Living in Brussels: Fouad Ahidar, member of parliament

“Brussels is a free, beautiful and green city, an intersection of different cultures and communities. But Brussels has two sides. Brussels is also dirty, dangerous and poor. Some people pay 125 euro a month for a shabby mattress and a room which they have to share with nine other people. If we keep on claiming that Brussels is rich and that its problems are negligible, then we can expect serious problems. Besides, if people couldn’t earn some money without declaring it now and again, the bomb would have exploded already.” Fouad Ahidar (31) is MP for >Spirit in the Brussels Parliament.
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“I do sometimes feel like: we live here and we’re allowed to say and do a lot, but ultimately double standards are applied: one for white Belgians and one for the >allochtonous population. I don’t like that. I want to be treated as a Belgian, as a citizen of this country. I’m a third generation Belgian. My grandfather emigrated to Belgium during the sixties, my father grew up here and I was born and raised here. I have a mixed marriage and we have four children. But still people call my children >allochtonous. They are constantly highlighting that we’re different, that our roots are elsewhere and I think this should stop.”

“If they would stop pointing out the differences between the allochtonous and autochtonous population, we would make great progress. We should also stop handing out subsidies to the allochtonous population just because they are immigrants. It only reinforces the differences which I detest. Problems of a Belgian are seen as social problems whereas the ones from an immigrant are treated as integration problems. This approach is wrong. Both are social problems. That is why my task in Brussels is to reconcile the allochtonous with the autochtonous people. How can we get to know each other and our histories better?”

“I would also like to change the belief among many immigrants that every Flemish person is a racist. If 15 percent votes for >Vlaams Belang, this also means that 85 percent does not. Racism or misbehaving immigrant children are not the only reason for their success. I’m sick of hearing that >Vlaams Blok got more votes because of immigration issues. There are other reasons why people vote extreme right. Lots of other things go wrong and make people grumble. Where the danger lies, is that angry people can only vote for Vlaams Blok, the sole opposition party.”

“Many Moroccans don’t like my ideas. ‘Balance’, ‘raciste’, ‘il veut protéger le Vlaams Blok’ (>translation), that’s what people tell me. They reproach me that I want to protect the Vlaams Blok. Even though eventually they turn around and say: ‘Fouad, you’re right. Look at my son. He’s a coke addict and needs >1000 Belgian francs a day to pay for his addiction.’ And then I reply: ‘And what have you done? You were laughing when somebody in a bar told you that he had brought a kilo of coke from Italy. Instead of calling the police. It didn’t even cross your mind that maybe that kilo would one day meet your son.’”
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“I want to fight poverty, drugdealing and bad housing. I want to tell people that they have rights as well as duties. When a fifteen-year-old Moroccan tells me: ‘I have no work, that’s discrimination.’ I reply: ‘You shouldn’t be working yet. You should still be at school. Finish your studies first and make sure you’re bilingual. If after that you still don’t find a job, then you’re allowed to complain and call it discrimination.’”

“These complaints have a lot to do with established terms such as ‘allochtonous population’ and ‘integration’. They’ve stigmatised a whole generation. No job? It is  automatically attributed to the fact that they are immigrants.  Instead of asking themselves whether there may be other reasons, such as: do I have the right qualifications, am I bilingual, am I willing to look for a job outside Brussels?”

“But it’s the same song over and over again. If a Belgian says something to an allochtonous youngster, he’s a racist. If  I, of Moroccan descent, say something, I support the Vlaams Blok. It’s a no-win situation.”
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“I’m familiar with the problems in Brussels and the situation of its inhabitants. I would like to tackle them. I want to represent everybody. I am a Belgian, Brussels and Flemish politician. When a Belgian does something wrong, I will denounce it and I will do the same for immigrants.  Anyone who incites hatred, is wrong.”

from: Brussel deze week, 26/08/05