Belgium is facing its colonial history.
Five mixed-race women torn from their black mothers in Congo about 70 years ago demand from this Thursday, October 14, reparations to the Belgian state, accused before the Brussels court of "
crimes against humanity
" for facts committed during the colonial era.
At the age of two, three or four, these women, who are now grandmothers, were forcibly removed from their maternal families, then placed in a religious institution located "
sometimes hundreds of kilometers away
". explained Me Michèle Hirsch, lawyer for Léa, Monique, Simone, Noëlle and Marie-Josée, all born from the union between a Congolese mother and a white man, present at the hearing surrounded by relatives.
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“
I call them by their first name because their identity has been taken away from them.
They were speechless for nearly 70 years, unable to tell,
”said the lawyer.
"
During colonization, the mestizo was considered a threat to the supremacy of the white race, it had to be removed,
" said Me Hirsch, speaking of a "
generalized system
" put in place by the Belgian state.
A historic trial
State lawyers were then to speak.
They dispute the facts and the qualification adopted by the complainants.
The "
crimes against humanity
Are imprescriptible under Belgian law, like crimes of genocide and war crimes.
This trial is the first in Belgium to shed light on the fate of half-breeds born in the former Belgian colonies (Congo, Rwanda, Burundi), never officially listed but whose number is generally estimated at around 15,000.
Most of the children born from the union between a black woman and a white man were not recognized by their father, and were not to mix with either whites or Africans.
Consequence for many: the placing under state supervision and the placement in orphanage through the payment of subsidies to these institutions, generally managed by the Catholic Church.
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“
At school, we were called 'café au lait'.
We were not accepted,
”recalled one of the complainants, Simone Ngalula, in an interview with AFP in September 2020.“
We were called “the children of sin”.
A white man could not marry a black woman.
The child born of this union was a child of prostitution,
”said Léa Tavares Mujinga, born to a Portuguese father and kidnapped at the age of 2 in the 1940s.
"Apologies are easy, but when you do something, you have to assume it"
In the eyes of the complainants, the apologies formulated in 2019 on behalf of the state by the Belgian Prime Minister must be followed by reparations. Charles Michel, now President of the European Council, then recognized "
a targeted segregation
", and deplored the "
loss of identity
" with the separation of siblings, including at the time of repatriation to Belgium after the independence of the Congo in 1960. “
We were destroyed. Apologies are easy, but when you do something you have to assume it,
”said Monique Bitu Bingi, during a press conference with the other four plaintiffs before the trial.
She denounced "
a second abandonment
", when after independence, these girls could not get into the UN trucks to be repatriated with the West. The authority of the new Congolese power was contested, clashes erupted, some say they were victims of sexual abuse by the rebels. All are now claiming from the Belgian courts "
a provisional sum of 50,000 euros
»And the appointment of an expert to assess their moral damage.
Thursday, the pleadings before the civil court of Brussels were not to exceed three or four hours.
The judgment will be reserved and should not be rendered for several weeks.
Michèle Hirsch defends the plaintiffs alongside Christophe Marchand, lawyer for the family of the assassinated former Congolese Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba, in another procedure still underway in Brussels.
Australian and Canadian precedents
They cite as an example the compensation promised by the Canadian and Australian authorities to repair the forced placement, for decades, of indigenous children in residential schools or white families. Last August, Australia announced a grand plan of nearly A $ 1 billion (€ 620 million) to try to bridge the gap between the indigenous population and the rest of the citizens of here 2031. The flagship measure resided in the promise to pay compensation of 75,000 dollars (46,000 euros) to those called the "
stolen generation
".
These are the children of Australian Aborigines and Torres Strait Indians who were forcibly taken from their parents between 1910 and 1970 to be placed in white foster families.
A total of $ 378.6 million will be allocated to these indemnities.
After the apology, it is a matter of moving from “
words
” to “
actions
”, Prime Minister Scott Morrison had said in substance, describing these official policies of assimilation as a “
shameful
” period in the country's history.
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In 2007, Canada initiated a similar process by approving an independent assessment process, born out of a comprehensive settlement of several class actions.
The goal: to right the wrongs inflicted on generations of indigenous children, sent to specialized boarding schools created in the 1820s. About 150,000 First Nations children as well as Inuit or Métis children had been taken there to "
get the Indian out.
"
of the child
”.
In March 2021, a report reported 38,276 claims and 3.23 billion in compensation awarded.
At the end of last September, the federal government of Justin Trudeau was rejected by the Federal Court, while he asked for a review of the conditions of compensation.
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