The Xenophobe's Guide to the Belgians E-Book

Antony Mason

• Herausgeber: Xenophobe's Guides
• Kategorie: Lebensstil
• Serie: Xenophobe's Guides
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2009

Seitenzahl: 94

Beschreibung

A guide to understanding the Belgians, best known for their fine chocolate, which reveals a humorous and insightful view of the people.

Das E-Book wird angeboten von und wurde mit folgenden Begriffen kategorisiert:

Leseprobe

Contents

Title Page

Nationalism & Identity

Character

Beliefs & Values

Behaviour

Manners & Etiquette

Food & Drink

Health

Humour

Leisure & Pleasure

Culture

Custom & Tradition

Systems

Government

Business

Language

About the Author

Copyright

The Belgian population is 10 million, compared with 5 million Danes, 7 million Swiss, 16 million Dutch, 47 million Spanish, 53 million English, 64 million French, 82 million Germans and 313 million Americans.

The population is divided into two main language groups with about 6 million Dutch speakers and 4 million French speakers (plus 67,000 German speakers living on the German border). Brussels upsets this neat division by being a primarily French-speaking pocket within Dutch-speaking Flemish territory.

Belgium is about a quarter of the size of England, and could fit into France 18 times.

Nationalism & Identity

Belgians are not publicly fervent about their nationality. In an opinion poll it was found that 60% of Belgians wish they had been born elsewhere. Their national anthem goes on about la Patrie (which is made to rhyme with ‘O Belgique! O Mère chérie’), but few Belgians can get beyond the first verse. One prospective Belgian prime minister, when asked if he knew the words, began singing the Marseillaise.

“In an opinion poll it was found that 60% of Belgians wish they had been born elsewhere.”

The fact that Brussels is the capital of Belgium is a good thing for the Belgians, because the city’s status as ‘the capital of Europe’ means that people all over the world have at last been able to place their country (roughly) on the map. This won’t necessarily mean that foreigners will know what language the Belgians speak, but it’s a start.

Forewarned

For want of anything particular to say about Belgium and the Belgians, foreigners have saddled the nation with the reputation of being dull. It’s a hard label to shake off: it is like being asked by someone predisposed to boredom: ‘Can’t you say anything interesting?’ Belgians know this feeling only too well. They’ve tried.

A curious and endearing characteristic of the Belgians is that they do not rise to the bait that this labelling imposes. Let other nations crow: the cock that crows loudest will be the first for the pot.

“Reports published by the United Nations have rated Belgium the best place to live in the European Union, and the fifth most prosperous country in the world.”

But those who scoff should beware. Belgian things are becoming fashionable, and not just the chocolates and the beer. Visitors to Belgium are discovering with shocked surprise the genius of Belgian cuisine, the genuine welcome of Belgian hospitality, the gem-like brilliance of Flemish art, even the odd château tucked away in the countryside. The group of fashion designers known as The Antwerp Six have risen to international stardom and the fashion department of the Antwerp Academy of Fine Arts continues to produce a stream of head-turning talent. Other nations are beginning to see that, by the standards of 21st-century Europe, the Belgians in their quiet, undemonstrative way seem to have got many things just about right.

As if to reinforce this notion, reports published by the United Nations have rated Belgium the best place to live in the European Union, and the fifth most prosperous country in the world (after Norway, Australia, Canada and Sweden), facts which came as a shock to the Belgians who promptly devoted a large quantity of printer’s ink to explaining why such accolades are not justified.

Nationhood

The Belgians’ lack of fervour for their country may be in part because the Belgian nation is so new. It achieved its nationhood in 1830, after centuries of occupation and invasion by the Romans, the French, the Burgundians, the Spanish, the Austrians, and the Dutch.

“Independence was won through a revolution triggered by an opera.”

Independence was won via a revolution triggered by an opera. Stirred by the sentiments of Auber’s La Muette de Portici (The Dumb Girl of Portici) the opera-goers rushed into the streets of Brussels in their finery and raised the national flag over the town hall. After a few skirmishes, the occupying Dutch troops fled and the rebels stormed the Royal Palace, where they celebrated the end of Dutch rule by crowning a bust of the King with a Dutch cheese, and wandering through his apartments admiring his wardrobe. These events may lack the heart-stopping panache of the French Revolution, but the Belgians have always opted for moderation at the expense of a place in the history books. And by and large this attitude seems to have served them pretty well.

Belgian-ness is not, therefore, deeply rooted in history. Unlike other similarly new nations, such as Germany and Italy, Belgium is not defined by language either, since it has two main languages: French and Dutch (formerly called Flemish but now referred to as Dutch by Belgians who speak it).

“The average Belgian may look modestly prosperous and content, if a little careworn with the stress of so much comfortable domesticity.”

The average Belgian may look modestly prosperous and content, if a little careworn with the stress of so much comfortable domesticity, the plethora of consumer goods, and all the excellent food. But barely concealed beneath the surface of a placid country that could (if it chose to) see its lack of national chauvinism as a virtue, lurk strong loyalties to, and bitter antipathies between, the two main language groups.

During the 1990s Belgium was virtually divided into two federal states, Dutch-speaking Flanders and French-speaking Wallonia, stitched together by national government and the capital city – a mainly French-speaking bubble surrounded by Flemish territory.

“Il n’y a plus de Belges,” is a common complaint. “Il n’y a que des Wallons et des Flamands.” (“There aren’t any Belgians any more. There are only Walloons and Flemings.”) Today nationalism refers to a fervour not for Belgium, but for Flanders or Wallonia. Emotions can run very high and result in unedifying spats between the two communities, especially at the muddy interface along the border. Their respective emblems, the Walloons’ cock and the Flemish lion, could well be pictured trying to claw each other’s eyes out. At times the very future of Belgium seems in doubt. “We’re the only country that wonders if it even exists,” claims Belgian poet Daniel De Bruycker. It is often said that there are only two slender threads holding the nation together: the royal family and the ‘Red Devils’ (the national football team).

“The Walloons’ cock and the Flemish lion could well be pictured trying to claw each other’s eyes out.”

As politicians from both communities exploit the antagonisms between the Dutch and French speakers on the principle of ‘divide and rule’, calling yourself Belgian (as opposed to Flemish or Walloon) has itself become something of a political statement. Car stickers proclaiming ‘Belge, et fier de l’être’ (‘Belgian, and proud of it’) are not some rather desperate bid to shake off a stigma, but an expression of the desire to see Belgian nationhood preserved.

How the Belgians see themselves

The Belgians are rather too ready to belittle themselves as a nation. They tend to describe their country as being flat and small – in fact, it is neither that small, nor that flat, and they seem to expect an insult. Even the towering 19th-century King of the Belgians, Leopold II, scourge of the Congo, once famously dismissed his nation as ‘petit pays, petites gens’ (small country, small-minded people).

Despite the many good things that have been said and written about the Belgians in recent years, a certain melancholia and lack of confidence still hang over the nation. They have the best intentions, but something always seems to get in the way: economic problems, ill-health, political corruption, the Flemings, the Walloons, the French… or just being Belgian.

“They have the best intentions, but something always seems to get in the way.”

When their couturier Dries van Noten first discovered that the international fashion world was almost blindly interpreting ‘Made in Belgium’ as a label for something really desirable, he was genuinely nonplussed. Belgium is not generally accorded this kind of cachet for high quality, unless you’re talking chocolate.

In any case, many Belgians would say that they don’t see themselves as Belgian at all, but as Flemings, or as Walloons, or as Flemings/Walloons first and Belgians second. For instance, in Flanders, a Fleming who becomes an international star is likely to be championed as a great Fleming, but a Walloon who becomes an international star will be claimed by the Flemish as a great Belgian.

What all Belgians share, however – apart from the beer, the chips, Tintin, the Catholic Church, and being roped together by 2,000 years of history – is a sense of not being any other nationality. They may be reluctant to call themselves Belgians, but they are certainly not German, not Dutch and not French. This sets the Belgians apart: few nations are defined by the negative.

How the Flemish see themselves

The Flemish think of themselves as hardworking, honest and dependable. Look at Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp, a magnificent trio of cities, with their great cathedrals and wonderful collections of art by Jan van Eyck, Dirk Bouts, Rubens, Jacob Jordaens, Van Dyck. These were virtually city-states in their day, and still have an air of individual civic pride and autonomy about them.

“What all Belgians share – apart from being roped together by 2,000 years of history – is a sense of not being any other nationality.”

Today the Flemish stand proud: they feel that their star is in the ascendant, and after centuries of being kicked around by the French-speaking Belgians they know that the boot is now on the other foot.

The tables have turned. As the old heavy industries of Wallonia collapsed, new light industries and the port facilities in the north, as well as tourism, have brought an economic renaissance for Flanders. It is now ranked as one of the most prosperous regions in Europe, leading the rest in information technology, pharmaceuticals and electrical industries. To the Flemish this is manna from heaven and they do little to conceal their glee. ‘Flanders: Star Region in Europe’ ran the slogan of a promotional campaign. It is an overdue counter-offensive to a long history of bad press. The Flemish see themselves at the sharp end of the European economic revival. They pride themselves on their honesty, good nature and humanity, and feel they are cultured in a way that could not be labelled ostentatious. In fact, very Belgian.

“The Flemish feel they are cultured in a way that could not be labelled ostentatious.”

How the French-speakers see themselves

The French-speaking Belgians are more likely than the Flemish to see themselves first and foremost as Belgians. The truth is that they are passing through troubled times. They see themselves as being between a rock and a hard place.

The French-speakers have lost power. They have lost the initiative in a land in which they were once the undisputed masters. Wallonia is taking on the aspect of a pleasant, sleepy province somewhere vaguely in Europe.

“The French-speakers have lost the initiative in a land in which they were once the undisputed masters.”