MEET THE LUSOBELGAE

At Place Flagey in Brussels I interviewed passers by about the Portuguese inhabitants of Brussels. Conclusion? Nobody really knows them, even though there are at least 20.000 of them in the Capital of Europe. The Portuguese immigrants are silent and invisible, as is their statue of Fernando Pessoa at Place Flagey. Of course my attempt to make an entertaining little movie wasn’t scientific research. The more serious research I reserved for our magbook ‘Lusobelgae’. And guess what: also this research shows the Portuguese of Brussels as a rather invisible, unknown, forgotten community. Which explains why in ‘Lusobelgae’ for the very first time Portuguese immigrants in Brussels got researched, even though they have been living in Belgium since 50 years, just like Moroccan and Turkish immigrants who are much better known. The result of our research is a guide on a compelling, complex journey through ‘Portuguese Brussels’.