Creating unity out of diversity

Date: 29/02/1996

By Jean-Paul Marthoz

THE recent controversy over regional and linguistic prerogatives between the minister-president of the Brussels region, Socialist Charles Picqué, and his Liberal Minister Hervé Hasquin may have been seen by many foreigners as one of those utterly incomprehensible issues that makes Belgium so surrealistic and unpredictable.

But it reflected a fundamental debate on the identity of the city that no one, not even foreigners, can escape.

Is there something like a Brussels region in its own right, separate from Flanders and Wallonia, or is Brussels a neutral territory to be split up, with a share-out of the spoils between flemings and francophones?

In the Belgian enigma, Brussels is something different. You can see it and hear it, and it has a name - bilingualism.

In the late Seventies, when the names of the metro stations were announced in two languages, many foreigners could not suppress a smile.

Bilingualism is always an oddity for people coming from strong monolingual countries such as France, the UK or Germany. In Brussels, it is not only a demonstration of language skills, but the clearest sign of the soul and the destiny of the city.

Brussels is 80&percent; francophone, except on working days, when droves of Dutch-speaking commuters from Flanders pour out of the Central, North and Midi stations and into offices all over the city.

In the last few decades, the city has become the bastion of the Belgian francophone and has been, for that same reason, the target of long-standing acrimony on the part of the Flemish nationalist movement.

But who are the people of Brussels? A mixture of flemings and French-speakers, many of whom have Flemish names or Walloon roots?

This description is already passé. In recent decades, Brussels has become one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the West - today aprroximately one-quarter of its residents are foreigners or are of foreign origin.

Every morning, Turkish or Moroccan children flock into Brussels inner-city schools, while at lunchtime some 17,000 EU functionaries clog the streets of the Schuman neighbourhood in a blend of languages and styles.

This trend is definitely on the increase: since 1988, the number of Belgian citizens in the Brussels region has fallen by 5&percent;, while the number of EU residents has grown by 3.5&percent; and those from non-EU countries by 6.5&percent;.

The challenge for Brussels, like any other cosmopolitan city on the brink of the third millennium, is to create unity out of diversity.

This is all the more crucial given that 'Europe' is the only truly thriving industry in Brussels. In 1994, the direct and indirect impact of the EU presence in Brussels was estimated at 156 billion Belgian francs.

The creation of a third region in the wake of the country's federalisation has been the first step towards giving Brussels its own distinct identity.

Under the leadership of Picqué, the city has tried - with scarce resources and paramount problems - to assert its character and difference, against the wishes of those who see only two communities in the country: flemings and francophones.

A key to the success of this strategy lies with Brussels' Flemish minority. Often seen by francophone hardliners as the 'Trojan Horse of Flanders' inside the Brussels gates, they have, for the most part, affirmed their loyalty to the region and taken the risk of confronting radical nationalists in Flanders who want to see Brussels partitioned and toothless.

Although it still has a long way to go before it becomes a truly open city, Brussels has welcomed a great many more Dutch-speaking residents and commuters in recent years. Bilingualism is increasingly considered a requirement in most private businesses. Dubbing or subtitling of films and adverts is the rule.

The Brussels' Flemish community has blended into the city, even bringing its particular flavour and talents to some neighbourhoods such as rue Dansaertstraat.

One of the best and plugged-in cultural weeklies is in Dutch (Deze Week in Brussel). The contribution of Flemish artists is recognised as an essential part of the Brussels scene and as a major commitment to its multicultural identity - a far cry from both the parochialism and false internationalism of Flemish and francophone hardliners.

The future of the city as an international capital where everybody will feel thuis (at home) and où il fait bon vivre

(a good place to live) depends on the respect that the majority can show to its minority.

“The defence of Brussels francophones does not mean dominating nor despising the Flemish minority in the capital,” writes La Libre Belgique.

“It means, on the contrary, the inevitable enrichment that accrues from mutual respect and sharing our differences.”

A division of the Brussels region, adds the president of the Brussels regional parliament, Armand De Decker, “would ruin its prestigious destiny, transforming Brussels into a social and economic desert”.