Luxembourg: Poverty in Europe’s wealthiest country | DW Documentary

Luxembourg: Poverty in Europe’s wealthiest country | DW Documentary

[Music]
who sleeps where me and
others we’ve never had this many people
before I feel like donot fighting
windmills this is where I cook Alexandra
oaz looks after people living on the
margins of
society I hear a lot of people say they
feel bothered by the sight of Beggars
how is that
possible what bothers me is that we
allow this sleeping outside in subzero
temperatures Alexandra has joined the
fight against luxembourg’s new poverty
and four people like s who can’t find an
affordable place to
live I’m angry with the government
because they don’t do
anything they do a lot of talking like
spending 210 million on new apartments
but where are they who then
[Music]
Luxembourg a financial Hub and home to
countless shell companies along with the
European court of justice
in the grand duche every one in 15
residents is a
millionaire in the shadows of the fancy
stores and Office Buildings lies the
home of Stefan and
fence get Alexandra met the two
Hungarian men on the street and is
determined to help
them Stefan and fence live under a
bridge together with their dogs chil and
P
they’ve been here for 7 years now
temperatures are expected to drop to- 7
tonight but that doesn’t seem to bother
them
much I have a lamp with a power
pack for reading at
night they say Luxembourg treats
homeless residents
well uh
here gun you get a health insurance
card these are gun card I can use it to
go to the
dentist and to other doctors too no
problem and you don’t pay for
anything fence tells us how he lost his
teeth from years of drug abuse and that
he was given these Dentures free of
charge in Hungary this is unthinkable
I don’t care where I live whether
Hungary or here here is
better I have no family Hungary is
racist with crazy
politicians Victor Orban is a horrible
man there’s no racism or aggression here
there’s good money
here and good
Charities it’s
heaven what’s heaven in
German him yeah him
[Music]
yeah Alexandra has spent the past 25
years looking after homeless people like
Stefan and
fence homelessness is so visible now
what’s also new are the tensions with
Roma the organized
begging we never had that
before I’ll sometimes get a call from a
shop
owner asking me to come over and take in
a homeless person near their
business they say it hurts our
image and it puts off
customers that’s unbelievable it sounds
like they’re
saying come and clean up our
streets it still feels like people are
trying to sweep the issue under the
rug Alexandra runs a charity association
called Festus or voice of the
street it’s an extremely high press
job outside dozens of people in need are
waiting for a hot meal in the office
Alexandra and her colleagues have to
organize everything for their end ofe
party in two weeks time with hundreds of
homeless people the guest of honor has
just confirmed he’ll be coming the head
of state Grand Duke only of Luxembourg
it’s noon and a growing stream of people
arrive at Alexandra’s soup kitchen from
the area around the railway
station most of the people in need have
a migrant background but they’re also
joined by longtime
luxembourgers a retired nurse Mard
Alberti is extremely worried about
Rising prices in the
country even if you have a decent
pension it’s getting harder and harder
to live
here yeah
everything’s really
expensive even
clothes
everything this is why Alexandra felt
compelled to set up a clothing outlet
one floor
up everything’s
free we get our clothes from collections
that we do
regularly we also created this Workshop
to provide
jobs Alexandra’s team is helping Jose
Rodriguez find a sweater pants and a
cap last summer Jose left his home
country of Portugal to come here with
big
hopes I wanted to work here but there
are hardly any
jobs and what kind of work do you want
construction but there’s nothing to do
right now
Josan knows he’d be doing far worse if
it weren’t for voice of the street he
can’t afford an apartment and is
currently sleeping in a shelter located
above a center for drug
[Music]
addiction Luxembourg is a rich country
but that doesn’t guarantee you
work things are going downhill with the
construction
sector and if you don’t have an address
like me you get practically zero help
from the state
worst case I’ll go back to
Portugal when the construction industry
was booming here people like Jose were
in big demand now like many others he’s
falling through the cracks poverty in
Luxembourg is becoming increasingly
visible at the same time the country
tops the European GDP rankings in 2022
luxembourgers earned an average of
119,00
230 in Germany the figure was
46,50 and in France
[Music]
38590 Yanik VZ is a painter and
decorator in a similar situation to Jose
he’s out of work to qualify for welfare
residents have to be 25 he’s 22
[Music]
it’s getting difficult to find anything
these
days there are more and more foreigners
coming
in and they get everything blown up
their luxembourgers are left to get by
on their
own there are a lot of French people
coming over to work because they don’t
earn as much back
home and they get jobs in places
luxembourgers don’t stand a
chance we’re basically left out in the
cold and they get to have a nice
life they take care of the foreigners
but not us that’s why I say
luxembourgers have been left high and
dry we can look as much as we want but
we won’t find
anything Yanik is angry about increasing
competition on the job market
[Music]
I’m the kind of person who likes working
I don’t want to live off the state so if
I’m offered a job as a heating
technician or a Tyler then I’ll do
it even if I don’t have any experience
as long as you can pay
me Yanik isn’t the only one who feels
this way many people on the street feel
disadvantaged ear time the government
had their eyes opened and provided full
housing
benefits you have all these immigrants
being welcomed with open
arms and to be perfectly honest our
government doesn’t give a damn about
luxembourgers they don’t really do
anything for
us since becoming unemployed Yanik like
the two hungarians Stefan and ference
has been making his way to Alexandra’s
soup kitchen every lunchtime where he
can get a hot meal for
50 and one floor up in the same building
the voice of the Street’s very own
newspaper team are working on their next
Edition another little Enterprise
designed to give people like s Kapla a
path back to
work at first I thought how am I
supposed to start writing
articles but I got down to it and
started writing at first at home and by
hand the editor was really
impressed and then they sat me down at
the computer over there and I started
writing the street paper covers a range
of issues from conservative politicians
demanding a ban on begging to renewable
energy s himself mainly writes about the
housing shortage with tips from
editorinchief Frederick Brown
it’s a niche that traditional media
don’t
cover we’re in touch with people and
their problems which we learn about
firsthand and we report in a language
the same people understand with their
priorities in
mind that’s our
strength we are the voice of the
street s and his colleague Mary Len fge
are both welfare
recipients they know from personal
experience what it means to be poor in
the grand duche of
Luxembourg it is tough when he don’t
have any
money people who do have money can
afford everything they
want but if you don’t it’s difficult to
get
by it’s not as if there is one group
with everyone sticking together
no you have the rich and the poor and
there’s a big
divide the two distribute the street
newspaper to subscribers here in the
wealthy old town area of Luxembourg City
like the ministry of
culture hi stem fund with the newspapers
from s and Mary Len’s perspective
there’s something rotten behind the
Sleek
facade they want the government to take
action against the rise in
hardship in 2022 19.4% of the population
faced poverty or social exclusion
[Music]
sash believes the most pressing issue is
the housing market crisis he himself has
chronic inflammatory back pain and is no
longer fully fit to work and he is also
suffering from the aftermath of a failed
marriage I was married for 16 years and
when we got divorced I had to leave our
apartment the law here says that the
husband has to go
because he is someone who lives on
social benefits known as a Revy in
Luxembourg it’s been difficult for him
to find an
apartment the conversation started out
really
relaxed but when I said where I worked
and what I earned the mood suddenly
changed and the guy said no because
ravies are considered antisocial too
lazy to
work at the same time S’s neighborhood
has become increasingly hip and
increasingly
expensive they want to turn this into a
luxury
neighborhood there are Apartments being
built where you’ll soon be paying
800,000 for a 35 met two room
flat it’s far too expensive
here this tiny room is s’s
home as you can see it’s pretty
humble that there is what I survive on
the
microwave his 18 year-old son sleeps on
the couch across the
room and this shared single room
apartment doesn’t come
cheap I’m paying € 770 for 20 square
meters I don’t even have a kitchen
it’s a good thing I get along with my ex
so I can cook at hers sometimes
otherwise it’ just be bachelor’s meals
microwaved or
canned I’m mad at the government because
they don’t do anything they do a lot of
talking like spending 210 million on new
apartments but where are they
there are so many vacant places there’s
the
answer I registered for apartments all
over the place but nothing happens and
the private Market is out of the
[Music]
question for Alexandra the housing
shortage is an explosive issue that
could divide Luxembourg Society even
more but she’s determined to do
something about
[Music]
it for years sociologists have been
comparing it to a ticking Time Bomb a
situation that politicians have been
ignoring for far too long says antoan
paku an expert on the housing market in
Luxembourg he says the main problem is
an extreme concentration of land
ownership and related real estate
speculation price of land and the price
of flats over
time there is land for housing except
it’s owned by a small portion of the
population our studies show that 0.5% of
luxembourgers own 50% of the building
land ultimately there are about 3,000
wealthy families who’ve inherited these
extremely valuable
properties and they have no interest in
building
housing the dynamic Economic Development
means that their properties will
increase in value by 5 or 10% a year
anyway over the last 8 years property
prices have soared by
74% and rents by
41% recently the government has started
to build affordable social
housing it’s a policy change that’s come
far too to late says Antoine
paku so at the moment in Luxembourg uh
only 2% of the housing in the country is
affordable housing so this this is
extremely low for for standards of
Europe especially for neighboring
countries who have you know been
investing in this kind of housing for
the last 100 years Luxemburg is starting
extremely late and from an extremely low
level so ideally we should get this
sector up to 15 20
25% he wants to see people like s yanek
and Jose spared the consequences of
outdated
[Music]
policy Patrick claymon can also speak
from experience he spent 5 years on the
streets an apartment was a luxury he
couldn’t
afford but Patrick got lucky he pays a
relatively modest € 580 a month for an
apartment including a kitchen bathroom
and basement a subsidized flat provided
by Alexandra’s
[Music]
[Applause]
organization I couldn’t cope with the
situation I was in at the time and got
involved with
drugs but luckily I got help from
Alexandra andem
fund they said you’re not an idiot and
it’s not too late to make something of
your
life otherwise you’ll never get out of
this vicious
ccle Patrick’s hardship began when his
ex-girlfriend died in a tragic accident
this was followed by alcohol cocaine and
heroin
abuse I was an addict which you might
not notice now I was deep into drugs
because of my ex’s
death I went through a lot of things on
the
street and then there was this place you
could go and you were told
you’re in good hands and there’s someone
who will listen to
you Patrick’s been clean for 14 years
and now Spends His afternoons working
for a voice of the
street without them I’d still be on the
street or rather I wouldn’t be here and
I’m grateful for their
help voice of the street also runs this
laundry and has a working arrangement
with a major supermarket
[Music]
chain we pick up fruit and vegetables
everything and bring it here and once
we’ve checked it we distribute it among
various
groups every day Michelle conradii
drives to the biggest supermarket in
Luxembourg it’s located in the wealthy
business district of of the capital’s
kbag
area he collects food right before it
expires with the help of
[Music]
volunteers I’m retired and used to be in
charge of environmental issues at this
store I care about sustainability and
social issues we can’t allow food to end
up in the trash it’s better to donate it
to people in
need when I was a manager here I always
told Alexandra that when I retired I’d
help out as a
volunteer that’s how I ended up atem f
they need
volunteers and this is my way of making
a small
[Music]
contribution the food recycling system
which ensures the coal chain is
maintained was introduced by di
[Music]
Lon voice of the street is largely
funded by taxpayers
[Applause]
but donations are also
[Applause]
important a group of Managers from a big
retail company has just arrived for a
[Music]
visit Focus
people and let’s go
good these visitors have donated a
vacuum sealing machine and are thinking
about becoming more involved
14 tons of food a month that’s not bad
14 tons that don’t get thrown away and
get used in our soup kitchens they make
800 meals a day across the
country the kitchens are staffed by
people who used to be unemployed a lot
of them are refugees like Hassan aluli
and Iraq is the way
in
Iraq and the is is Das Das yes from the
Das I come here at
2015 from the world and direct I work in
uh some
companies here they learn the skills
that will prepare them for the local job
market one story above Alexandra is
reading some disturbing
news they’ll never succeed with
that they tried it last time no
way the government has passed a ban on
begging if it’s banned people will be
forced into a life of
crime it’s just shifting the problem
somewhere
else we’ll still see the people either
at gas stations or in supermarkets but
what they’re really saying is we don’t
want poor people in the old town where
the rich people
are I feel like donkey hot fighting
windmills I’ve gotten used to this over
the last 25 years but we’ve never had
this many people
before we need funding to be able to
function
[Music]
the next day Alexandra has a couple of
very high-profile visitors arriving for
the voice of the streets endof Year
celebration the Grand Duke and his
wife the head of state face to face with
people who are unemployed living in
poverty and with addiction for Alexandra
it’s the most important and symbolic
moment of the
Year 400 people in need have gathered
here more than any previous
year DJ and other volunteers are on hand
to serve them food and
drinks for me personally we don’t pay
these people enough attention and don’t
talk about them enough
sure we have a lot of volunteers but
there aren’t enough we need to do
more
okay Grand Duke AI takes his seat at the
first table right across from
Yanik he’s eager to tell the Monarch
about things from his perspective
property prices used to be lower and now
they just keep on going
up yes the housing market is a huge
problem foreigners get more than
luxembourgers I don’t think that’s right
and I told him
that I also said I hope things change
here cuz it can’t go on like
this Yanik is angrier at immigrants than
the
government even though it’s the
government that hasn’t done anything
about the widening Gulf between the rich
and the
poor the minister of Social Security is
also one of the guests what does she
have to say about the housing
shortage it’s
economics the law of supply and
demand it doesn’t always work out on its
own so you need initiatives to regulate
the market
[Music]
and have they been successful not yet
Alexandra says that imposing a ban on
begging is fighting the poor instead of
fighting poverty here in the wealthiest
country in
[Music]
Europe of course Luxembourg can’t
eliminate poverty around the world I
know
that but I’m not a
politician I try to help people who are
in a bad
place and if we luxembourgers aren’t
able to help people who are
suffering then which country can
[Music]

Luxembourg is seen as an oasis of luxury in Europe, but poverty and homelessness are on the rise. While the government has done little to respond here, NGOs are doing what they can to combat the most extreme levels of hardship.

Luxembourg is a financial hub and home to the European Court of Justice as well as countless shell companies. And with the highest per capita GDP anywhere in the world, the country is also known for its wealth and luxury. But there’s a different, lesser-known side to the grand duchy. Alexandra Oxacelay is with “Stëmm vun der Strooss,” an NGO dedicated to taking care of people who are homeless and socially vulnerable. The soup kitchen run by this charity is seeing a growing number of people searching for shelter, a hot meal and support. One of them is Stephan from Hungary, who’s spent the last seven years living in a tent – even during winter. Alexandra has also noticed an increase in the number of “working poor,” or people struggling to make ends meet despite having a job. Serge Kappel suffers from chronic inflammatory back pain and has been unable to find an apartment he can afford due to a dramatic increase in rental costs. Researcher Antoine Paccoud attributes this to rampant speculation on the real estate market and insufficient funding for social housing. Alexandra can at least provide affordable housing for some people in need. But that help is limited when compared to the growing number of Luxembourgers and refugees who have become dependent on the NGO while living in the shadows of high-profile office buildings.

Poverty in Luxembourg has become an increasingly divisive issue. Yannick Wirtz, who is out of work, feels let down by the government and says there should be greater restrictions on immigration. Whereas NGO director Alexandra Oxacelay refuses to discriminate when it comes to the disadvantaged – insisting that in the wealthiest country in Europe, everyone deserves to be helped.

#documentary #dwdocumentary #poverty
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