22 years after the murder of parents, Kenza Isnasni starts research into more diverse street names

The Habiba-Ahmed Foundation is named after Habiba and Ahmed Isnasni, a Schaarbeek couple who were murdered by a neighbor in Schaarbeek on May 7, 2002. It later turned out that racist motives were behind the murder. Kenza, the daughter of the Isnasni couple, is the founder of the Habiba-Ahmed Foundation.

Since 2019, the foundation has been working to immortalize the names of Habiba and Ahmed on a street sign. The foundation is thinking of a part of Vanderlindenstraat where the family lived: between Paviljoenstraat and James Wattstraat.

This idea was proposed to the city council in 2019 through a citizen interpellation. “We collected hundreds of signatures, there was a lot of demand for it in Schaarbeek at the time,” Kenza recalls. “The proposal was approved unanimously.”

The municipality then surveyed local residents and the majority voted against. “We were not aware of this,” Isnasni recalls. “We should have entered into dialogue first. It was also very difficult to implement administrative changes at that time.”

New attempt

The foundation therefore wants to make a new attempt from September, this time with more theoretical background. The foundation first maps out which streets refer to a Brussels resident with a migration background. An overview may be available to the public as early as this year.

“We have 180 nationalities in Brussels, we are very proud of that, but if you look around you, you don’t see that diversity,” Isnasni explains. While street names do have something to do with perception, according to Isnasni. “You feel more at home when you see streets around you with names you recognize.”

That is also why the foundation advocates more references to Brussels residents with a migration background in public spaces, “such as Habiba and Ahmed,” says Isnasni. She refers to the 60 years of bilateral agreements with Morocco, among others, which are celebrating their anniversary this year. “But this is also about the many other Habibas and Ahmeds who have come to Belgium.”

“This street name could be the logical follow-up to turning over the bust of Mayor Nols,” Isnasni continues. After an extensive exercise, the municipality decided to turn the statue of the controversial mayor, known for his racist statements, with its back to the public. This is the opportunity for the municipality to go one step further, Isnasni thinks. “Schaerbeek could play an exemplary role.”

Municipality ‘doesn’t want to force anything’

Mayor Jodogne’s spokesperson confirms that an application was indeed made in 2019 for a change to the street name. It was then adopted on the condition that inquiries would be made with the residents of the street, but a majority voted against.

“We don’t really understand why we have to do it again,” said Baptiste Buidin, spokesperson for mayor Cécile Jodogne (Défi). “We support the foundation, but the residents did not want it. We will see what the results of the investigation are, but we do not want to force anything.”