2023-04-22 16:40:59
The young Tournaisian wants to denounce the slowness of concrete progress for her godfather. And to raise awareness, the 19-year-old is determined. This Saturday, at 6 p.m., she entered a 2m by 2m prison, a replica of the Iranian jail in which Olivier Vandecasteele has been locked up for 14 months. It will remain there for 24 hours in the middle of the Grand-Place in Tournai, until this Sunday at 6 p.m. “We are reaching a stage where words are no longer enough and where we need stronger action, with a visual situation for people. I know this may shock but it is his reality. It will be difficult, but I know why I am doing it. I want a strong message for the Belgian government, ”confided Manon an hour before entering her cell.
She wants to reproduce the conditions of detention of her godfather as much as possible. “I want people to imagine that it’s Olivier in this cage, and not me. I will go in blindfolded. I know I will be cold, but Olivier has also experienced the cold. We had him on the phone two weeks ago and mentally and physically, he is no longer holding up. When he tells us in tears that he won’t last much longer, he’s not exaggerating. It is therefore high time to act”.
Collect letters
The aim of the action is also to encourage people to write as many letters as possible to the attention of the ministers in charge of the file. The family will provide passersby with something to write these letters, which they can then deposit in an urn. “I invite everyone to come and write a letter, or to send it to the email address [email protected]” Manon will go on Friday to drop off all the letters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
1682189215
#Manon #goddaughter #Olivier #Vandecasteele #locks #prison #hours #GrandPlace #Tournai #denounce #slowness #release #godfather