Young people in Brussels: social inequality and cultural diversity

Abstract

The murder of Joe Van Holsbeeck prompted many categories of young people to be defined: those who do well at school and who militate in favour of good causes; the eternal suspects whom we heap opprobrium on without warning; and the invisible youth revealed by surveillance cameras. Generosity and threat are two characteristics ascribed to young people. This dramatic news item cannot be reduced to the violence of youth. One must question the persistent tendency to bring discredit on certain young people in Brussels, their increasingly precarious existence, and the growing adversity between young people of various social and ethnic origins. In the 1989 work Réussir Bruxelles edited by Charles Picqué, the chapter on youth mentioned the lack of importance attached to the young population. Twenty years later, this observation has not changed. Certain aspects of the situation have, in contrast, worsened. However, the Brussels-Capital Region has a large youth population which constitutes a source of opportunities rather than a handicap, although this viewpoint does not prevail. Young people are too often dealt with in the prism of social problems. Unfortunately, this contribution will not entirely escape this tendency.