Moroccan-Belgian News Anchor Faces Racist Backlash After Historic Debut

A few happy comments but also hateful and racist remarks. The reaction that Salima Belabbas, the presenter of Moroccan origin, who made her debut on Tuesday, June 18, 2019 in Belgium, on the RTL Belgium television channel, has provoked.

The 1 p.m. news on the day in question helped to highlight this new face. On social networks, many have welcomed this performance positively. However, given her Moroccan origins, she has also been heavily vilified. "A Belgian to present television in Belgium" went so far as to demand a viewer, according to the Belgian news site Sud info.

With great speed, the RTL Belgium Channel had these types of comments removed from its social networks. Such responsiveness pleased the Belgian Superior Audiovisual Council (CSA). This media regulatory body expressed its satisfaction: "[The CSA] encourages broadcasters to continue on the path of better representation of genders and diversity in their programs, thus reflecting the various components of our society," relayed Sud info.

In reality, Belgium had already gone through this kind of situation last September. Cécile Djunga, a weather presenter of sub-Saharan origin, had been the subject of great attention after her performance on the Belgian Radio and Television Broadcaster (RTBF). She had also been the victim of racist remarks. In Belgium, diversity on television is still in its infancy. According to the CSA, only 3.78% of television presenters come from diversity, far from representing the current Belgian population. Presentative representatives of diverse origins are found working in programs where they are extras.