The most complicated question one can ask me may be summed up in the following four words — “Where are you from?”. Whether the intention is innocent or deliberate, it triggers an internal tug of war between the literal and the figurative, fused with a layer of time.
I am who I am
To start untangling the layers of complexity, one needs to start where it all started — I was born in Brussels. More precisely, in a hospital in Uccle that was named after a British nurse — Edith Cavell — who revolutionised nursing in Belgium in the early 20th Century.
The subsequent summer after I was born — in 1989 — the Brussels-Capital Region was born. And my journey through the years has been like the Brussels-Capital region, one of a search for an identity, freedom and responsibility. I am under no illusions that I may come across as different. I have an English-sounding last name, a feminine and foreign-sounding first name, and a facial complexity that betrays stereotypical Western features and invites an ironic ‘ha-ha’ moment when making a connection between my scalp and my last name.
And funnily enough, I think that makes me Belgian, and a true Brusselleer.
Because what makes one Belgian? Brusselleer? The different backgrounds and sometimes surrealism that shape that unique and quirky vibe. The roots that may be foreign, yet all too common, the air of the ‘bon enfant’, that often punches above its weight, and when it does, does not take itself too seriously.
So what do I finally answer whenever I am asked those four words, you ask? An answer that to me is closest to the truth: “I am a World citizen, from Brussels”.
Give me liberty, give me identity
Sociology, in similar way, has tried to answer that four-word question — as has Belgian law.
Sociologists have explored that question by introducing concepts such as social structures and social integration. The latter was first introduced by the famed French sociologist Emile Durkheim, during his research on suicide rates. It is one of the three main dimensions (the other two being Economic and Identity) of studying a newcomer’s experience of being incorporated into the social structure of one’s host country.
Additionally, two leading diversity theories emerged: on the one hand assimilation theory argues that immigrants should adopt the cultural norms and values of the dominant society, through successive generations; on the other hand multiculturalism theory argues for a coexistence of multiple cultures and the recognition and preservation of cultural diversity within the host society.
Belgian law has also tried to clarify this issue and define social integration. The Belgian Nationality Code was first legislated in 1984 and most recently reformed in 2013, using a mixture of the principles of jus sanguinis and jus soli — nationality through kin versus nationality through birthrights. In it, it defines what constitutes one to be a foreigner and a native, and how one may acquire nationality in the case of the former. It also incorporated notions from sociology, by requiring proof of social integration, combined with proof of either economic or identity integration, based on the duration of the stay.
Coming back to the example of integration in Brussels, one can observe that it comes with mixed results. Take identity integration, for example. Some of the residents and nationals have decided to embrace and fully adopt the Brussels identity, while others chose to stick to the identities of their roots. Curiously enough, time did not play a part — some have embraced their new Brussels and Belgian identities in the span of months. And others still decide to reject their Belgian and Brussels identity after several generations.
Why is that? And more importantly, how should this be addressed?
Blending in, Belgian’ing out
On the face of it, the answer may simply be that people have either a strong penchant or dislike for the identity itself. However, if one digs deeper, one may find a more nuanced and simpler answer — residents have a hard time actually deciphering what the Belgian and Brussels identity is.
As hard as it may be to believe, foreign residents are not the only ones who have a complicated relationship with identity. Native Belgians from the North to the South of the country have undergone a similar complex journey of trying to identify what being Belgian means. There is even a word for the identity — Belgitude — ironically defined less by what it is, and more by what it is not. With a history of having been conquered and occupied by foreign powers, the Belgian status has always been challenged, and the Belgian identity shaped around not being French, German, or Dutch.
And yet, there exist successful use cases of cities in Belgium that managed to successfully create an identity around their city and successfully have their residents subscribe to it and integrate. Mechelen is one such example, under the mayorship of the Liberal Bart Somers, once voted the World’s Best Mayor.
Under his leadership, the residents of Mechelen became proud to call themselves Mechelaars again, to be part of a community of over 138 nationalities that had successfully integrated in the span of 15 years by focusing on a three-pronged approach: safety, improving public space, and fostering inclusion.
With a first focus on safety — Somers tackled the safety issue by dramatically increasing police spending and forces over this time period, as well as having more cameras installed than anywhere else in Flanders. In the end, the bet paid off, since the presence of safety built trust, attracted back those that had left, as well as encouraged financial and social stability in a once unstable city.
If Mechelen did it, couldn’t the rest of Belgium do that too? And in particular Brussels?
With work and civics comes responsibility
Successful and lasting Integration – be it social or economic – is possible in Brussels. Brussels residents can take a step further in inclusion by taking part in civic activity. With Belgium being notoriously political and Brussels as its capital, civic activity should come naturally. At least in my case it did — I became active in local Belgian politics, joined a local political party, and am now running for a local councillor position in October in my municipality of birth.
And even though civic activity is one way one can engage, there are many other ways that residents and immigrants can untangle from the shackles of the past and embrace the Brussels identity. Many second and third-generation immigrants have come to the realisation that emancipation is possible, and have put importance to language training, work, and upward mobility.
The Belgian government must support this realisation and emancipation, by introducing targeted social integration programs, incentivised by social contributions pending its success. Similarly, it must encourage better access to work — it can get inspiration from the Swedish Fast Track initiative — and recognition of foreign qualifications.
Such initiatives will at the very least, not only facilitate economic integration but facilitate social integration.
Where are we not from
My story is not unique in Brussels. The city, and Belgium more broadly, is also home for many ‘differents’, who would surely struggle to answer the four worded question as well.
Maybe it would be more helpful to ask: “Where are you not from”.
But even then, I think that the search for one’s roots is beside the point. The journey and the destination should be the focus. To reach the full potential of our society, and allow for an identity to be adopted by its residents, the question that could help resolve the internal tug-of-war of identities would be to ask not ‘Where are you from’, but rather, ‘Where are you going’.
Until that shift in societal mindset, for the better or for worse, I will remain a World Citizen from Brussels.
