American greats and great Americana To say that the United States have received a lot of criticism in the past few years, is putting it mildly. America's reputation has crashed in the public opinion. American politicians have turned from liberators into warmongers, American society from a shining example into a cradle of violence, and American culture from cool to commercial. Still the “greatest country on earth” has a lot to offer: wonderful national parks, great music, entertaining movies, cutting-edge science and technology, etc. Here's a selection by the students and teacher of the 6th year of English at the CVO Waregem Anzegem Tielt of Waregem, Belgium. The texts have been written or compiled by the students between April and June 2008.
30-06-2008
Gazette van Detroit
There are approximately 350.000 Belgians living in the United States of America. Thats about 0,1% of the current population. The Belgians have settled mainly in the states Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Louisiana and Texas. Most Flemish emigrants are living in Detroit. Immigration from Flanders happened over several centuries, but mainly in the 19th century and during and after the First World War (1914-1918).
One of them, Camille Cools from Moorslede, in 1914 founded the Gazette van Detroit to offer Belgians news from home. The first Gazette was published on August, 13, 1914. It still exists and its the only Belgian newspaper in America.
Its a link between the emigrated Flemish in America and Canada and their native country. First it was a weekly newspaper but now it's fortnightly with an edition of 1,500 copies. One hundred are distributed in Belgium.
Until recently, the Gazette van Detroit had preserved its original lay-out with black and white photographs, which gave it a somewhat outdated look. The Dutch too was sometimes out-of-date. The language of the Belgian emigrants hadn't evolved much. They talked and wrote the same way as before. In 2006 however, the newspaper was updated and given a new life. It now has 20 pages, 4 of which are in colour, and articles in (correct contemporary) Dutch and English (as most of the third generation Flemish emigrants no longer understand Dutch).
The Gazette van Detroit has the normal variety of newspaper subjects: for example: on page 4 you can read about births and obituaries. On page 5 there are sports articles such as bicycle races, football, pigeon races, tennis, etc. The gazette is independent and neutral, not affiliated with any political or religious organization. Until recently, the articles were mostly written by blue collar workers and farmers with a low education.
Today Belgians dont immigrate to the region of Detroit anymore and the Gazette van Detroit has fewer subscribers. The old generation has died and the younger are less motivated to learn the language of their (great)grandparents.
At the end of 2005, the newspaper made a loss, even though it was run by volunteers and one part time employee.
In 2006, Leen de Doncker and her husband who had lived in Detroit for many years gave the newspaper a fresh start. Today Leen is back in Europe but with the help of a number of volunteers she managed to contribute to the success of the Gazette. And since 2006 there is new life, new hope, and even a subsidy of 12.500 euro from the Flemish government.
The Gazette van Detroit is looking forward to celebrating its centenary in 2014.
