In the 1940s and 50s, children who were born into mixed-race homes were forcefully taken from their parents and into Belgium to be fostered by the Catholic Church and some other institutions.
The Belgian Prime minister, Charles Michel in his speech on how the country had not only failed the kids but infringed on their rights, said, “On behalf of the federal government, I apologize to the mixed race people with roots in Belgian colonization and to their families for the injustice and suffering they went through. I also wish to express all our compassion for the African mothers whose children were torn away from them.”
It’s estimated that more than 20,000 children felt the effects of this segregation. Charles Michel went on to say, “By setting up a system of targeted segregation against mixed race people and their families in Belgian colonial Africa, the Belgian state acted contrary to respect for fundamental human rights.
That is why, on behalf of the federal government, I recognize the targeted segregation of which mixed-race people were victims under the colonial administration of the Belgian Congo, Rwanda and Burundi until 1962 and in the wake of decolonization, as well as forced kidnappings.”
Another downside was the fact that despite the children being forcibly taken by the Belgian government, some of them never got Belgian citizenship and hence were stateless. The Catholic Church, however, in 2017, apologized for the part it played in the unjust act.
The Belgian MPs, however, in 2018, asked the government to play its part in rectifying this wrong by trying their best to reunite the children with their families and also let them gain Belgian citizenship.
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