Belgium: persons - The Xenophobes Guide to the Belgians

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 Aubers 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 ny a plus de Belges , is a common complaint. Il ny a que des Wallons et des Flamands . (There arent 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 others eyes out. At times the very future of Belgium seems in doubt. Were 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 others 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 ltre (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.