Annemie Spaas (N-VA), alderwoman for equality and education, has been actively working on anti-racism policy in Tervuren. The initiative follows a petition calling for an anti-racism action plan and reporting hotline after reports of racist incidents, including feces left at a front door, a vandalized car, and children being called monkey or the n-word, among other acts.
“Since the municipal council meeting of April 24, the council has taken several initial steps to further explore the issue of racism and discrimination,” Spaas told the council. “Specifically, the topic was placed on the agenda of meetings with the principals of primary schools, the education council, and the youth council.”
In April, around 40 residents gathered to show support for victims of racism and discrimination. The demonstration coincided with the submission of a petition to the council, calling for an accessible reporting point and a concrete anti-racism action plan with measurable objectives — the first petition of its kind in Tervuren.
“I have nothing against such a reporting point in principle, but there are already other organizations and agencies working on this every day,” Mayor Thomas Geyns (Open VLD, Voor Tervuren) told public broadcaster VRT in an initial response. He added that official figures record only one or two incidents of hate or racism in Tervuren per year.
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Victims say repeated visits to police have been necessary before official reports are filed. Those who speak out report facing online harassment and, at times, in-person confrontations accusing them of being negative about Tervuren. Police records may also not immediately list certain incidents.
Before the last municipal council meeting, Geyns met with representatives from Hand in Hand, the group behind the demonstration and petition. “It was a good conversation lasting more than an hour,” Geyns said. “The chair of the municipal council has taken the initiative to gather all the party leaders, as there is consensus within the council to work on this together.”
A Congolese delegation also showed its support at the demonstration. The delegation first paid respects to Sambo, Mpemba, Ngemba, Ekia, Nzau, Kitukwa, and Mibange. These seven victims, part of a human zoo at the International Exhibition held in Tervuren from May to November 1897, were only granted a proper burial at the Sint-Jan Evangelist church in 1953 after dying during a cold and wet summer in Tervuren park.
For half a century, they lay in unconsecrated ground typically reserved for adulterers, illegitimate children, and suicides. More than 250 Congolese were forcibly brought to Tervuren for the exhibition.
Auteur: Dafydd ab Iago. © Artikel en foto’s zijn gelicentieerd © 2024 voor Tervuren+ onder de Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International-licentie.
