Mères africiane et leurs enfants Métis enlevés par l'administration coloniale belge

Following the publication of the research report on the mobilization of the Métis on April 4,2024, and after an initial event organized in Geneva as part of the third session of the Permanent Forum of People of African Descent, Afalab is organizing a conference in Brussels on May 29,2024.

This conference is co-organized with the Group for Research on Ethnic Relations, Migration and Equality  (GERME), in partnership with the Association des Enfants des Belges Laissés au Congo (AEBLC), the Association des Métis des Grands Lacs (AMGL Burundi) and the Collectif Métis.

Five years after the Belgian government apologised to Métis people born during colonial times and their African mothers, and six years after the adoption of the Métis Resolution, several questions remain:

• What has become of the fate of the Métis abandoned in the Great Lakes region (DRC, Rwanda, Burundi) by the Belgian colonial administration? It is not known how many victims there were, but sources say that by the end of the 1950s, 16,000 Métis had been taken from their families. 15,000 of them were left in the Great Lakes region.

• What about the African mothers who were also victims of the practice of abducting their Métis children? They are often mentioned, but not in public debate or the Belgian state's reparations policies.

• Do the consequences of this colonial policy still have an impact today?

This conference will look at how to improve reparations for Métis children born of colonization and their families. It will also look at how to take into account the wider colonial context.

Speakers

• Geneviève Kaninda (African Futures Lab)
• Assumani Budagwa (Researcher)
• Rachel Kapombo (Association des Enfants des Belges Laissés au Congo)
• Le Collectif Métis - Belgium
• Kalvin Soiresse (President, Brussels French-speaking Parliament - Ecolo)

Practical informations

Date: Wednesday, May 29,2024

Time: 7PM - 9PM

Venue: Muntpunt (MalleMunt Room) - Place de la Monnaie 6,1000 Brussels

Language: French

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