Brecht Castel is a Belgian freelance journalist and works for the Belgian magazines Knack and De Standaard.

He writes about mental health and international politics. He studied political science, history and international research journalism. 

Brecht Castel

Basic information

Name
Brecht Castel
Expertise
Central Asia, Mental Health
Country
Belgium
City
Brussel
Links

Supported projects

Asbestos: The Lethal Legacy

  • Environment
  • Healthcare

Asbestos is more lethal than previously known. New figures, recognised by the EU institutions, show that 70,000-90,000 Europeans die of asbestos related cancer each year.

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Jesús Ropero died of mesothelioma shortly after this interview. This worker at CAF, a multinational train manufacturer in Spain, removed blue asbestos with his own hands. Photo: B. Jimenez Tejero

Homelessness in Belgium

  • Equality
  • Human Rights

BRUSSELS - This is the first article in a series on homelessness focusing on the Belgian capital city, where homelessness has more than doubled in ten years.

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The impact of suicide

  • Healthcare

BELGIUM - As a child, journalist Brecht Castel lost his father after suicide. Twenty years later he is left with questions. Questions that not only concern himself, because in Flanders an average of three people get out of life every day.

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The shadow of the highest dam in the world

  • Corruption
  • Energy
  • Politics

TAJIKISTAN - In October 2016, the authoritarian president of Tajikistan, Emomali Rachmon, pushed a pile of stones into the river Vachsh with a bulldozer. With this symbolic gesture he gave a new start to the construction of the Rogun dam which started in 1976. With 335 meters, Rogun has to become the highest dam in the world and the largest hydroelectric power plant in Central Asia. Quite a strong achievement for the poorest country in the region.

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