Women taken from mothers in Congo seek Belgian reparations
By SAMUEL PETREQUIN
Associated Press
BRUSSELS (AP) — Five biracial women who were born in Congo and taken away from their Black mothers as young girls when the country was under Belgian colonial rule are suing the Belgian state for crimes against humanity. A court in Brussels considered their case on Thursday. The five women, all born between 1945 and 1950, filed their lawsuit last year amid growing demands that Belgium reassess its colonial past. They hope the country will finally recognize its responsibility for the suffering of thousands of mixed-race children who were removed from families and placed in religious institutions and homes at the request of the Belgian colonial administration and in cooperation with local Catholic Church.