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Expat happiness research: A Belgian historian responds
"Good for career, bad for relationship? Study reveals highs and lows of expat life in Belgium." When The Bulletin featured the results of the HSBC Expat Explorer Survey, the reactions were far more interesting than the results of the survey itself.
As the comments on social media demonstrated, people are often bewildered by the culture that surrounds them, even if that culture is not so very different from the one they left behind.
For categories such as culture, integration and social life, we Belgians seemed to score quite badly. Expats and Belgians alike tried to find an explanation for what seemed to be a somewhat surprising problem: could it be that expats are not at all happy in this country?
What was clear from the responses was that misunderstandings rule among expats and ‘locals’. People discussed the Belgians’ lack of hospitality to foreigners, which is odd, considering Brussels happily houses some of the world’s most powerful international institutions.
One comment even suggested that the Belgians’ lack of enthusiasm had its roots in history: all those ‘foreign’ powers that had once ‘occupied’ Belgium must have made the Belgians weary of the expat community here.
Cultural wellbeing
The frustrations all point to the fact that one huge issue is always overlooked in any survey on expat life. People are never interrogated on their actual knowledge of local history and culture, nor on their ‘cultural wellbeing’.
I believe that the notion of cultural wellbeing is an often overlooked, yet crucial, factor in determining people’s happiness – whether they are expats or not.
Culture is often interpreted in the sense of participating in cultural life, visiting museums and exhibitions, or getting to know the local cuisine. But a culture is much more than just the outward, organised translation of customs and traditions that have been evolving for over a thousand years.
It’s all very well to visit all of Brussels’ museums – and don’t get me wrong, some of the finest museums in the world are located in Brussels – but this will not help you one bit in getting to know more Belgians, or in understanding Belgian culture. True cultural awareness is not found in museums; it’s hidden in centuries of history.
The importance of language
Both expats and Belgians pointed to the importance of learning the local language. One thing is certain. Language is a key issue in Belgium. The whole country’s political, judicial and cultural system is based on the issue of language and the language barrier. Much more than actually speaking Dutch or French, the idea of language itself is a key defining issue of Belgian identity.
In Belgium, language is more than speaking Dutch, French or German, it is speaking our culture. Yet language does not account for the majority of what I have termed the "cultural malaise". Belgium is also an incredibly complicated country, not just because of a language barrier that has existed for nearly 2.000 years, and not even because most people – including Belgians – really don’t realise how many governments this country actually has.
Over the course of its history, Belgium has played a major part in the development of what we could call a modern industry. Its political, economic and cultural traditions are much older than 1830. Its territory functioned as a true cultural crossroads for at least half a millennium, before the 19th century trend of creating nation states had gotten a hold on it.
It’s not that I’m arguing that if expats had a better knowledge of its history Belgium would suddenly overtake Singapore in the Expat Explorer Survey’s bid for popularity. But I am convinced that with a better understanding of history, people’s cultural wellbeing would improve. And I equally believe that if we take better care of people’s cultural wellbeing, their general happiness will improve as well.
Mirella Marini is a historical consultant at the University of Antwerp and has a master’s in history from KU Leuven. She is currently founding the Belgian Academy of Culture and History and blogs at wearsunscreenblog.wordpress.com
Comments
‘People discussed the Belgians’ lack of hospitality to foreigners, which is odd, considering Brussels happily houses some of the world’s most powerful international institutions’ – rather a naïve comment to make. They are here by design and not due to a serendipitous moment. This article implies that expats have a poor understanding of Belgium’s history yet states that Belgium’s history is interwoven within 2,000 year of world and European development. Perhaps it is Belgium’s lack of understanding its own history that has created this lack of cultural wellbeing.
That historian's analysis is a bit simplistic. You can't expect people to have an interest in their new adopted country/culture if they don't feel their adoptive country is interested in their native culture.
Assimilation has proven a dead end.
Many people know as little about their own culture as about their adoptive cultures. (who cares about museums and for the record Brussels doesn't house Europe's finest museums, see Paris & London etc).
It's all about two-way communication.
In any case the Italy of the North has none of the Italian hospitability.
And I met people from all walks of life and worked in different sectors.
First of all, I would like to thank Mrs Marini for this article, which hints a series of interesting issues. I agree that speaking the language or languages of a country is key when trying to understand a nation and its character. Add to it a knowledge of their history and you have gone a long way towards that goal. A problem that many foreigners have in this country (and I hope the author has some hints as to why things are this way here) is Belgian service culture and customer care. Those are specially appalling in the case of Brussels. This point is not dealt with in the HSBC study and, compared to other factors, it may seem of a lesser relevance, but I believe it amounts for a great part of the “expat malaise”. When you arrive in a country, one of the first contacts that you have with the locals takes place in shops or in public services: we all have had for sure bad experiences with unprofessional shop attendants or nasty civil servants in other countries. In the case of Belgium, it happens again and again, no matter if you have been here 5 months or 20 years. I have tried to find an explanation to that and I came to a couple of conclusions:
1.- A particular interpretation of what workers rights are makes them come above customer needs. For example: a shop opens officially from 9:00am to 5:00pm, shop personnel closes at 4:55pm, you arrive then and even if you beg them to please keep the shop open, since you need an urgent and quick buy, they slam the door in your face.
2.- Cost of manpower is so high, that any service or process considered to be slightly above work specifications is rejected directly (the classical “je-ne-sais-pas-vous-aider” attitude plenty of us have come across so often).
Of course there are Belgian excellent professionals here and there, both in the private and public sectors, but often I come back to the same foreign owned and serviced firms because experience has taught me a hard lesson or two here in Brussels. What worries me is that behind the behaviour I described above there seems to be too a lack of empathy towards clients or customers (both Belgian and foreign, though in my opinion attitudes differ in each case), who at the end of the day, are people in need. It feels sometimes as if a client asking for a service or a favour were for certain Belgian shopkeepers or officials a source of nuisance. I would find it extremely interesting if Mrs Marini could elaborate on this.
As for the bit on “Belgians’ lack of hospitality to foreigners, which is odd, considering Brussels happily houses some of the world’s most powerful international institutions”, I do not see a link between hospitality and Brussels been the see of several international organisations. A Belgian Foreign Minister in the early times of the European Communities argued that bringing the EEC and ECSC to Brussels would attract high-paid foreign officials, which would be (and still is) highly beneficial for the local economy. Remember too that Belgium, as a small country, was a non controversial choice at that time. I would relate the choice of Belgium also to its central location in this part of Europe and the language skills of the locals.
P.S.: I would like to add that I speak both NL and FR, have lived here for quite some time. I think I know reasonably well the culture, history and politics of this country. And I have friends at both sides of the language border (who also complain about the poor customer care, by the way).
Agree with the above comments.
So, Ms. Marini, are you blaming the expats 100%? Seems so.
This article is ridiculous. You don't have a clue, don't make any great points and your analysis is too simplistic. I am soooo tired of "if you learn the language" as the solution to all the woes and problems of navigating oneself in Belgium as an expat. I speak four languages: French, Dutch, English and Spanish, so the problems are a lot more complex than learning a language. Lack of understanding of the Belgian culture? Tja.......lol. So insulting. I am married to a Belgian, so I think I have a very good "understanding" of Belgian culture.
I would suggest you, the author, choose a topic to write about that you know something about.........like history. This is rubbish.
BTW: I am "not happy at all." There are positives and negatives in this country as well in any country. The survey was simply pointing out areas that can be improved on, so take the information from the survey in stride and find ways to improve things from your side (Belgian side) and not start with the fingerpointing at the expats.