DriverS of Change

The times they are a-changin’ …

Dylan’s musical poem might date back almost 50 years – its catchphrase never lost its prophetic and admonishing character. It also correctly describes the environment Globe Aroma operates in within numerous contexts. At this point a short look on such drivers of change seems useful.

As a social-artistic organization in Brussels providing an open space in particular for refugees, the very concept of Globe Aroma connects the spatially limited premises in the middle of Brussels to increasingly complex social, cultural and political development reaching far beyond the borders of its property, the city of Brussels, Belgium or even the continent of Europe.

It is not only the unprecedented scope of migratory movements towards Europe that present enormous challenges to the receiving countries. International labour migration puts established concepts like cosmopolitanism to the test. Migratory movements are no longer confined to an elite of highly trained aid workers, experts and diplomats. Traditionally formed concepts of nations, borders and geographically somewhat limited life designs are questioned and transformed with increased regularity.

Super-Diversity

Especially, the traditional nation states of Europe seem to struggle to keep up with such developments. Rules and laws change at an unprecedented pace, creating entirely new segments of society dominated by an equally unprecedented versatility of citizens with different social and legal statuses. Steven Vertovec (2007) dubbed such demanding levels of complexity with the term super-diversity. Within such super-diverse societies new concepts of cooperation and collaboration seem required.

However, such newly formed social networks also feature sites of fracture. The increased frequency of terrorist attacks planned and implemented by so called home grown terrorists could be described as such sites of fracture. Recent political developments have hence been heavily influenced by a number of terrorist attacks directly in and planned out of Brussels. The Brussels-based Islamic State militants carried out attacks in Paris that killed 130 people in November 2015, then bombed Brussels airport and the city’s metro in March 2016, killing 32 people. (Rawlinson, Boffey & Rankin, 2018) In recent elections, the issue of migration and deportation has become a trend a majority of Belgians support.

With 62 per cent of its population of foreign origin and 31 per cent holding a foreign nationality (Petrovic, 2018) Brussel certainly qualifies as a site of super-diversity in Vertovec’s view. The increasing number of migrants in the country has stimulated debates regarding immigration policy. There have been several changes in migration policies in Belgium, with the latest law change being in March 2017. Dating back to the 1980s, Belgium’s immigration law was called Foreigner’s Law, in which deportation is allowed only after the foreigner is convicted of serious crimes. In 2015, immigration law stood on the principle that authorities were allowed to revoke Belgian citizenship from dual nationals convicted of terrorism—however, there had been many arguments (Human Rights Watch Report) stating that this law implies a perception of second class citizens based on ethnicity (Schreuer, 2018). Belgium’s latest immigration law was also enacted in light of deterring transitory migrants, and as unauthorized migration rose the previous summer, the Belgian government ordered a series of heavy-handed raids on informal camps and homeless shelters. (Ibid)

While organisations like Globe Aroma attempt to counterbalance such developments they also sit on the fence as the majority of their funding originates from public funds and programmes. Such structures provide the authorities with access to these organizations through the backdoor. The official classification of the police raid at Globe Aroma as multi-disciplinary inspection is a good example.

Another aspect organizations like Globe Aroma have to consider is the increased global interconnectedness. That is the case not only within the realm of global social networks that facilitate the emergence of transnational and other 'imagined communities' as Benedict Anderson (1991) puts it, but also the increased cooperation between governments with the so called Sudan affair in Belgium in September 2017 being only one example.

Increasing global inequality, the change of the global climate and free communication worldwide – the analysis of the dynamics and processes that – also – boil down to a ‘inspection’ in an open art space in Brussels have to be discussed elsewhere. However, the ability of local stakeholders to formulate feasible responses and alternatives seems imperative – or in the words of Globe Aroma:

“If cultural and artistic operators can no longer organise moments of encounter without the police intervening, then the goal is compromised and fear and polarisation reign... That is not the way to go.”