For Flemish minister Zuhal Demir, the master’s year in social law at VUB was the culmination of her studies. She was one of the first in her community to go to university. She recently visited the VUB again, at the invitation of Jong N-VA. “My student years... they were about enjoying freedom.”
How were your student years at the VUB?
“My student years, first at KU Leuven and then at VUB, they were about enjoying freedom. When it became known in my neighbourhood in Genk that I was going to university, there was trouble. Men warned my father that I would become smarter than him, that there would be temptations in the big city, that Flemish boys would talk me into bed. Social control in the neighbourhood was very strong and it often felt oppressive. At university and in my dorm, I was able to spread my wings and learn to stand on my own two feet. I also became a student representative at the law faculty. After my years in Leuven, I was left wanting more. That extra master year at VUB – and bringing it to a successful conclusion – was the culmination of my studies and student years.”
How decisive was VUB for your thinking?
“I had an enormous sense of justice and have always looked out for those less fortunate, partly from my own experience. As a lawyer, I wanted to do something with that. So choosing the master’s in social law was a fairly obvious choice to me. Moreover, after five years, I enjoyed studying in another city, especially such a large city rich in culture. It was also that VUB master’s that effectively set me on my way: my specialisation as an independent lawyer was labour law. As a young lawyer, I assisted the staff of Sabena, the former national airline, after its bankruptcy.”
Do Limburgers and the VUB have a special relationship?
“I certainly do, but I can’t speak for all Limburgers! I felt right at home at the VUB, it was a very welcoming and liberal university. I never thought I would be standing in a VUB lecture hall again, and at the front as a minister! It made me feel nostalgic.”
How important was studying when you were growing up?
“I owe a lot – no, almost everything – to my parents. Studying and doing well at school was instilled is us at home when we were very young. Especially Dutch. My parents saw language and education as engines of social mobility. So all five children had to go to kindergarten as soon as possible to learn Dutch. Of course, this was not easy: our home language was Turkish and in our first three years of life we hardly came into contact with Dutch. Dad also made us go and borrow books from the library, to learn the language. As the children of a miner who grew up with Turkish at home, my brothers, sisters and I are living proof that the sooner you come into frequent contact with Dutch, the better. At high school and later at university, my parents always supported me fiercely. And they were proud when I got good marks.”