The mixed-race people of the Belgian Congo: a crime against humanity? • Forum FIFDH 2024 • TRAD EN

Torn from their mothers, cut off from their fathers and forcibly placed in Catholic institutions in the Belgian Congo, several mixed-race Congolese women are seeking damages from Belgium. So far, all they have received is an apology.

During their childhood, five women were forcibly torn from their Congolese mothers and separated from their Belgian fathers. Victims of colonial violence that penetrated to the very heart of their lives, they were placed in religious institutions as “children of sin” and subjected to widespread abuse. They received apologies for these colonial crimes, but no compensation. It is now estimated that around 15,000 people of mixed race suffered the same fate. Today, these five women are seeking justice and compensation from the Belgian State for crimes against humanity. The proceedings are now under appeal.

Co-presented with TV5MONDE

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With
Monique Bitu Bingi
Plaintiff in lawsuit against Belgian state

Emmanuelle Saada
Historian, Columbia University

Michèle Hirsch
Lawyer

Monique Fernandes
Monique Bitu Bingi's daughter

Moderated by Dominique Tchimbakala
Journalist, TV5MONDE

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