ASTI Distributes Additional €21k in Food Vouchers among Undocumented Migrant Workers

ASTI, the non-profit association for migrant workers in Luxembourg, has taken stock of its latest food voucher distribution campaign to support undocumented migrant workers during the challenging circumstances linked to COVID-19.

For workers living in Luxembourg in an irregular administrative situation, the second cessation of economic activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic has been dramatic. These individuals have found themselves once again without a job, without state aid and without social assistance. 

Since the start of the health crisis, ASTI has been distributing food vouchers giving these individuals free access to social grocery stores. Between 10 April and 17 July 2020, the association distributed the equivalent of €36,000, thanks to the support of the Œuvre Grande-Duchesse Charlotte and several donors, which made it possible to collect around €10,000.

The development of the COVID-19 situation led ASTI to relaunch this initiative in early October 2020. Once again, the Œuvre Grande-Duchesse Charlotte and donors contributed financially, raising nearly €10,000 to help these people in need. Between 6 October and 15 December 2020, ASTI gave these individuals food vouchers worth €21,300. The association confirmed that it would continue its food aid initiative for as long as the crisis rages on.

Between October and December, 90 people representing 35 households and 35 children contacted ASTI as part of its food voucher distribution campaign. These included twelve families with up to five children, four single parent families with one to two children, three families without children and sixteen single people. Most of those who requested assistance originally came from Brazil, the former Yugoslavia and Senegal, although some also came from Cameroon, Nigeria and the Maghreb. The average length of their stay in Luxembourg was four to six years, with six households having been in the Grand Duchy for more than a decade.

ASTI expressed satisfaction that the health authorities regularly listened to grassroots associations working with vulnerable populations and took their recommendations into account. The association also expressed hope that the Ministry of Immigration would be sensitive to the situation of undocumented migrant workers and their families, many of whom have lived in Luxembourg for many years in permanent precariousness as a result of not having a residence permit. The association maintained that these individuals are "a valuable addition to our workforce and their children should have the right to a decent life in our country".