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Belgians or Dutch people who do not want a second nationality should be able to give it up. The two countries must build a European coalition that works on freedom of choice, say Nahima Lanjri and Jan Paternotte .
Nahima Lanjri and Jan Paternotte 23-09-20, 09:05
When the world went into lockdown , travelers flocked home from their vacation destinations. But ten thousand Belgians and Dutch with a Moroccan background were imprisoned for months in Morocco, a painful effect of their dual nationality.
Under Moroccan law, everyone with one Moroccan parent is automatically Moroccan. As a result, the government in Rabat could not speak of a return: they were already ‘home’. The same fate befell fellow countrymen in Burundi who are seen as ‘own’ subjects. For months thousands of Belgians and Dutch people were in stress and uncertainty, confronted with the effect of a nationality they never chose. The Dutch or Belgian passport, guaranteeing free travel and diplomatic protection, turned out to be a piece of paper without value.
This can never happen again. We have submitted a proposal in both the Belgian and Dutch parliament to help our citizens who live with an unwanted nationality. This does not only concern people with a Moroccan (for) parent. You also have the Greek,Iranian or Algerian nationality for life and you pass it on to your children unintentionally. A Greek Dutchman who was taken to Athens to lie on the beach to do a year of military service. He never had.
Lived in Greece. He was forced to learn Greek to understand the commands. The Amsterdam-born Dutch Annahita Mazeriwas not allowed to go to America, because Iran sees her as a subject. She was taken from the line at the airport. The Antwerp actor Noureddine Farihi , better known as Mo from the TV series Thuis, was separated from his 9-year-old son for months. He was stuck in Morocco. Syrian refugees who are now Belgian or Dutch cannot get rid of their Syrian passport. As far as we are concerned, anyone who wants to keep a second nationality should be able to do so.
But those who do not want that must be given the freedom to give it up. It suits Europe that such a choice is made by peoplethemselves . Belgium and the Netherlands can form the basis of a coalition for freedom of choice. Germany, France and Sweden have at least an equal interest in it. Together, effective pressure can be exerted on countries such as Morocco.Moreover, this coalition can agree to approach each other’s citizens only on the basis of their own nationality, not the nationality that almost took our citizens hostage in a distant country.
The more countries that join, the smaller the influence of countries that do not grant their diaspora freedom of nationality.Brussels and The Hague, join forces and seek allies for the freedom of choice in nationality for their fellow countrymen.
