The wind creates a high feeling of cold, but Kris has been happy that he has a new tent for a long time. “One in which I can stand up. In my previous tent I slept in an igloo tent that was in a larger tent. That was no longer possible with my back and hip,” he says.
Normally he should have had a new hip in November and he was now warmly recuperating in the De Mick campus in Brasschaat. But the operation has already been postponed twice. “As long as I don’t have a house, it won’t work. If I come home with that wound, I have to be under a roof. I can’t pick up and down the sand mountains around the fort with crutches. I am now on a waiting list for the operation.”
Petroleumkachel
He heats his tent with a Zibro petroleum heater. “And that works well. Such kerosene heaters no longer stink as much as they used to, the kerosene has become cleaner.” There is a good chance that Kris will spend the holidays in this tent, although he still hopes for his own place.
“The Schilde OCMW has said that it can no longer do anything for me. They do not have a crisis housing there either. I can go to the Kina, the hotel for crisis accommodation in Malle, but my dog is not allowed in there. I have now called the Ranst OCMW. I can come for an interview this week. I can even bring my dog. Who knows, maybe they know of an empty room somewhere where I can prepare for my operation?”
“In the end, I have been camping at the Oelegem fort since May. I have been away for a while and have also changed places here, but most people already know me here. Aren’t you out of here yet?”is the most frequently asked question. Or: “When are you having surgery now?” To make matters worse, my electric bicycle, a white Pinscher, was stolen in Deurne. There was a good second-hand dog cart hanging from it. For me that’s a big deal because it was a low entry bike that I could ride comfortably with my hip and back problems. I have reported it to the police, but have not heard anything yet.”
Pest phobia
Kris’s problems started when he no longer felt well in the social housing of De Voorkempen in Schilde where he lived. “Because of the vermin and fungi, I have developed a phobia of crawling insects. Due to a misunderstanding, I missed an appointment with the doctor this spring for the continuation of my disability. I am a severe back and osteoarthritis patient and survived a knife attack a few years ago, of which I still suffer the consequences today. Due to that missed appointment, I did not receive benefits for a while and was unable to pay my rent. This week I have an appointment with the justice of the peace about the overdue rent to the social housing company. I cannot stay in that house because of those vermin, but I have not yet been offered an alternative.”
In the meantime, he receives a living wage of about 1,100 euros and about 196 euros in disability from the FPS. “After that missed check-up appointment, the CM himself maintains his position that she no longer recognizes my disability and I have to enter the labor market. I wonder which employer in construction – because that is the sector where my expertise lies and I have always worked – is going to hire someone with a broken back, crumbling bones and a broken hip.”
Kris is now looking into whether he can spend the winter in a small bungalow in the area and whether there are public showers somewhere in the Ranst area so that he can occasionally feel warm water. “There are many empty holiday chalets in the area, but I don’t know the owners. If I now heat them and maintain them properly, it’s a win-win for both, right? I’m willing to pay 300 euros a month for that.”
Social housing company De Voorkempen previously explained that this is a complex situation. The municipality of Schilde agrees with this. The fact is that a man lives in a tent during night frost. “I’ll see what comes out of this week, I just hope for some humanity, that’s all I’m asking for.”