Hundreds of Belgians trade vows in anti-racism protest

SINT-NIKLAAS, Belgium – Wouter Van Bellingen has the name, the lingo, the clothes and the upbringing of your typical Flemish alderman.

One thing sets him apart: Van Bellingen is black in a mostly white city, and for that reason, three couples refused to let him conduct their City Hall weddings.

“It was the most primitive form of racism. Nothing but the color of my skin,” Van Bellingen said of the snub. The 34-year-old alderman was adopted by a Flemish family at birth and never knew his Rwandan parents.

But instead of lodging a discrimination complaint, he decided to organize a celebration of diversity. On Wednesday night, he oversaw a ceremony of hundreds of couples vowing eternal love – and sending a message against racism.

Nearly 700 couples participated, either renewing their wedding vows or pledging to marry.

“Yes!” the couples shouted when Van Bellingen asked whether they were ready to commit to tying the knot. The ceremony, in Belgium’s biggest market square, was followed by a group hug, a huge photo, a “multicultural dessert buffet” and a dance.

Laurent De Keersmaecker, 84, cradled a framed picture of his wife. Wivina, on Wednesday. He would have been married 60 years if she had not been killed in an accident two years ago. “I just wanted to renew my vows,” he whispered, adding: “It is a scandal what these three couples did. White, yellow or black – what would I care?”

Van Bellingen said his decision to hold the ceremony on international anti-racism day came from a lifetime of developing defenses against racist abuse.

“I do not feel scarred. It has been an enrichment in a sense,” he said. “You create a mechanism to put things in perspective. I do it with humor.”

Van Bellingen’s call for the ceremony was met by a groundswell of support, even though it was not legally binding.

Sabine Van Camp was at work when an e-mail flashed across her screen from her husband, Guy: “You want to do it again?” he asked.

It was not the most romantic way to propose a renewal of vows, but the three couples’ refusal to allow Van Bellingen to preside over their weddings in January had touched a nerve in this city of 69,000 people some 30 miles north of Brussels.

“It was such a scandal. The gall of it all,” Van Camp said.

She accepted her husband’s proposal – also by e-mail. Then the 42-year-old city clerk retrieved her wedding gown from the closet, three years after their summer wedding.

Katrien Waeckens also wore her wedding dress Wednesday, stretched tight across her pregnant belly. “I felt ashamed in my city when it happened. I do this for a better future,” she said as renewed her vows, five years after her wedding.

Van Bellingen became the first black alderman elected in Belgium’s northern Flanders region, representing a moderate nationalist party. He says his election is symbolic of growing opposition to racism in a city where an anti-immigration party won 26 percent of the vote in elections last year.

Van Bellingen said he has been asked why he didn’t lash out in anger at the three couples.

“It is the story of everyone who is discriminated against. If you act impetuously, you stop functioning,” he said. “Now, I have achieved a lot more.”