Twenty years ago, a madman known for his sympathies with the far right coldly shot his neighbors, a couple of Moroccan nationality, in their apartment on rue Vanderlinden in Schaerbeek. This double racist crime had raised a wave of indignation even in the political ranks.
On May 7, 2002, Hendrik Vyt, a 79-year-old man known for his ideological affinities with the former Flemish far-right party Vlaams Blok (now Vlaams Belang), burst into his neighbors’ apartment and opened fire on the Isnasni family, killing the parents, Ahmed and Habiba. Hit in the chest by police response bullets, the murderer died in the fire he himself had started in his apartment. This xenophobic double crime, which occurred a few days following the defeat of the National Front candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen in the second round of the French presidential election, had shocked Schaerbeek and the whole of Belgium. Addressing the country’s Arab and Muslim community, the then Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Equal Opportunities, Laurette Onkelinx, spoke on behalf of the federal government of the “revolt that can only be shared by any democrat” following this heinous act. For the government, this crime was all the more heinous because “the cowardice of a man who coldly kills two of his unarmed neighbors, is added the ignominy of the motivation for this act: racism”, Ms. Onkelinx had written in an open letter.
My parents are not only victims of racism
A survivor of the massacre with her brothers, the daughter of the victims, Kenza Isnasni, calls us not to forget. Twenty years following the death of his parents, “racist remarks and hints of hate are still flourishing, in new, more diffuse forms, and without shocking anyone”, is alarmed by the one who leads a tireless fight in favor of tolerance and intercultural dialogue. To carry out the necessary duty of remembrance, Kenza Isnasni founded the association Habiba Ahmed Foundation (HAF), supported among others by Princess Esmeralda of Belgium, the Franco-Rwandan author-composer and writer Gaël Faye and the author and director in Rwandan scene Dorcy Rugamaba. “My parents are not only victims of racism. They reflect part of the history of Moroccan immigration to Belgium and therefore of Belgian collective history. The duty of memory is central in this respect”, she adds. With several residents, Kenza Isnasni hopes to rename part of rue Vanderlinden with the first names of her parents. “A Habiba-Ahmed street would represent a strong message. For memory, naming a street is to recognize in a pragmatic and symbolic way the cultural richness of a society, its contribution, its evolution, its history, crossing the glances of the past and of the present”she explains.
On the occasion of the commemorations of the twentieth anniversary of the racist crime, a march took place on Saturday in Schaerbeek. The gathering was scheduled for 1:30 p.m. in front of 121 rue Vanderlinden for the laying of a wreath.
The procession is bet around 2:00 p.m. in the direction of the town hall, where a white flag floats in tribute to the victims. The walkers then joined Josaphat Park, where speeches punctuated the ceremony. Participants were invited to dress in white. “We will ensure that this moment of commemoration is a commitment to more peace, recognition and mutual respect and above all to ‘doing together'”concludes Kenza Isnansi.
