Supported projects

DAMASCUS - Trapped in the dusty cells of northeastern Syria are thousands of foreign IS fighters, all having come with one goal: to establish an Islamic caliphate. They come from 50 countries such as Iraq and Lebanon, as well as France, Britain and Belgium. Five years after the fall of IS, they are prisoners in a legal no-man's land, often without charge or trial, written off by their home countries.

AMSTERDAM/BRUSSELS/SOFIA - Adoption is often linked to poor countries in the global South. Yet Flanders and the Netherlands adopt children from other European countries, such as Bulgaria and Hungary. This cross-border research shows that Roma children in these countries face discrimination and fall into the adoption system due to stigma, poverty and lack of support for families. 

BRUSSELS/AMSTERDAM - In June 2020, following protests in the United States, colonial heritage in Belgium became fiercely debated. The main Flemish cities entered into discussions with activists, experts and citizens to decolonize the public space. Four years later, this research examines the promises that were made by policy makers and compares it to the interventions that ultimately took place. 

BRUSSELS/AMSTERDAM - Half of the sustainability claims on company websites are unproven, vague, unclear or downright deceptive, according to the European Commission. Clothing companies in particular jump on terms like ‘sustainable’ above average without explaining themselves in more detail. Since 2021, both Dutch and Belgian government agencies have therefore been scouring the internet for misleading sustainability claims.

LOW COUNTRIES - Belgium as a drain on the Dutch cattle industry

The ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam are the main European gateway for cocaine. Publicly, the Netherlands and Belgium proclaim their united commitment to breaking the backbone of the drug trade. But behind the scenes, differences in political culture are at play, and resentment and gloom reign.

LOW COUNTRIES - How the Netherlands and Belgium argue over the Iron Rhine

ESSEN/HOOGSTRATEN/PUTTE - Belgian real estate agents are seeing more and more Dutch people moving across the border, in a desperate attempt to find an affordable house in the border region. What does that do to life in a border region. Apache and OC Spit traveled from Essen across Hoogstraten to Putte and spoke with owners.

ANTWERPEN/ROTTERDAM - The social damage of air pollution caused by the (petro)chemical sector in the ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam runs into billions of euros. This is according to an investigation by Apache and Follow The Money based on official figures on emissions and transfer of pollutants from large industrial facilities.

ROTTERDAM - The Port of Rotterdam claims to champion sustainability but is the reality matching its marketing?