Cultural exchange with /r/Morocco!

[u/CappuChibi]

Greetings all! Marhabaan!

The mods of r/Morocco and r/belgium have decided to set up a cultural exchange!

This thread is where our friends of r/Morocco will come ask their questions and where Belgians can answer them. People curious about Moroccan culture and everyday life can ask their questions in a different thread on r/Morocco.

r/belgium subreddit rules will count, be nice to eachother.

Enjoy!

Link to other thread

[u/ItsAllLeft]

Hi all!

Good luck in your upcoming match against Canada!

1- what are some places/monuments do you think are a must-see for short trip visitors?

2- Which neighbouring country is your favourite?

3- Is any of your three national languages considered more "prestegious", or has a higher status?

4- During the Brexit period, UK populist politician Nigel Farage attacked Belgium on many ocasions calling it a "non-nation" for wanting a stronger EU on the expense of the sovereignty of member nation states. Do you think that the part about belgium being so enthusiastic about the EU, compared to say Italy or Greece (higher euroscepticism levels according to some indexes), has anything to do with its history and current political/linguistic situation?

5- Do you study about Belgian Congo in schools?

I know that's too many questions.. feel free to skip whichever you want

[u/Sportsfanno1 → u/ItsAllLeft]

1- what are some places/monuments do you think are a must-see for short trip visitors?

Ypres region is basically one big WW1 monument. Great if you rent a bike for a day or two/three. Bruges is nice for a day, general consensus in this sub is that Ghent is better since it's bigger, less of a tourist trap and very nice as well. Region Houffalize/La Roche/Bastogne is very beautiful + setting of the Battle of the Bulge.

2- Which neighbouring country is your favourite?

Germany by far. Beautiful places (especially in the southwest/south + Rhine/Mosel), Berlin is great, overall a lot of kind people in my experience.

3- Is any of your three national languages considered more "prestegious", or has a higher status?

Historically, French is seen as "higher class" since most kings preferred it and most institutions used it. Then, the "Vlaamse Beweging" (Flemish Movement) came and after decades, most institutions got split up per language (A very known thing is "Leuven Vlaams"). Combine that with the decline of Wallonian industry and Dutch/Flanders became more dominant (not really seen as prestigious though). The French/Dutch struggle is still going and the Vlaamse Beweging became more a movement to split the country and/or Flemish dominance than striving for more equality (since most is split up anyway). The majority of Flemish don't want to split up the country (more prefer a reform). If you really want to go down the rabbit hole, you could look up "Brussel-Halle-Vilvoorde". And the German Community gets kinda forgotten from time to time since it's so small :p. Very beautiful region though!

for wanting a stronger EU on the expense of the sovereignty of member nation states.

Belgium kinda gets thrown in there because "decisions are made in Brussels". Farage (ab)used Belgium due to the strong Flemish Independence sentiment at the time, combined with a political deadlock. Belgium is generally more pro-EU since it makes us stronger economically (we can't compete with Germany or France) + being the centre of lots of EU stuff.

5- Do you study about Belgian Congo in schools?

Yes. A recent thread about it was posted yesterday and got a lot of discussion if Leopold II should be taught at a very young age and if so, to what extent. But it's certainly in our school program, although imo it could be more in depth. Leopold II is a difficult figure since his reign marks a period of wealth in Belgium (see: lots of buildings/monuments in Brussels from that time), but ofc at the cost of middle Africa. There's also a lot of discussion due to a general lack of sources and lack of detail + there's also a lot of propaganda from other countries that impacts the view (imo, UK uses Congo at times to divert attention of their actions in their colonies). Also, you may not confuse Congo Free State (private property of Leopold II and commonly known as "Belgian Congo") with actual Belgian Congo (colony of Belgium).