that inspires you. Breathe calmly. Have a photo taken of your posture and
post it on Instagram with the hashtag #heavenlyhuman
Surrounding these sculptures are also five photos by Kristof Degrauwe from the series
The Tantric Body (Brasilia – 2016). They fit in perfectly with the group of statues. With their
meditative attitude (mudra) and the presence of existing cosmic constellations (NASA)
they express the same mysticism. www.kristofdegrauwe.com
When? Friday, June 20, 2025 – 6:30 p.m. Where? House of Compassion Anna Lodeserto, journalist and researcher Nicolas Lesenfants Ramos, photojournalist (online) The “Adriatic Guantanamo”
On Friday, June 20, on the occasion of World Refugee Day, the House of Compassion will host, as part of the mobilization week supporting the Palestinian people titled “Hunger Strike for Justice in Palestine”, a presentation of the photo exhibition and report produced by Anna Lodeserto and Nicolas Lesenfants Ramos in Albania. Their work focuses on the opening in 2024 of offshore administrative detention centers set up by the Italian government across the Adriatic Sea, now operational with the ambivalent support of European institutions.
The photos, taken in Gjadër—where the main closed center was built on a former military base—and in the coastal port of Shëngjin, are set against a tense political and legal backdrop. They document a profound transformation of European migration policies, characterized by outsourcing, deprivation of liberty, and legal uncertainty, ahead of the implementation of the European Pact on Migration and Asylum, scheduled for mid-2026.
These administrative detention centers could serve as a test for future European “return hubs” and outsourcing agreements with third countries, revealing the most disturbing excesses of a dehumanizing pushback system that undermines the dignity of people on the move—as well as that of European citizens made complicit in this system of detention, rejection, and control.
From detention without safeguards, massive public fund wastage, and irrational migration policy management to environmental damage caused by construction on the selected sites, legal challenges, and transnational mobilizations, the “Albanian model” crystallizes the tensions surrounding the Pact while revealing the opaqueness of outsourcing mechanisms. The images on display, alongside documentation on civil society protests in Albania, will bear witness to this and launch a public dialogue.
Members of the European Parliament who took part in the first monitoring missions in Albania’s closed centers will also be invited.
Image of the protest “The European Dream ends here,” organized by Albanian activists during the arrival of the first Italian ship carrying migrants at the coastal port of Shëngjin on October 16, 2024. Photo credit: Mesdhe ©
📅 When? Thursday, June 19, from 7 PM to 10 PM
📍Where? House of Compassion
🕖 7 PM – Performance by Asma Soulista: Songs & Poetry for Gaza
🕗 8 PM – Open poetry stage: come share your texts for Palestine or read works by Palestinian poets
In collaboration with March to Gaza and Palestinian Refugees for Dignity
📅 When? Wednesday, June 18
📍 Where? House of Compassion
Join us for an evening of engagement where art, speech and solidarity come together in support of the recognition of a Palestinian state.
Starting at 6:30 PM, on the square, a committed choir will raise powerful voices of solidarity, followed by a participatory slogan battle — a space where words become action.
We will then unveil the installation A State for Palestine by artist Alain De Clerck — a powerful artwork that echoes the hopes of a people.
At 7 PM, in the House of Compassion, the evening continues with a time of gathering, discussion and reflection around the documentary film No Other Land.
An evening to make a voice heard, to assert a right. Join us in great numbers.
As part of our solidarity Hunger Strike week for justice in Palestine, on Tuesday, June 17, at House of Compassion, from 19:30 to 21:30, there will be a 🇪🇺 Euronight of poetry with Irish poet Stephen Mulligan, combined with the testimony of French doctor Pascal André, who has worked in Gaza and passed on the call to take up the torch for this solidarity fasting movement initiated by the European campaign “Hunger for Justice in Palestine.” This will be followed by an informal discussion.
On Monday evening, June 16, to kick off the week, we will welcome Brigitte Herremans at 7:30 PM at House of Compassion. She will introduce us to the theme of the week of action ‘Hunger for Justice in Palestine’.
Brigitte Herremans is a Middle East expert who worked for 15 years at Broederlijk Delen and Pax Christi Vlaanderen as the regional manager for this area. She is known for her commitment to Palestinian rights and her critical analysis of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
She has given numerous lectures and talks on the Palestinian issue, highlighting human rights violations and obstacles to peace. Her work aims to raise public awareness about on-the-ground realities and promote a solution based on respect for international law.
Since 2016, she has been banned from entering Israel and Palestine, but she continues to follow the situation closely and maintains contacts with residents of Gaza.
📅 Date: June 16, 2025 🕙 Time: 10:00 AM 📍 Location: House of Compassion, Brussels
Dear friends, journalists, and partners,
We are pleased to invite you to a press conference, marking the launch of our five-day hunger strike “Hunger for Justice in Palestine”, organized by House of Compassion and the Palestinian Refugees for Dignity collective. This initiative, starting on 16 June, builds upon the movements “Hunger Strike for Justice in Palestine” and “Faim de Justice pour la Palestine”.
We are honored to have Ludo De Brabander as our keynote speaker for joining us in the launch of this action. A peace activist and expert in geopolitical dynamics, he Ludo has consistently advocated for Palestinian rights and the end of violence.
We will also welcome:
Other guests will further enrich the discussion.
The press conference will also mark the official launch of Alain De Clerck’s art installation, whose work carries a strong engaged and participatory dimension.
This installation, visible throughout the entire fasting action, will provide a space for reflection and awareness, fully resonating with our mobilization.
The launch event will be a chance to meet the hunger strikers and to learn the key aspects of the week’s program, including meetings, awareness events, and actions.
We are very much looking forward to meeting you and to engaging in dialogue, expressing support, and amplifying this call for justice.
📧 Contactinformatie: 0466 35 08 88 palestinianrefugeesasbl@gmail.com
With our deepest gratitude and determination, The team of House of Compassion & Palestinian Refugees for Dignity
Photo Instragram Vincengenovese Oggi Euronews Intervieuw Daniel Alliet
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