Belgium moved by the suicide of Alysson, 24, trader broken by...

For those close to her, she could not bear to be judged “non-essential”. Alysson Jadin, who died at the age of 24, had happily opened a barber-shop in Liège this summer. The young woman is on the way to becoming a symbol of distress in the face of the pandemic. Especially since she had testified in a report from the RTL-TVI channel of the economic difficulties she was encountering.

In a country hard hit by the coronavirus (more than 15,000 patients died of it) and forced into a second confinement, the drama has moved a whole society, from Prime Minister Alexander De Croo to filmmaker Luc Dardenne. The image of her smile under her red hair and piercings has become familiar to Belgians.

“All suicide is complex, I do not want to reduce it only to its social and economic causality”, says the director, double Palme d’Or in Cannes with his brother Jean-Pierre. But there is “the expression of social despair, of disarray”, recalling the importance of “paying special attention to the most vulnerable people”, continues this trained philosopher.

Alysson was found dead on Monday. Without leaving a written explanation for his gesture, according to the first available elements. But in his entourage everyone made the connection. Unemployed hairdresser, she had started her activity in early August, and would not have supported the closure imposed as part of the second confinement three weeks ago. “It’s very complicated morally,” Alysson said on November 10 in front of the camera.

Asked Thursday in Parliament, the Prime Minister spoke of “a person who wanted to start his business with full of ambition, full of hope” and “was faced with a situation which is not his fault”. This tragedy “has affected us all enormously”, “it is clear that the human and psychological impact of the second wave (of the pandemic) is greater”, recognized the Flemish liberal leader.

Supporting documents that she did not have

Met in Liège, Serge Schoonbroodt, client and friend of Alysson Jadin, says that the latter had told him to worry about confinement during their last meeting. She feared that she would not be eligible for public aid because of the recent nature of her activity, without an employee.

“When Alysson contacted the services that were supposed to help her, they told her that she was non-essential… non-essential activity”, explains Serge, in a biker jacket, tattooed like his friend, whom he describes “ sensitive and fragile ”.

An Alysson fund

“It was necessary to justify payments of social charges compared to those of the previous year, which she obviously did not have”, continues the one who now wants to create an “Alysson fund” to help independent financially strangled. In front of the shop, the tributes have multiplied over the week. Bouquets of flowers are piled up in front of the window.

For Jean-Luc Vasseur, who chairs the association of traders in Liège, at least one in ten brands will not survive this second shutdown after the spring confinement (mid-March to mid-May).

And the question of a recovery for Christmas remains a big question mark. “If we recommend a reopening and then take a third wave, […], it will be chaos, we will no longer talk about 10, 20 or 30% but 60% of closures, ”the trader alarmed.

A fresco was painted in his memory.