Sheds | 2014-18.brussels

At the Tir National in Schaerbeek, in March 1920. On the very spot where the enemy used to shoot those who had joined in the resistance, these sheds became the dwellings of homeless refugees. These makeshift houses build by order of the Counsel of mayors the year before were the consequence of the housing crisis that hit Belgium in the aftermath of the war. Refugees were the first victims.

Innumerable houses had been destroyed by the war, whereas none had been built since 1914. Looking for a shelter, thousands of refugees came from the most devastated areas to the capital. The situation they encountered was not easier than that which they had left. Many refugees returning to Brussels found their former home occupied, and sometimes all their furniture sold by their landlord.