Practices of Displacement: Forced Migration of Mixed-Race Children from Colonial Ruanda-Urundi to Belgium
In: Journal of Migration HistorySearch for other papers by Sarah Heynssens in
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During colonial times, the Belgian metropolitan government removed mixed-race children from their indigenous African families and placed them in specialised institutions. On the eve of independence about 300 of these children were ‘evacuated’ to Belgium. This article elaborates on Belgian policy towards mixed-race children during the colonial era and on the forced displacement of mixed-race children from the Ruanda-Urundi region upon independence. It reflects on the ways in which indigenous parents reacted to and protested against the displacement of their children and investigates how the colonial government tried to neutralise objections. The article confronts the factual practices of displacement with the perceptions of the various actors involved, which allows discerning notions about race, citizenship, motherhood and child rearing.
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V. Beel, ‘Waarheidscommissie nodig voor "bastaards van kolonie"’, De Standaard, 16 June 2010.
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C. Firpo, ‘Crises of Whiteness and Empire in colonial Indochina: the removal of abandoned Eurasian children from the Vietnamese milieu, 1890–1956’, Journal of Social History 43:3 (2010) 587–613; Y. Denéchère, ‘Les ‘rapatriements’ en France des enfants eurasiens de l’ex-Indochine. Pratiques, débats, mémoires’, Enfances déplacées en situation coloniale, Revue d’histoire de l’enfance "irrégulière" 14 (2012) 123–139.
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Ghequière and Kanobana, De bastaards van onze kolonie, 50. All translations by the author.
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Ghequière and Kanobana, De bastaards van onze kolonie, 22–23.
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L. Saur, ‘La frontière ethnique comme outil de conquête du pouvoir: le cas du Parmehutu’, Journal of Eastern African Studies 3:2 (2009) 303–316, 308–312.
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Interview G.R., 11 January 2011, Liedekerke, Sarah Heynssens, cegesoma; interview J.J., April 2011, Rwanda, Aline Wavreille, cegesoma; interview L.K., 29 October 2010, Kruishoutem, Sarah Heynssens, cegesoma; Assumani Budagwa, Noirs-blanc, métis, p. 315 (interview Maria Neys).
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Interview G.R., 11 January 2011, Liedekerke, Sarah Heynssens, cegesoma. All translations by the author.
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Interview J.G, April 2011, Rwanda, Sarah Heynssens, cegesoma. All translations by the author.
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Interview M.L., April 2011, Rwanda, Sarah Heynssens, cegesoma. All translations by the author.
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Interview M.G., April 2011, Rwanda, Sarah Heynssens, cegesoma. All translations by the author.
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Interview L.K., 29 October 2010, Kruishoutem, Sarah Heynssens, cegesoma. All translations by the author.
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Interview J.J., April 2011, Brussels, Belgium, Sarah Heynssens, cegesoma All translations by the author.
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Interview L.K, 29 October 2010, Kruishoutem, Belgium, Sarah Heynssens, cegesoma. All translations by the author.
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Interview M.G., April 2011, Rwanda, Aline Wavreille, cegesoma. All translations by the author.
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Practices of Displacement: Forced Migration of Mixed-Race Children from Colonial Ruanda-Urundi to Belgium
In: Journal of Migration HistorySearch for other papers by Sarah Heynssens in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
During colonial times, the Belgian metropolitan government removed mixed-race children from their indigenous African families and placed them in specialised institutions. On the eve of independence about 300 of these children were ‘evacuated’ to Belgium. This article elaborates on Belgian policy towards mixed-race children during the colonial era and on the forced displacement of mixed-race children from the Ruanda-Urundi region upon independence. It reflects on the ways in which indigenous parents reacted to and protested against the displacement of their children and investigates how the colonial government tried to neutralise objections. The article confronts the factual practices of displacement with the perceptions of the various actors involved, which allows discerning notions about race, citizenship, motherhood and child rearing.
| All Time | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 1746 | 396 | 25 |
| Full Text Views | 420 | 34 | 2 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 366 | 64 | 4 |