Missive from Belgium

Belgium as such rarely makes the news, so I thought it might be a nice short break destination, especially since this last week it has not experienced any rail—or general—strikes. A warning from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office advised that disruption could happen almost any time. What Belgians are striking for I don’t know. In Brussels and Antwerp one gets a slight impression of orderly chaos, where things work but could go off the rails (forgive the pun) at any time. My Englishperson’s impressions are partly formed by not having a clear idea of what language is being spoken. These are truly cosmopolitan features of a society which superficially at least has accepted ‘integration.’ Having said which I am sure that historical enmities lurk beneath the surface which some politicians will inflame. Such people could do no worse than visit a current exhibition in Antwerp’s MAS museum which looks at the treatment of Jews during WWII. The exhibition looks at the domestic life of individual Jewish residents, and its descent from ordinariness to horror. For much of the non-Jewish population life went on as best it could, and this for some meant accommodations being made with the occupiers. A German propaganda newsreel showed German troops marching down a street being given Nazi salutes by civilian onlookers. Cinemas could still offer some hope of escape, even if films had to be approved. Such approval might be easier to obtain if the proposed film didn’t touch on the war at all, or at least presented the situation as normal, with healthy fraternisation between occupiers and occupied.
 
At least Belgium hasn’t started any wars recently or invaded anywhere, at least not by force. Near the MAS museum is the Red Star Line museum, which tells the story of the eponymous shipping line which ferried hundreds of thousands of emigrants to the US and Canada. Not just Belgians, but people from as far away as Eastern Europe. In this sense Belgium has been at the crossroads of modern European history. ‘Free movement’ was a reality long before the EU came along. In the case of the US their open door policy was closed in 1954. I believe Canada still welcomes migrants. But the borders are closing up. No more ‘world citizenship’ nonsense!
 
The Magritte Museum in Brussels is worth visiting in this general political context. René Magritte (1898-1967) maybe best known for his surrealistic paintings but he was also anti-Fascist (one reason amongst many why I prefer him to Dali). In one of his short films he presents himself in the style of a lunatic giving an impassioned speech, funny and sinister at the same time, given its basis in the real life nut job who sought world domination. In this regard, with the help of Co-pilot I have recreated one of Magritte’s posters for the contemporary era, below. Enjoy!

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