Getting to know you
Hanif came to Belgium with the help of a fellow journalist. He had fled his native Iran after hiding from government forces following the 2009 presidential elections. Today, he lives in Kessel-Lo, near Leuven, and is learning to become Belgian.
Civic integration programme introduces newcomers to Flanders’ laws, norms and practicalities
Not in a passport kind of way, but rather in a how-do-I-greet- a-stranger or where-do-I-go-to-get-insurance kind of way. One morning, he and his 20-odd classmates discussed, in English, the definition of social integration and what it means to them. A week later, they stepped outside into the centre of town to take pictures of things they believed to be typically "Belgian". Chocolate and fries figured heavily, of course, but also a statue of a naked woman and a surreal sculpture by Flemish artist Jan Fabre of a giant beetle pierced through by a giant needle.
"I think it is very good," Hanif said about the social integration course. "I used to have to ask others to help me with my daily chores. Now I feel more independent." Rachid, an asylum seeker from Somalia who said he left his country because he was being "hunted", is happy to get to know his rights and duties. "I can see this is a peaceful country," he said, putting the Belgian government quarrels painfully into perspective.
Learn how to recycle, get enlightened
It is not only asylum seekers who enrol in the inburgering, or civic integration, programme of the Flemish Region. All immigrants can enter the cost-free programme, which consists of a 60-hour social orientation course, a basic Dutch language course and professional guidance.
At the table next to Hanif was a German woman who works for charity and "thought that this was a good way to get to know the country". Those from outside the EU are obliged to enter, with some exceptions, as are certain Belgians born abroad. They have to sign an attendance contract with the Flemish government and will receive a fine if they break it.
Geert Bourgeois, Flemish minister of civic integration, knows that his job title has a ring of political jargon. Civic integration refers to the process of becoming a fully-fledged citizen, he explains in an interview with Flanders Today, who takes an active part in society.
Bourgeois believes that too many immigrants today are being left out. "We should live with each other," he says, "not alongside each other." He even touches upon the Age of Enlightenment, whose values are enshrined in our society and should be respected by all. "Those are the foundations to which you are expected to subscribe."
Newcomers can be exempt from the social orientation course by passing a test that measures their knowledge of Belgian society. (Have a go yourself on the website of De Standaard: www.standaard.be/extra/inburgeringstest.) The test covers simple practical knowledge, like what lights are necessary on a bicycle or what kind of garbage is supposed to go into the PMD-bag, as well as social issues and legalities, such as marriage being open to same-sex couples.
The test tries to find out "if people know something about how things work around here," explains Bourgeois. People used to be asked how to prepare proper cauliflower with béchamel sauce, he laughs, which he thinks was "out of touch with reality." Today, he says, civic integration really offers "a basic set of values and know-how in order to be able to make it in that big, new, strange and scary world."
Becoming an integration coach
Something that is supposed to make this unfamiliar world even less scary is Bourgeois' new initiative "Samen inburgeren", or integrating together. Based on a similar project in the Netherlands, it aims to pair up someone new in society with someone less new, who both agree to meet at least once every two weeks. "For a chat, a movie, a trip to the park or to the post office," Bourgeois says, as long as they speak Dutch.
Both Flemings and immigrants who've been here awhile can apply to become an "integration coach", as it has been dubbed. The idea is that both people learn from each other. "That way," Bourgeois hopes, "prejudice will subside."
An increasing number of people are enrolling in the integration programme. Last year, the number grew by a third compared to the year before. One in three attends voluntarily. Federal minister of employment and equal opportunities Joëlle Milquet has shown a keen interest and has called upon the regional governments of Wallonia and Brussels to take similar steps. (Flanders offers courses in Brussels, but they are not mandatory.)
Hanif and his colleagues were given one last assignment: go to the website of your commune and find the necessary documents for when you have a baby. Some did better than others, but in the end they all seemed to understand the teacher's explanation of what, where and how, something anyone familiar with Belgian bureaucracy would appreciate.
www.inburgering.be
www.sameninburgeren.be
