Free at last
April 2008 – With
An uncertain future
January 2008 – The year that was: As an
enlarged EU searched for a raison d’etre,
Death in fast motion
January 2008 – Grief at the loss of a loved one
knows no cultural boundaries but increasing mobility may be making death a
lonelier affair. Read
on
Voices in the wilderness
November 2007 – Even with a Nobel peace prize, there’s a limit to what Al Gore
can do, and so a group of determined eco-worriers are making plans ... Read
on
Carefree, car-free
October
2007 – Cities across the world took a small step for pedestrian-kind during
car-free day this weekend. Now it's time to take a giant leap. Read on
War of words at the heart of Europe
September 2007 – The
collapse of talks to form a federal government is testing Belgium’s legendary
capacity for political compromise to the limit. Read on
Testing times
June 2007 – Across Europe, the real challenge
when dealing with minority groups is not integration but marginalisation. Read on
Commuting for dummies
April 2007 – In the last year and a half, Khaled Diab has
discovered that commuting is something of a professional activity and if there
are no management training programmes on how to become an effective commuter
and influence people, there ought to be! Read on
Speaking the language of unity
March 2007 – Elio Di Rupo, the flamboyant chief
of the Walloon Parti Socialiste, has called for a network of bilingual schools
in Brussels and areas at the so-called ‘language frontiers’. Despite the
dismissal of some Flemish politicians, his proposal makes both pedagogical and
political sense. In fact, it should be applied across the country. Read on
X Pat meets Spock’s parents
January 2007 – X Pat is invited to a Star Trek convention
but winds up in a maternity ward where he midhusbands an infant half Vulcan. Read on
X Pat:
Do not release until Xmas
December 2006 – It’s nearly Xmas and X Pat
finds himself in the most delicious quandary of his life. Read on
Virgin
vote at the ballot box
October 2006 – Khaled Diab gives up his
electoral chastity and gets a taste of political participation. Read on
X Pat and the chocolate factory
September 2006 – X Pat, the xpat xtraordinaire
and xample world citizen, in his quest to come to terms with his first name
winds up behind a deranged genius’s chocolate bars. Read on
Gent into the groove…
September 2006 – Every July, carnival mania
descends on the picturesque and offbeat university city of Gent. As Khaled Diab
finds out, the annual Gentse Feesten has something for everyone: the hip or the
hippy, the mainstream or the outlandish. And it ain’t just about music, it’s
also about comedy, performing arts… and politics. Read on
Exploring Belgium’s cultural
identity
September 2006 – Describing the intricacies of
culture is like mapping the human genome – pitted with difficulties. Khaled
Diab spoke to a number of Belgians to find out what makes the country tick
culturally. Read on
Grooming yourself for Belgian
society
September 2006 – Any advice on ‘etiquette’ must be taken
with a pinch of salt. It is up to the individual to decide how much to behave
or misbehave in any given situation. With that disclaimer, here is a short
guide to Belgian social conventions. Read on
More to life than window dressing
August 2006 – Badra Djait, an advisor to Flemish integration
minister Marino Keulen, was born and raised among Gent’s small but close-knit
Algerian community. Here, she recounts what it was like growing up as a woman
in two cultures and traditions. Read on
Het pad naar persoonlijke
onafhankelijkheid
Badra
Djait, een adviseur van Vlaams Minister van Inburgering Marino Keulen, is in
Gent geboren en opgegroeid als een lid van de kleine en hechte Algerijnse
gemeenschap daar. Hier, vertelt ze haar ervaring als een vrouw die leeft tussen
twee culturen. Lees meer
X Pat: Quantum leaps, beer and knitting
August 2006 – X Pat, the xpat xtraordinaire and xample world
citizen, invites Diabolic Digest readers to join him on an absurdist
tour of the Belgian sociosphere. Read on
Masters of the university – may the course be with
you!
August 2006 – In the second of a two-part series, Khaled Diab
investigates what Belgium has to offer in English to graduate students. Read on
Should I stay or should I go?
June 2006 – Khaled Diab investigates what Belgium can offer
those students who want to take undergraduate courses in English. Read on
Terror in the park
May 2006 – A racially-inspired shooting spree
in Antwerp which left two people dead – including a toddler – and one seriously
hurt has refocused Belgian public attention on the issue of urban violence and
racism. Read
on
Belgium
needs more personal social responsibility
May 2006 – The ‘silent march’ was a
moving expression of popular sentiment at the tragic murder of a teenager who
has become known simply as Joe. But calls for more police and ‘zero tolerance’
will not prevent a repeat of this tragedy. People need to realise that the
system does not have all the answers and it is time for citizens to take on
more personal social responsibility. Read on
Conversion
is not a crime
December 2005 – Muriel Degauque has the dubious
distinction of being the first white European female suicide bomber. Shocking
as this is, suggestions that we have reached a dangerous turning point and that
converts are brainwashed fanatics and their partners are comic-book villains
are unfair to the vast majority of converts and to non-converts married to
Muslims.. Read on
Encounter
with a celebrity saint
December
2005 – Never having believed in Santa as a child, Khaled Diab was surprised to
run into the elusive Sinterklaas on a desolate, windswept beach in the
Netherlands. Read on
Vrij van angst
By Katleen Maes
September
2005 – EEN zonnige lentedag in april, in de vroegere grensstreek tussen Noord-
en Zuid-Jemen. Drie meisjes van 11 hoeden schapen in een idyllisch
berglandschap. Plotseling struikelt een van hen, haar voet zit vast in een gat
in de grond. Nog geen vijf seconden later, een enorme knal. Ze heeft in het gat
een landmijn geraakt, verstopt in een wit gemarkeerde en dus - zo dachten de
meisjes - veilige zone. Ze had geluk, enkele uren later was ze in het ziekenhuis,
levend en wel, al mist ze nu een been en enkele vingers. Read on
From nature to naturalisation
July 2005 – This month, Belgium celebrates its 175th birthday. Khaled Diab, its newest citizen, reflects on his newfound Belgianess and all things Belgian. Read on
The
language placebo
January
2005 – To hear some politicians speak, one would think that language and
culture were the panacea for all Belgium’s social and economic woes vis-à-vis
its immigrant community. Read on
Encounter
with a celebrity saint
December 2004 – Never having believed in Santa
as a child, Khaled Diab is surprised to run into the elusive Sinterklaas on a
desolate, windswept beach in the Netherlands. Read on
Behind
the gates of hell
April 2004 – The mayhem and anarchy gripping
Iraq lend a deadly ring of truth to early Arab warnings that the US-led
invasion would “open the gates of hell”.
Khaled Diab visits a photo exhibition in Brussels that puts a human face
on the suffering beyond that infernal doorway. Read on
Working
on the mine ban
By Katleen Maes
March 2004 – Five years after an unprecedented
alliance of governments and human rights groups signed a major international
treaty to ban landmines, 20,000 people a year are still killed or injured by
the weapons. Belgium has been at the forefront of efforts to reduce that
horrific toll, but there is still a great deal of work to be done. Read on
Justice
at last
By Katleen Maes
March 2004 – Belgium's 'trial of the century'
has kicked off in the sleepy Walloon town of Arlon. After seemingly endless
delays, notorious paedophile, rapist and suspected child killer Marc Dutroux is
finally coming face-to-face with a jury. Read on
A state
of pragmatism
March 2004 – As one of the original six
founders of the European Union, Belgium has been a powerful driving force
behind the continent’s unification. However, after nearly 174 years of
pragmatic nationhood, the marriage between its two main communities has become
increasingly shaky. What are the prospects for enduring national unity and how
much does it matter in a borderless Europe? Read on
More to
Brussels than meets the eye
March 2004 – As the European Union prepares for
a political shift eastwards, its famously Byzantine politics will get just that
bit more confusing. The new member states may make the EU’s bureaucratic
landscape seem greyer, but the accompanying influx of thousands of eastern
Europeans will make the cultural kaleidoscope of Brussels, the city that plays
host to so many of its institutions, that much more colourful. Read on
The ties
that bind
Katleen Maes and Khaled Diab
February 2004 – Congolese President Joseph
Kabila was in Brussels on Monday as part of a four-nation European tour. But as
he seeks financial and political backing here, Belgian troops are already on
the ground in Congo helping to train the country's new army. Read on
Veiled
intentions
January 2004 – Some prominent politicians –
first in France and now in Belgium – are calling for Islamic headscarves to be banned
in schools. Rather than simply guaranteeing the separation of church and state,
such a ban is more likely to alienate the Muslim community – particularly women
– and harm multiculturalism. Read on
Migrating
from the margins
November 2003 – As a reflection of Belgium's
multicultural reality, just under 10 percent of the country's population is
foreign. While the EU component of this population has the right to vote in
local elections in Belgium and in European elections, the non-EU contingent
goes mostly unheard and unseen on the political radar screen. Read on
Burning
issues
September 2003 – Belgian trains are about to
become off-limits to smokers and the debate over extending the ban to other
public spaces simmers on in Belgium – and across Europe. Read on
More to
Brussels than meets the eye
September 2003 – To many outsiders, Brussels is
synonymous with bureaucracy – a
Kafkaesque nightmare devoid of local colour. But to really get to know it, you
have to get under the city’s skin. Read on
Deconstructing
Belgium
July 2003 – Even after 173 years of nationhood,
the Belgian state appears as implausible as ever. In a country united by
pragmatism and divided by language, will Belgium be torn apart by the force of
words or will it be held together with the power of good sense? Read on
Adieu war crimes law
July 2003 – As the International Criminal
Court celebrates its first anniversary, Belgium has decided to scrap its
controversial ‘genocide law’. This may please allies and protect business
interests, but the decision has compromised the principles of international
law, let down victims of atrocities and confirmed that universal human rights
are anything but global. Read on
A Belgian paradox on the Nile
July 2003 – Belgians appear to be
more determined than most not to let a conflict get in the way of their holiday
plans. While concern over instability in the Middle East has kept others away,
recent months have seen a rise in the number of Belgians visiting the land of
the Pharaohs. Read
on
The threat of depleted geraniums
June 2003 – American and British forces have so far
failed to find any WMD in Iraq, but Khaled Diab has stumbled across a nightmare
cache of biological weapons right on his Brussels' doorstep. The intrepid
journalist risks life and limb to report on how stopping to smell the flowers
can be a dangerous affair. Read on
Somewhere over the rainbow
May 2003 – Belgium’s ‘rainbow’ coalition is
coming to the end of its four-year term in office. As the country prepares to
go to the polls to choose a new government, question marks surround what lies
at the end of the rainbow for Belgium’s Muslim community. Read on
Breaking the culture barrier
May 2003 – A new commercial Franco-Arab radio
station in Brussels hopes to promote inter-community harmony through music.
Contact Inter aims to break down the culture barrier with a mix of the latest sounds
from North Africa, the Middle East, Europe and beyond. Read on
Get off my cloud!
April 2003 – Residents of Brussels and the
surrounding area are again protesting at the rerouting of flight paths in the
capitals skies. Read
on
Joy and fury at Belgium’s revised
genocide law
February 2003 – As a global army of millions of peace
protesters attempts to stop the march towards a US-led war in Iraq, Belgium’s
legal system has put heads of state and political leaders on notice that they
run the risk of being held personally accountable for their actions once they
leave office. Read
on
Minority
report
February 2003 – Does the media paint an
accurate picture of ethnic minorities? A new initiative aims to provide a
broader view. Read on
Sleepless
in Grimbergen
January 2003 – Since flightpaths were altered
to and from Brussels in November, fewer people are affected by the nocturnal
rumble of aircraft. But they are a furious "few". Read on
Words without frontiers
January 2003 – Many parents are calling for
immersion language learning to be made widespread in Belgium but a debate over
pedagogy and politics stands in the way. Read on
Belgium gets smart about identity
December 2002 – The Belgian government hopes
that, within five years, every citizen will be carrying a new electronic
identity card. But will the new ‘smart’ IDs prove to be the Citizen’s friend or
Big Brother’s little helper? Read on
Murder prompts riots
December 2002 – Antwerp Arab leader arrested
after unrest following “racist” killing. Read on
Arab pride on the streets of Antwerp
November 2002 – An Arab community group has
organised patrols on Antwerp streets to counter what it calls a 'manhunt' by
police of Moroccan youths. Found out about what has been criticised as a
'private militia'. Read on
Arab panthers and Flemish lions
November 2002 – A new wave of Arab activism is taking
hold in Antwerp. Khaled Diab meets its leader. Read on
Battle for the Arab airwaves
October 2002 – a new commercial radio station
has stoked a war of words… in Arabic. Read on
Leaps of faith
July 2002 – My arm hung sheepishly in mid-air
and my confident smile faltered momentarily when Rita Walravens politely
declined to shake my hand. Despite the fleeting sense of awkwardness and my
hasty withdrawal of the offending limb, I comforted myself that I had not
irreparably put my foot in it and that she bore me no ill feelings. Read on and readers’ reactions
Peace activists to join forces
June 2002 – Israeli and Palestinian civil
society should not count on their deadlocked politicians to deliver peace and
must join forces to mobilise grassroots support for a peaceful resolution to
the violent conflict in the Middle East, peace activists from both sides agreed
at a meeting in Brussels this week. Read on
Walking like an Egyptian
May 2002 – The Bangles, a long forgotten 1980s
girl band, will always be remembered by an Egyptian teenager who suffered
untold playground trauma provoked by their unfounded hit theory on how to
identify his fellow countrymen through a peculiar national trait. Read on
Palestinian militant’s whereabouts a
secret
May 2002 – The whereabouts of an exiled
Palestinian, Khalil Mohammed Abdullah Nawareh, who arrived in Belgium last week
remain shrouded in secrecy owing to government concerns for his safety and
public order. Read
on
At death’s door
April 2002 – An appointment with Belgium’s only
Islamic undertaker. Read on
Reinventing the Arab media
March 2002 – Few would have expected tiny
Qatar, a sleepy gulf state once known for little more than its oil and its
ancient tradition of trading, to be at the forefront of what has been dubbed as
nothing less than an Arab media revolution by many and dismissed as nothing
more than a sophisticated propaganda tool by others. Read on
Tales of the Alhambra
March 2002 – A group of young Muslims take the
director’s chair to make a series of films about how perceptions of their
religion have been affected by 11 September. Read on
Pilgrims’ progress
February 2002 – As Muslims the world over head
for Mecca, Khaled Diab looks at festivities closer to home. Read on
Resolving meaty issues
February 2002 – Animal rights activists have
welcomed the setting up of temporary abattoirs during Eid to enforce Federal
and EU legislation that bans the ritual slaughter of animals outside official
slaughter houses, a practice they say poses public health risks and makes the
animals suffer unnecessarily. Read on
Moor or
less Belgians
January 2002 – The second and third generation
of Moroccans in Belgium are gaining a renewed pride in their mixed heritage and
are becoming more assertive in expressing their political and cultural will to
be recognised as full and equal players in the country’s colourful social
landscape. Khaled Diab talks to some young Moroccans. Read on
Looking for the Ramadan spirit
November 2001 – A long way from home in Cairo,
Khaled Diab sets out to discover how Ramadan is observed on the streets of
Brussels. Read on
ã2005
K. Diab. Unless otherwise stated, all the content on this website is the
copyright of Khaled Diab.