Belgian Princess Esméralda Becomes Patron of Anti-Racism Foundation

"I accepted to be the godmother of the Habiba-Ahmed Foundation because I am convinced that it is our duty, today more than ever, to fight against racism in all its forms," said Princess Esméralda of Belgium in a video published on Friday on the official pages of the foundation.

On Friday, May 7, it was exactly 19 years since the racist massacre had occurred on Vanderlinden Street 121. The perpetrator of these criminal acts, Hendrik Vyt, had violated the home of the Isnasni family, his Moroccan neighbors, murdered Ahmed Isnasni and Habiba El Hajji, aged 47 and 45 respectively, before setting fire to the house in which he eventually died of suffocation.

The eldest of the family, Kenza Isnasni, initiates an action every year to honor the memory of her parents. Last year, she had launched the Habiba Ahmed Foundation, an organization dedicated to the fight against racism. This year, she has created a website and launched a petition called "Duty of Memory Against Racism" that she invites "all citizens to sign".

"May 7, 2002 tragically proved to us that hateful and violent words and speeches could lead to crime," said Princess Esmeralda of Belgium in accepting to become one of the godmothers of the foundation’s committee of godparents. "Today, it is urgent that we be anti-racist. Hatred cannot drive out hatred. Only love can. The foundation’s goal is dialogue, peace and understanding between different communities," adds Esméralda of Belgium, co-author of the book "What World for Tomorrow?" with Adelaïde Charlier, and known for her commitment to the anti-racist struggle.

"Princess Esméralda of Belgium was very quickly touched. She has been supportive from the start and I was very moved by it. Her gesture is worthy of a woman of value and integrity," says Kenza Isnasni, who adds that several personalities make up this committee, including among others Gaël Faye, a Franco-Rwandan writer and author of the book "Small Country", Goncourt Prize for high school students who tells the story of a child at the heart of the Rwandan genocide, and Fatima Zibouh, a political scientist and anti-discrimination officer at Actiris.

The website launched this year will trace the initiatives undertaken for 19 years in order to prepare the twentieth commemoration of the racist crime of Schaerbeek which will take place on May 7, 2022.