Belgium is historically divided into several parts inhabited by different nations. The north and west are Flemish Flanders, historically leaning towards the Dutch. The Flemish language – 'Flemish' – is a dialect of Dutch. The industrial mining south of the country is populated by Walloons, who speak the Walloon dialect of French. Both languages have official status.
There has never been peace between these two parts of the country. So for almost two hundred years, Belgians have lived in a state of truce, cursing their failed, as most believe, marriage of convenience. However, this has not brought happiness, as it turned out. Quite the opposite. The Flemish long felt like second-class citizens: the mining Walloon south fed the new country. French-speaking Walloons sat everywhere – in government, banks, dominated the main industries – coal and metallurgy, which for many decades propped up Belgium's economy.
But after World War II, as a result of the decline in coal and metallurgy and the development of other industries, everything changed in the Belgian household. The Flemish became the main force, and they seem to have forgotten nothing of the Walloons, now calling them 'free-riders'.
The first serious crisis in the relations between the two different-speaking groups, which almost led to the breakup of the country, arose in 1968. The cause was a language conflict: politicians could not agree on which language should be used for instruction at the University of Leuven. It nearly came to the autonomization of Belgium into two regions – Flanders and Wallonia. Then the process was stopped by amending the constitution, which defined the boundaries of use of both languages and granted the two parts of the country more regional-linguistic freedom.
But the idea of separating Belgium, even dismembering it, continued to excite the minds of nationalists, who brainwashed ordinary citizens on this topic at every opportunity. The latest such case was the national parliamentary elections on June 10 of this year, in which the Flemish Christian Democrats, seeking greater autonomy for Flanders, came in first. Their party leader Yves Leterme claimed the post of prime minister, but over four months failed to form a coalition government: he was rejected by the French-speakers. In general, even before last Tuesday, everything was heading towards Belgium possibly suffering the tragic fate of disintegration. 'We are two different nations, and this is an artificial state created as a buffer between the great powers. And we have nothing but a king, chocolate, and beer,' said Filip Dewinter, leader of the organization 'Flemish Interest' (Vlaams Belang), an ultra-right Flemish party that is gaining increasing weight in society. 'It's time to say goodbye to Belgium.'
However, everything was resolved in an unexpected way: the Christian Democrats and Liberals temporarily set aside their differences and agreed to focus for now on new approaches to issues of granting asylum to foreigners and economic migration. The fear of immigrants, writes The International Herald Tribune, unexpectedly united Belgium. Deputies explain their turn from nationalism and separatism by the fact that the invasion of immigrants is a threat to the country, unifies it, and strips it of its identity. And this despite the fact, the newspaper ironically notes, that 'the unifying force of Belgians of all linguistic allegiances is the love for 400 varieties of Belgian beer.'
'All Belgian politicians have toughened their positions on migration issues, and this has led to these issues becoming very sensitive. And we see this now all over Europe,' the newspaper quotes Pierre Blaise, a sociologist and political scientist from the Brussels-based research organization Crisp. 'This does not mean that Belgians are intolerant; rather, the radicalization of the right has pushed the main parties to approve tough approaches to immigration issues in general and to Islam in particular.'
Political analysts and experts note that the decisive influence on the tougher approaches to migration problems in Belgium has been and continues to be exerted by the radical far-right Flemish party led by Filip Dewinter, who is compared to the well-known Austrian right-wing radical Jörg Haider, founder of the anti-immigrant Freedom Party. The main demand of Dewinter's party is the repatriation of immigrants who do not want to make efforts to integrate into Belgian society. His saying 'Tolerance is the Achilles' heel of Europe, and Islamic immigrants are the Trojan horse' has gained wide recognition and support among European far-right groups. As an argument, he cites the demographic situation in his native Antwerp: every year, between four and five thousand native residents leave the city, and between five and six thousand non-European immigrants settle there annually. 'The process is happening very, very fast,' Dewinter warns. 'Perhaps this is the end of Europe.'
According to the agreement signed by the parliamentary parties, immigrants from outside the European Union will be able to come to Belgium to look for work only if there are not enough candidates within the EU. The parties also agreed that special rules should be introduced for immigrants who want to reunite with their families in Belgium, including a requirement to submit a document proving they have the necessary finances to live in the country. The process of obtaining Belgian citizenship is also being tightened. Now, to do so, one must reside continuously in the country for at least five years and also learn one of the official languages of Belgium.
However, not everyone in the country agrees with the tightening of approaches to migration issues. This is evidenced by numerous debates on television, radio, and in the press. The so-called case of the deportation of 11-year-old girl Angelika and her mother Anna Kayamarka, who remained in Belgium four years after their tourist visa expired, caused a huge resonance not only in Belgium but also worldwide. The girl even attended a Belgian primary school. The detention of the family, as well as the authorities' plans to deport them, outraged the public. Only thanks to the efforts of human rights activists and the intervention of Anna Malherbe, the Belgian wife of Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa, who, according to the newspaper, even called this case fascist, the story ended well.
It should also be noted that not all analysts tend to see a national anti-immigration component in the agreement signed by Belgium's parliamentary parties on new approaches to regulating migration processes in the country. Many assess this agreement rather as a pragmatic attempt by politicians to get out of the four-month impasse into which they drove themselves and the country. And the ultra-right took advantage of the situation when the fear of immigrants overshadowed linguistic and ideological differences to exert serious influence on both society and the French-speaking winning parties, which still cannot form a government.
Alla YAROSHINSKAYA.
IA Rosbalt