One Alarm, Many Voices

A MULTIDISCIPLINARY INSPECTION

On the evening of February 9^th 2018, Belgian Federal Police carried out a raid at the premises of Globe Aroma in Brussels. Roughly twenty-five police officers stormed the building, arresting 7 people while applying a strategy of intimidation and rigidity. The officially dubbed multidisciplinary inspection resulted in the arrest of seven people. Four of the affected persons were ordered to immediately leave the country while another two are still in custody at the time of writing.

The reaction was swift. Seven days after the night of the raid Globe Aroma staged a multi-voiced response on the bank of the canal at Aachen Quai in the famous-infamous suburb of Molenbeek in conjunction with an eclectic number of civil society organisations such as the municipal theatre (KVS), De Buren, La Bellone, the youth theatre BRONKS, the Center for Fine Arts in Brussels (BOZAR), the Kaaitheatre, the Beursschouwburg, Decoratelier, the publisher BKO and others.

We decided unanimously to join the event.

As we drew closer to the location of the event we found ourselves surrounded by other individuals and small groups of people who all seemed to make their way briskly to one goal. As we were unfamiliar with the surrounding we let ourselves go with the flow, making new acquaintances in the process. I soon found myself in a vivid discussion with a young man carrying a guitar. He was wearing a tight leather jacket, pale blue jeans and sneakers. Hussein, 18 years old, born in Afghanistan and raised in Iran, found his way to Brussels via Turkey and Greece along the infamous Balkan-route. His Family was still in Turkey and the chances of getting them to join him were slim, because he just turned 18. “How stupid is that. One day I’m 17, a kid. And the next day I am 18 and don’t need my family anymore … ?” Hussein was here to sing. Though he himself didn’t witness the raid, a friend of him was arrested. “You know - that happens now more often. I have friends who had to go back to Afghanistan. They grew up in Iran. They only speak Farsi. That makes no sense!” We reached our destination too soon, for my taste, where Hussein rushed to the stage. We parted with a hug. “Thanks for joining us guyz!”. (Out of the personal diary of Sebastian)

It is necessary here to locate the above description, at the bank of the Molenbeek canal, within its geographical, social and political context. In what follows, we shall provide a short review of recent events in Brussel with regards to migration.

GREETING FROM MOLENBEEKISTAN!

In the aftermath of the events in Paris on November 13, 2015 and in Brussels on March 22, 2016, the issue of combating terrorism in Belgium rose to a high level the national security agenda. As one of the perpetrators of said events came from the neighborhood of Sint-Jans-Molenbeek in the Belgian Capital, the impoverished and ethnically highly versatile suburb was suddenly on everyone’s lips. Dubbed as Europe’s terrorist capital or Molenbeekistan, it came as no surprise that the suburb at the banks of a canal soon found itself at the very center of the governments efforts to combat radical extremism.

The regional, federal and local police force was reorganized – a plan that came to be know as the Canal Plan. It was designed as a twofold operation:

1] to counter drug trafficking operations in the district of Brussels

2] to prevent future terrorist attacks.

Its immediate impact was that in the first year 300 federal police officers came to be reassigned to reinforce local police capacity (Ponsaers & Devroe 2016). While the implementation of the plan yielded some success in certain fields – such as an increase in confiscated illegal drugs – the increased police presence also brought about atmospheric distortions not only in the increasingly super-diverse social and cultural structure of the city but also in its relation to the federal government. The Sudan affaire in September 2017 is one of the most salient examples seeing the Belgian government teaming up with Sudanese authorities to help them identify and expel illegal Sudanese migrants in Brussels. Further examples of increased police repression towards migrants in Brussels were documented in the report of Dokters van de Wereld (Global Doctors). The NGO has been providing medical care and assistance to refugees in the northern Maximiliaan Park in Brussels since 2017. In its report the organization tells of an atmosphere of tenseness and paranoia with migrants complaining about seemingly arbitrary checks in public transports, random imprisonment and dispossession of personal items.

Already in 2016 the international NGO Human Rights Watch published a 56-pager with the title: Grounds for Concern. The report not only contains vivid testimonials from affected persons, it also formulates no less than 13 immediate recommendations to the Belgian authorities, including a call for a special training for police forces focusing on international human rights standards, the absolute prohibition on inhuman and degrading treatment and respect for diversity (page 6).

Ponsaers & Devroe (2016) finally elaborate on the increased tension between local and federal police as a result of the Canal Plan, stating that “repressive functions of the police are in essence federal responsibilities, but the social-preventive functions form part of the routine of the local police force” (p.49). In this sense, they argue, the increased involvement of federal police in what was earlier a matter for the local police significantly changed the political and judicial climate in the different municipalities of Brussels.

The events that unfolded on the evening of February 9^th at Globe Aroma thus represent but the latest development in a string of events that started with or were at least propelled by the attacks in Paris and Brussels in 2015/16.

RESPONSES

However, with the Belgian authorities seemingly determined to respond in force to the terroristic threat, civil society organizations responded for their part to the collateral damage those counterterrorism measures were causing. In the beginning of March 2017 a group of about 70 groups representing civil rights advocates, minorities, labor and the arts signed an open letter opposing a law that allowed – and still allows – the government to deport legal residents for reasons as vague as ‘presenting a risk’ to public order or national security.

ENTERING THE STAGE

The response of Globe Aroma took place on February 17^th 2018 right next to the Kaaitheatre. The event dubbed ONE ALARM – MANY VOICES consisted of two elements, which were spatially divided. The first element – the stage – was located at the bank of the canal in an open air area. The organizers also provided tables and banks where visitors could sit down to eat and drink. Food and drinks were handmade, provided and sold by volunteers. Speeches were presented in a variety of languages, mainly in French, English and Arabic. As not all contributions could be presented in all languages on stage, volunteer-translators held up cardboard signs with the language into which they would provide translations.

The atmosphere was indeed diverse. At times one could get the feeling of witnessing a casual get together. But the events and speeches on the stage most certainly proved such impression wrong. In those moments the anxiety, the rage and sorrow were almost palpable. As was the seriousness of the artists performing on stage. But there was a general feeling of solidarity …

In a direct response to the more volatile legal situation – of which the raid itself is evidence – the organizers provided a so called ‘Safe Mic(rophone)’, giving participants the opportunity to contribute ‘on stage’ without disclosing their identity.

The second element consisted of a rather large exhibition area that was located in a former Citroen car dealership. In a corner, somewhat at the periphery, a mobile phone video featuring scenes from the raid was presented in a loop. The large room also featured an exhibition of artwork that was either produced or donated specifically for this event. The main interactive element, however, consisted of four square tables each of which able to accommodate up to 25 persons. At each table topics of current relevance were discussed. The main language at these tables was Dutch. Having only one Dutch speaking person within our midst this fact somewhat prevented us from engaging or observing these debates in more detail.

GETTING TO KNOW THE FAMILY

One of the most emotional moments was the public reading of parts of the diary of one of the two persons still under arrest. It was at this time that we heard for the first time somebody referring to Globe Aroma as a family.

Having witnessed the organisational reach and potency of Globe Aroma in terms of its external network we returned to Leuven with new questions. Is Globe Aroma indeed as coherent an entity as they presented itself on stage? Who are the people using the space Globe Aroma provides them? And why are they coming there?