"A house divided against itself cannot stand." [Abraham Lincoln]
Back in 2007 amidst an election standstill, Belgians spoke about division. I remember hearing my Belgian coworkers, most of whom were from Flanders (the Flemish speaking region), talking about division. "We are a different people, the French and the Flemish, with different languages, history, and philosophies," they would explain to me. Their enthusiasm for division always shocked me. For months, the city was decorated with Belgian flags and "I'm for Belgium" posters. Splitting seemed like speculation, a very distant fantasy. After many months, maybe even years of an election standstill, the little nation stuck together, somehow.
Three years later, the country is once again on the brink of division. Election front runner Bart De Wever of the Flemish vows to carve up the country if appointed to office. De Wever explains, "Belgium has become the sum of two different democracies (growing apart) with ever increasing speed, in terms of language and culture, but also in socio-economic and political matters." "Has become"? Really? From its' birth, Belgium has been the nation two very different cultures. This is nothing new. Belgium has 150+ years of rich history that includes enduring the devastation of WWI and WWII, holding one of the most lucrative and prize colonies in the Congo, and being selected as the home of the European Union. What prevented the fragile country from dividing back in 2007? What bound this little nation together for so long? Will its history be lost and forgotten? Can the European Union really endure another blow, especially in its home nation?
Maybe De Wever is right and the disparate people can no longer work together. However, before carving up a nation, the political leaders and the people should reflect upon what held these two sums together for so many years. Is unity forth fighting for? Belgium is dear to my heart and I hate to see the country split.
You can find the rest of the article on De Wever's plans for Belgium here and the proposed Belgian curtain here:
No comments:
Post a Comment