The home of future Eurocrats in Bruges, a beacon of the European peace project, is the site of a brewing culture war.
None other than Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker delivered the opening speech of the current academic year, urging the students “Now is not the time for division.” It seems some of them forgot to take notes. Things have been getting nasty as groups of students from different European countries take turns to create national displays in the College canteen.
The Benelux delegation is said to have promised âBelgian chocolate, Dutch drinking games, Luxembourgish potatoes and a speech from Paul Magnette,â according to Beata Thor, a Swedish student at the College. Instead, they controversially included King Leopold II, the ‘butcher of Congo’, in their display, without any explanation. The College’s student newspaper called them out, leading to an apology of sorts.
A father stares at the severed hands of his five-year-old daughter in early 1900s Congo.
âMillions of people were killed, injured or saw their living conditions severely worsened. The reason for all this human misery was a never-ending imperialistic quest for power and money,â admitted the Benelux Week Committee. Still, Leopold is a significant historical figure, so they included him anyway. Next up: nasty messages in all directions on the College’s Facebook group. Stayed tuned for more.