LL-L "Language policies" 2003.12.06 (04) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 06.DEC.2003 (04) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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From: Roger Thijs, Euro-Support, Inc. <roger.thijs at euro-support.be>
Subject: Language policies

No place for Flemish kids in Flemish schools in Brussels (De Standaard, Dec
6, 2003).

I guess it is difficult to understand that people have to be protected in
their own protective system, and it's understandable to me that foreigners
do not understand the Belgian model, since it is even very difficult to
understand for us, Belgian people. So I start with a contextual
introduction.

This country was initially subdivided, an still is, in provinces (an
heritage of the French departments), but as a result of emerging political
regionalism, a layer of regions an communities has been interlaid between
the federal and provincial structures, giving a leveling in (forgetting the
European community):

1- Federal institutions (king, government, chamber of representatives [first
chamber], senate [second chamber], extensive administration) / may raise
taxes / do raise taxes

2 - Regional and Community institutions (several governments, several
chambers of representatives, extensive administration) / may raise taxes /
do raise taxes

3 - Provincial institutions (government: governor + deputies), elected
provincial assembly; more or less extensive administration) / may raise
taxes / do raise taxes

4 - Arrondissements: subdivision mainly on behalf of judicial and election
districts.

5 - Cantons: subdivision mainly on behalf of judicial and election
sub-districts.

6 - Municipalities: (government: burgomaster with alderman, elected
municipal council, administration of varying size) / may raise taxes / do
raise taxes

The regional and community subdivision was gradually developed after the
freezing of the language border in 1963.

This kingdom has a freedom of language guaranteed by its constitution since
1830, but the law at the time did not specify whose language won in
bilingual confrontations. As a result French speaking judges and French
speaking officials toke their freedom, and considered it as contempt for
others not respecting their freedom. So it was equality of the strongest.

Pushed by the Flemish movement, language rules got enacted, resulting in
that judicial and administrative languages to be used should be consistent
with language censi. Since, especially due to anti-Germanic feelings after
the 2d world war, these censi became rather politically manipulated
referenda, an administrative border for the use of official languages was
fixed in 1962-1963. [A couple of borderline municipalities got "facilities"
for the minorities, and when we get the international press, it is often
because of incidents in these municipalities]

This borderline reinforced some polarization: the Flemish wanted more
cultural protection (by more autonomy at the expense of the federal
institutions), the Walloons saw their old carbon and steel focused industry
decline, thought the federal government didn't subsidize enough and wanted
to manage their own economy.

As a result there was a parallel development of:
- bodies for cultural, also called "personalisable" matters
- bodies for regional-economic, also called "territorial" matters.

This process toke some time, since the Flemish with 60% of the population,
wanted to assure themselves that they would not become an institutional
minority, in a situation with:
- "one" Flemish region
faced with "two" other regions:
- Wallonia
- Brussels (with a French speaking majority)

The result is momentarily that this new level between federal government and
provinces is consisting of:

- 1 - a Flemish government + parliament, with merged competences for:
   . regional matters in Flanders
   . cultural (Dutch language) matters in Flanders + the Brussels capital
     region

- 2 - a Walloon government + parliament, with competence for:
   . regional matters in Wallonia

- 3 - a government + parliament for the French speaking community, with
competence for:
   . cultural (French language) matters in Wallonia (excluding the cantons
     of Eupen and Sankt Vith), + the Brussels capital region

- 4 -a government + parliament for the German speaking community, with
competence for:
   . cultural (German language) matters in the cantons of Eupen and
Sankt-Vith, both in the East of Wallonia

- 5 - a Brussels government + parliament, with competence for:
   . regional matters in Brussels

(Cultural matters include the school system)

Brussels is meant here as the capital region of Brussels (covering 19
municipalities, including the proper municipality of Brussels).

While the province of Brabant was split in "Flemish Brabant" and "Walloon
Brabant" some years ago, the Brussels capital region was not included in any
of the two, and inherited provincial competences without having separate
provincial bodies

Although the Flemish and French community bodies overlap all over the
Brussels region, the latter also developed its own cultural bodies:
The COCOF: Commission communautaire française
The VGC Vlaamse Gemeenschapscommissie
The COCOM: the COCOF and VGC joined.
(These bodies are composed by elected delegates from within the Brussels
parliament)

Coming to the subject:

The Flemish schools in Brussels are basically controlled by the Flemish
minister Marleen Vanderpoorten, though this is completed with some control
by the minister Guy Vanhengel of the Brussels government. (Guy Vanhengel
represents the Flemish community in Brussels in that regional government).

It is difficult for Flemish people to get their Flemish kids placed in
Flemish schools in Brussels, since there are so many inscriptions of French
speaking people and immigrant people in these schools.

French speaking parents may be sending their kids to Flemish schools for
various reasons:
- the French language education system is regularly short of cash, and in
the past years this caused teachers striking, some times for several weeks
- North African immigrants are numerous in Brussels, and send their kids
most of the time to schools in the old colonial language system French,
thriving French speaking Belgians out sociologically
- the Flemish system (in Dutch) does no longer suffers from being considered
to be designed for giving some form of education of "farmers" in their own
dialect. Dutch became the leading language in Belgium
- since Brussels is enclaved in Flanders, Dutch is a necessary asset for
finding a job around, an even in, Brussels.

In summary, new legislation for giving Flemish people some chance for
finding a place in their own schools in Brussels, includes:

- guaranteeing 27 percent of the school capacity of Flemish schools for
Flemish people (kept fixed and reserved for the first 5 months of each
school year)

- while government schools get their infrastructure subsidized for 100
percent by the Flemish government, roman catholic schools get only 70
percent for construction and renovation of buildings. Here Vanhengel from
the Brussels Government wants to interfere and subsidize the remaining 30
percent, for roman catholic schools in the poorest areas of Brussels.

This clearly interferes with the equilibrium between the confessional and
non-confessional education systems.

So things can be very complicated.

In the text above "Flanders" is used for the new region "Vlaanderen" in
Northern Belgium, including not only the real Flanders, but also
Brabant-Antwerpen and Belgian Limburg.

"Flemish" refers to the officially Dutch speaking Vlaanderen (where Flemish,
Brabantish and Limburgish dialects are still alive, though not recognized)

Regards,

Roger

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