EU Faces Pressure to Suspend Minerals Deal with Rwanda Amid DRC Conflict

Belgian authorities are probing a series of alleged sexual assaults affecting at least 41 women, with three bar managers identified as key suspects. Prosecutors revealed that victims' drinks, reportedly spiked with drugs such as ketamine, were often served in bars located in Kortrijk from December 2021 to December 2024. According to Griet De Prest, a spokesperson for the Western Flanders public prosecutor's office, the suspects discussed the assaults amongst themselves and have been linked to the spiking incidents. One suspect has been arrested, another is set to appear before a judge, and a third was released amid a series of arrests. The suspects are facing charges that include rape, sexual assault, and the illegal administration of harmful substances. Tom Janssens, another spokesperson for the prosecutor's office, noted that the young women typically consumed alcohol shots with an amaretto flavor before awakening in unfamiliar settings with clear signs of sexual abuse. Belgium’s Interior Minister, Bernard Quintin, labeled the incidents "unacceptable" and expressed concern over the accessibility of drugs like ketamine, stating, "Women must be able to go out safely, wherever they want, whenever they want."

Belgian author Caroline De Mulder's novel, "Himmler's Children," reveals the dark reality of Nazi Lebensborn nurseries, established by Heinrich Himmler in 1935 to increase the Aryan population. According to De Mulder, these facilities, disguised as maternity homes, were focused on producing "racially valuable" offspring to bolster the SS ranks. The narrative unfolds through three intertwining perspectives set in 1944, including a nurse and a pregnant woman tied to the SS, highlighting the chilling practices enforced in these nurseries. De Mulder explains that while the Lebensborn program appeared as a benevolent initiative, it was akin to a "baby factory." Mothers were often coerced into a system that stripped them of autonomy and reduced them to vessels for producing children deemed suitable by Nazi ideology. The story also touches on the grim fate of those deemed unfit, illustrating the horror of a system that linked childbirth to extermination. Despite the grotesque themes, De Mulder insists on the importance of confronting this unsettling history as a way to prevent such ideologies from resurfacing.

Belgian author Caroline De Mulder's novel, "Himmler’s Children," sheds light on the disturbing history of the Nazi Lebensborn program, which aimed to produce "racially pure" children to support Heinrich Himmler's vision for the SS. Established in 1935, Lebensborn included maternity homes that catered to single mothers selected for their Aryan heritage, serving as breeding grounds for future Nazi leaders. De Mulder explores life within these institutions through intertwining narratives from three characters: a nurse, a pregnant young woman, and a prisoner from the Dachau concentration camp. The novel portrays the chilling realities of the program, including the euthanizing of infants deemed "unfit," as well as the indoctrination of caregivers. The author emphasizes that while the maternity wards exhibited a veneer of care, they operated on the same principles as concentration camps, resulting in the systematic oppression of women and children. "Although we are shocked by the contrast…the same criminal racist program underpinned both," De Mulder remarked. Her work aims to provoke reflection on the nature of "ordinary evil" in historical atrocities.