The french are taking away our culture/language/traditions/...!!!

Jean-Luc Van Wissaent   Sunday, December 12, 2004, 12:14 GMT
Imagine this :

-You're beeing discriminated by the French government
-You're beeing forced to speak French
-If you tell anyone you speak Flemish at home, teachers will beat you up
-The French are giving you names like : The Collaborateurs Of The North ....
-They absolutly forbid you to act Flemish
-Your children only speak French, so your language is doomed ...

This was and still is the situation in French-Flanders , my homeland ...
We are seperated from our families across "the border", which we call : " de schreve " . People in West-Flanders ( Belgium ) and Zeeland ( Holland ) speak the same Zeelandic language and share our history, and culture . Yet, we can't communicate anymore because our flemish/germanic way of thinking is beeing washed out and replaced by French !This makes my very angry ! Do people in Calais ( Kales ) speak Flemish ? No, NOT ANYMORE... Will you hear a single soul in Bourbon(Borborch) say he's flemish in flemish ? No, NOT ANYMORE...

Well , I'm sick of it ! I won't let my flemish heritage go to waste because the french are telling me so . Too bad, I'm already 70 years old and nobody seems to care anymore ...

Keep flemish alive, before it's too late , my time has almost come , so I beg the french government, please , let us be flemish again ...
(I won't go on , because this is to emotional for me )
Louis Van Wissaent   Sunday, December 12, 2004, 12:19 GMT
I translated this for my grandfather ( he wrote this one month ago ) for me and my family to hear ... I'm sad to say he has passed away 3 weeks ago. I hope his message will inspire a lot of French-Flemish souls....
Dan   Sunday, December 12, 2004, 12:23 GMT
One week after he wrote this , that's sad man ... I really feel sorry for you , but look on the bright side, your grandfather is an inspiration for all those french-flemish people out there ...
Pierre   Sunday, December 12, 2004, 12:24 GMT
I know how you feel ...
dave   Sunday, December 12, 2004, 12:26 GMT
Is this how things are going around there ? horrible ...
I support you in every way , Louis...
Boy   Sunday, December 12, 2004, 13:20 GMT
Jean, that's so sad to read. Why is French Govt doing such a thing? Nobody has a right to take away your heritage from you. This is atrocious stuff on their part. Isn't France a democratic country?
Jordi   Sunday, December 12, 2004, 18:53 GMT
What can be said from Catalonia? Veru much the same situation in French places like Perpinyà (Perpignan) at the other end of France. I imagine that you, his grand-son, still speaks Flemish. If so take your grandfather heritage.
Jordi   Sunday, December 12, 2004, 18:55 GMT
(very and not veru)

A good start could be changing that Jean-Luc for the Flemish way of saying it. I would love to know it. The Van Wissaent seem Flemish enough to me.
Mxsmanic   Sunday, December 12, 2004, 19:12 GMT
What does any of this have to do with learning English?
lims   Sunday, December 12, 2004, 19:32 GMT
This is terrible, I understand the feeling. What is the government legally(using this term loosely here) allowed to do against people who choose to publicly honour their language and customs? I don't know what percentage of the population the Flanders make but maybe there is a Flemish organisation or club in your area or an online group in which people can come together and become a force to be reckoned with against this injustice. People who are interested in keeping their language and customs alive should teach and keep reminding the children and others who are interested about the history and culture.
vincent   Sunday, December 12, 2004, 19:59 GMT
Louis,
Malheureusement on est tous dans la même merde.
Malaürosament sem tots dins la meteissa merda.

Unfortunately we're all "in the same shit", i don't know if the expression is correct in english. We all know that french gov promote linguistic and cultural diversity only outside its borders. But what can we do? The only ones who actually are respected nowadays are the people of Corsica. Why? because some of them use violence. Are we going to do the same?

Louis (Loïs en occitan), deves saber que nosautres Occitans vos desbrembem pas. Sem solidaris amb vosautres. Viscan las Flandras !
lucas   Monday, December 13, 2004, 08:26 GMT
Jean Luc, Louis, Vincent,


Shame on you! Why do you have french surnoms, my name is Lucas and i won't never accept the french calling me Luc!!!
toinou   Monday, December 13, 2004, 10:43 GMT
Hi guys, i am auvergnat, from the south! After being slaves from auvergant form the north, we have been slaves for the french. We still believe in our "conte de Toulouse" and we do not share anything with the french! As said my grand father "here finishes the France, here starts south Auvergne, who comes here, believe us, do not make any confusion with those from the north!"

We still speak in auvergnat, the french hate us because we don't respond to him in french even if we know the language. Here is the secret guys, try it.
Louis Van Wissaent   Monday, December 13, 2004, 15:09 GMT
>>Pardon me , I meant Bourbourg instead of Bourbon or wathever I said
Alan Kergoat   Monday, December 13, 2004, 15:11 GMT
The same thing is happening in Bretagne...