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ADRIENNE ARSENAULT (HOST):
- IAN HANOMANSING (HOST):
An in-depth look at Belgium's colonial past and the people who say it still haunts that country today.
CÉCILE DJUNGA (ACTRESS, COMEDIAN & BROADCASTER):
It's not normal. I work here. I am in my country. I was born in Belgium. And I'm fed up of all this shit, I'm sorry. -
This weekend Belgium reopens its controversial Royal Museum for Central Africa after a five-year makeover. The aim was to confront Belgium's colonial past and to veer away from stereotypes about Africans. Now comes word this man, King Philippe, the country's head of state, won't attend the opening ceremony. He wants to avoid the growing debate over artifacts taken from former colonies and whether they should be returned. After all, his ancestor oversaw the plunder of the Belgian Congo and grew rich on slave labour. The king's discomfort is reflected in many of his subjects. Belgium remains a country wilfully blind to its own oppressive history. A stubborn racism remains woven into the national fabric. Tonight, the CBC's Margaret Evans talks to Belgians about the human cost of that legacy. And in this "Dispatch" from Brussels, she asks: what will it take to finally leave it behind?
ON-SCREEN TEXT:
Dispatch: Brussels
CÉCILE DJUNGA (ACTRESS, COMEDIAN & BROADCASTER):
What is it to be a good Belgian in 2018? I don't know what it means. Maybe to be white, to be… have blue eyes and blonde hair?
MARGARET EVANS (REPORTER):
Twenty-nine-year-old Cécile Djunga isn't someone easily forgotten. Actress, comedian, broadcaster, she answers to all with ease. And yet when she looks in the mirror, she can still find herself struggling for place in the country of her birth.
CÉCILE DJUNGA (ACTRESS, COMEDIAN & BROADCASTER):
I don't know what it is. Me, I really feel Belgian. I'm deeply Belgian. I'm supportive of the Red Devils and I am… I am… I like beers. (Laughter).
MARGARET EVANS (REPORTER):
Djunga delivers the weather report for Belgium's public broadcaster RTBF.
CÉCILE DJUNGA (ACTRESS, COMEDIAN & BROADCASTER):
(RTBF) … est dû à une dépression qui est en direction…
MARGARET EVANS (REPORTER):
Born in Brussels to Angolan and Congolese parents, she says she learned to use humour to deflect insults growing up. But the insults have...