Razene Ghidhaoui, Tunisian student in Bruges & volunteer working with immigrants
I am a Tunisian student living in Bruges for nearly two years. I study at Howest College and I’m currently learning Dutch through SNT. Like many others who have chosen to build a future in Belgium, I work hard every day to integrate, adapt, and participate actively in society. That’s why I was so surprised—and honestly confused—by the recent controversy surrounding a sponsored video shared on the official Facebook page of the city of Bruges.
The video, published as part of the Community City Project, was meant to engage young people with a migration background by featuring an animated character wearing a hijab who speaks Arabic. The problem is, the video doesn’t use real Arabic. It’s a chaotic mix of Moroccan dialect, poor grammar, and broken phrases. Even the subtitles are full of mistakes. As someone who speaks Arabic fluently, I couldn’t understand half of what was said. If the goal was to reach Arabic-speaking youth, this failed entirely.
Dialects Are Not the Same as Arabic
Arabic dialects vary significantly from country to country. A Syrian or an Egyptian wouldn’t understand Moroccan Arabic easily—and I say this as a native Arabic speaker from Tunisia. So who was this video for? Only Moroccans? If the goal was to speak to all Arabic speakers, why not use Modern Standard Arabic—the formal version taught in schools, used in news media, and understood across the Arab world?
This raises more questions. Why was there only a video in Arabic? Why not in Turkish, Russian, French, or other languages spoken by migrants in Bruges? Why Arabic specifically? This selective approach doesn’t reflect the diversity of immigrant communities in Flanders and instead feels superficial and divisive.
More importantly, this video sends the wrong message. Immigrants are not incapable of learning. We know we are moving to a new country, with its own culture and language. We don’t expect everything to be translated for us. That’s why I, and many others, are learning Dutch. Language is essential for integration, and we understand that. To suddenly start seeing government communication in Arabic—especially in such poor Arabic—makes me wonder: is learning Dutch still a requirement?
If public information is available in multiple foreign languages, what is the incentive to integrate? And if Dutch is no longer essential, why are people like me working so hard to learn it?
The truth is, this kind of messaging doesn’t help immigrants—it confuses us. And it also creates unnecessary political tension. Yes, the video violated Flemish language laws, but the deeper issue is that it treats immigrants like children who cannot understand the society they live in. That is deeply condescending.
We Are Not Isolated from the World
Another point that frustrates me is the stereotype that immigrants are unfamiliar with modern life in Europe. We are not aliens from another planet. We have internet, we watch international media, and we understand different cultures. The idea that we need to be “gently introduced” to European values or clothing styles is outdated and offensive. If a similar video—in a foreign language, using religious symbols—were released by the Tunisian government, people would rightly ask: what is this?
This Is Not What Immigrants Ask For
I volunteer with immigrant communities in Ostend, and I can tell you that no one I’ve met has ever asked for the government to speak Arabic. People want better language classes, clearer procedures, access to jobs, and respect. Not cartoons in broken dialects. We want to be treated like full members of society, not as a separate group to be spoken about instead of with.
This situation could have been a chance to truly involve migrant communities. Instead, it became a poorly executed attempt at inclusion that ended up excluding and confusing the very people it was meant to help. It also gave fuel to political parties eager to frame immigrants as a problem.
Let’s not confuse symbolic gestures with real progress. Real inclusion comes through investment in education, language support, fair opportunities—and mutual respect.
Disclaimer: we kozen ervoor om dit ingezonden Engelstalige artikel niet naar het Nederlands te vertalen om de authenticiteit van deze boodschap te respecteren.