A look at how election results will affect life in Wezembeek, a bilingual neighbourhood скачать в хорошем качестве

A look at how election results will affect life in Wezembeek, a bilingual neighbourhood

(14 Jun 2010) 1. Wide exterior of Wezenbeek-Oppem city hall in Flanders 2. Pull out from flags to road sign in French and Dutch, but with black paint over the French translation 3. Wide of electoral posters 4. Close of poster for actual Wezenbeek mayor Francois van Hoobrouck painted with graffiti 5. Poster for NVA (Flemish nationalist) and sticker on it reading (Dutch): Thank you! 6. Parking space in front of city hall 7. Close of parking plate with French translation scratched off 8. Zoom out from library sign with translation painted over 9. SOUNDBITE: (French) Vox Pop, Carole (no last name given), Wezenbeek resident: "I don't know if this is going to change anything for us, people working here, well integrated here in this commune, but maybe for those who don't want to make an effort, who don't want to speak Flemish, for those maybe this will be a problem." 10. Zoom in to road sign where French translation is painted over 11. Wide of bar owner cleaning table outside and going inside 12. Close of caricature of owner painted on the window 13. Pan inside the bar from bar owner to clients 14. Walloons and Flemish raising their glasses together 15. Close of sticker representing a caricature of politicians saying "No" to former Prime Minister Yves Leterme 16. SOUNDBITE: (Flemish) Vox Pop, Thierry (no last name given): "Everything is fine, we are together, we live together, we are drinking together, there never were any problems. Here in this cafe you have Walloons and Flemish, he speaks Flemish, I speak Flemish, and there are no problems. Politicians are creating the problem. And why? Only to secure their positions, that's it." 17. Zoom out of bar owner 18. Wide of inside of bar STORYLINE: In the Belgian town of Wezenbeek-Oppem, everything is bilingual, but the result of Sunday's general election has got some residents worried for the future. The New Flemish Alliance (NVA), a Flemish separatist party that wants Dutch and French-speakers to end years of acrimonious linguistic disputes, became Belgium's biggest party on Sunday. Its leader, Bart De Wever, said the way forward for Belgium depended on the willingness of its four (m) million French speakers to accept more self rule for Flanders and Wallonia, its Dutch and French-speaking regions. The election outcome was seen as a warning to Francophone politicians to negotiate seriously about granting Dutch and French-speakers more self-rule, or Dutch-speaking Flanders will bolt. At present, the Flanders town of Wezenbeek-Oppem is part of the system known as 'communes � facilit�s', where Francophones living within these Flemish regions can conduct all administrative business in French, and vote for French-speaking politicians. These communes were at the heart of the problem leading to the fall of the former Premier Yves Leterme's government last April. The Flemish separatists want the communes to be 100 percent Flemish, a notion which is impossible for many in the French-speaking community to accept. Throughout Wezenbeek, French translations on signposts have been daubed with black paint or scratched away, but according to residents, it is simply graffiti created by a minority. One French-speaking Wezenbeek resident, who gave her name only as Carole, said most people within her commune were well integrated. "But maybe for those who don't want to make an effort, who don't want to speak Flemish, for those maybe this will be a problem," she said. However, some of the men socialising in the local bar blamed the politicians for creating too much of the issue of integration in order to gain votes. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...